Chronic and recurrent ear infections can be healed naturally. Ear infections in dogs are typically associated with allergies, ear mites, moisture, diet, bacteria, yeast, over-cleaning the ears or plucking hair out of the ears being the most likely causes and foreign bodies, too much moisture and certain endocrine disorders being less likely possible causes. The good news is, is that most of the time, chronic and recurrent ear infections can be healed naturally.
You will know if your dog has an in ear infection simply by looking at his or her ears. Redness, strong-smelling, ears that feel hot to the touch and lots of wax build-up are pretty good indicators. If your dog is titling his or her head toward the side of the infection and or shaking their head, scratching, pawing or rubbing their ears, there is a pretty good chance they have an ear infection.
In order to figure out how to heal these chronic and recurrent ear infections, its important to understand where the infection or inflammation can occur within the.3 different parts of your dog's ear
- Otitis External: Infection or inflammation on the outside part of your dog's ear, just the parts that you can see. This is the most common type of ear infection. In some cases, otitis external can spread into the middle ear, causing otitis media.
- Otitis Media: Infection or inflammation in the middle ear parts, which you won't be able to directly see. Otitis media could also mean a foreign object, like a foxtail has penetrated the ear drum.
- Otitis Interna: Infection or inflammation of the inner ear. Untreated Otitis Interna and can lead to hearing loss and loss of balance
Traditional veterinary medicine will prescribe a combination of antibiotics, steroids and topical medications that will most likely make their symptoms disappear temporarily, but they will come back with a vengeance because these medications don't heal the root cause. Antibiotics wipe out all bacteria in the gut, both good and bad and can cause more problems later on if bacteria or yeast grow excessively. Also, if your dog takes too many antibiotics, they could develop resistance happens when bacteria changes in a way that reduces effectiveness of the antibiotic, which makes the issue even harder to treat. Steroids work by suppressing the immune system and comes with many unwanted side effects. If your dog has and ear infection, their immune system is already under attack. Wiping out both good and bad bacteria with an antibiotic and suppressing their already compromised immune system will not fix the underlying root cause of the ear infection in the first place.
Natural Solutions:
If you do suspect your dog does have an ear infection, take him or her to the vet to make sure their eardrum is intact before administering any solutions or medications. If the eardrum is ruptured and you don't know, using the wrong medication or ointments could have serious implications. Signs of a ruptured eardrum include ear pain, discharge from the ear that may be pus-like or bloody, sudden hearing loss, red or inflamed ear canal, head shaking, head tilting and or stumbling or lack of coordination. It is very difficult to diagnose this without veterinary tools, which is why taking your dog to the vet, in this case, can be very helpful.
Once you are sure the eardrum is in tact, chronic and recurrent ear infections can be haled naturally. The absolute best remedy is a solution called Blue Powder Wash. This wash very effectively treats bacterial or yeast infections faster than any other topical solution I have ever seen. You will need:
- 16oz Isopropyl Alcohol
- 4 tablespoons Boric Acid
- 16 drops Gentian Violet
- 1 large jar to mix all of the ingredients in
- Baby Syringe or plastic squirt bottle for putting the solution in the ear
- 100% cotton balls or pads to use during treatment
Step 1: In a glass bottle, mix all of the above ingredients together and shake well each time you use it to ensure the Boric Acid Powder mixes with the alcohol and the Gentian Violet. Warm and shake the bottle before using as your dog with accept the treatment if the solution is warm. You want to heat the solution until its warm and not too hot.
Step 2: Evaluate the condition of the ear(s) before treating. If they are inflamed and sore, don't attempt to clean the ear or pull hair out. Just flush the ear and wait until the inflammation decreases in about 2 days. If your dog's ear(s) are not inflamed, proceed to step 3.
Step 3: For the first treatment, flood the ear twice with the solution by gently squirting the bottle or insert the baby syringe at the opening of your dog's ear and insert. Wipe with a cotton ball or pad and leave alone without a message. Your dog will shake out any excess, which you can wipe with a tissue. This can be messy and the Gentian Violet stains, so doing this outside is ideal to avoid stains on fabrics.
Step 4: Repeat treatment 2x per day for the first one to two weeks depending on the severity of the ears. Depending on the ear, you can clean the ear out gently with a cotton ball or pad.
Step 5: Repeat treatment 1x per day for the next one to two weeks after.
Step 6: Repeat treatment 1x per month or less frequently based on severity of dog's ears.
Focus on Healing from the Inside Out
If your dog does have chronic and recurrent ear infections, their immune system and digestive system are working overtime. Strengthening their immune system and digestive system by rebalancing the gut microbiome via the lifestyle factors that you can control, like diet, is essential. Swapping out kibble for raw, dehydrated raw or home-cooked will help to strengthen their immune and digestive systems. Take a look at the following suggestions:
- Focus on a natural, fresh, hydrated diet packed with healthy macro and micro nutrients such as proteins, fats, healthy / low-glycemic carbs, vitamins and minerals
- Incorporate inflammation-reducing supplements including ginger, turmeric and golden paste.
- Include digestive enzymes, probiotics and colostrum as well as pre biotic food such as apples, asparagus, yogurt and kefir to help rebalance their gut microbiome.
- Add cod liver oil to their diet to reduce inflammation, support heart health, brain function, bone health, immune health, skin health and mood.
Try Homeopathy:
If your dog does have chronic and recurrent ear infections, homeopathy is worth a shot. It is an unorthodox system of diagnosing and treating symptoms that was created in Germany by Dr. Samuel Hanhemann that was created in the late 18th century. There are plenty of resources you can use to learn how to diagnose and treat using homeopathic remedies and you can consult with a homeopathic veterinarian to help you identify the best remedy to use. We have found that ear infections respond well to the following remedies
- Aconite 200c and Arnica 200c: You can give this at the onset of any pain
- Belladonna 30c: You can give this if you see redness by the ears
- Hepar Sulph 200c: You can give this if the ears smell offensively bad
- Silicea 200c: You can give this if you see pus in the ears
Chronic and recurrent ear infections can be healed naturally. A combination of homeopathy, a healthy diet and blue powder wash can and will work wonders.
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