Well I finally got Bandit into the vet. Gotta tell ya, very mixed feelings on this one! $45.00 for the visit-$36.00 for one of the medications-$39.03 for the Cytology swab-total $116.00 for an ear infection. They wanted to charge me another $20.00 for an ear wash stuff but I refused. Not only have they gone up on their initial visit price from $37.00 to $45.00 in less than a year but why on earth do Ineed to pay that much for an ear wash?! So, today I went to the pharmacy and bought some stuff that is supposed to help pull out the waxy stuff in ears, some flat cotton and a bulb. Hopefully after about 2 days of cleaning I will be able to put the medicine in his ears and it will reach where it is supposed to. They gave me Quadritop ointment for his ear, hopefully whatever it is, it won't kill him Yeast infection they said...so I bought a ton of plain yogurt tonight. Hopefully we will find balance again. This just makes me angry. Everything is so expensive nowadays, especially when it comes to anything medical, human or animal. Anything else I should be doing, guys? I'm too mad to think.

My older shepherd had problems with his ears. It will just be something to stay on top of, unfortunately. My dog had the problem over the last few years of his life. There might be a home-made ear solution you can make. Yogurt isn't a bad idea either to add to his diet.

I know that vet costs are outrageous, but sometimes it depends on where you go!

Lisa

What is the ear wash?

With yeast, you have to be very careful that the wash is not introducing lingering moisture.

Is it 100% yeast? No bacteria?

Yeast feeds on sugars, including the sugars in milk products......

This is an ointment? Or is it more like a dropper-applicator?

I have great success with Spirulina as a supplement. They love it since it basically is moss stuck in a blender. tasted like lawn clippings mixed with dirt. Dogs however love it, and its great for suppressing yeast and fungus. when dealing with yeast.
yogurt helps Grow bacteria, not suppress it. Thats not a bad thing but remember to buy organic live culture yogurt. Dannon don't cut it.

lastly,using diluted rubbing alcohol as an ear dry is something that I have done and has success with. It aids in evaporating any moisture left in the ear. A dry ear will heal with just the lack of moisture, but its hard to keep them dry.

Good luck

The ear wash originally came from my vet and I believe it was alcohol based with other ingredients. It was meant for ears and would not keep them moist.

That was more for maintaining healthy ears because he tended to get yeast build up.

It is just my experience and I now know it was probably diet related and he was my dog I had the longest and was not raw fed most of his life.

Lisa

I have been using Zymox Otic enzymatic solution in Nicos ear for about a week now and it seems to be helping.
from amazon.com, im still looking for the total ingredient list online, but it does seem to be helping a lot better than any other topical type ear cleaners or drops we have used.

 Quote:

Zymox is for the treatment of acute and chronic otitis externa due to bacterial, viral and yeast infections
No prior or post cleaning required
Active Ingredients: Lactoperoxidase system plus Lysozyme, Lactoferrin, Hydrocortisone (1%).

She has chronic ear problems and is usually rubbing them on the floor and shoving her face in Loki's so he will clean them for her. The smell better as well. I chose to get the one with hydrocortisone in it to help with the inflamation but next time i will get the non cortisone kind if the swelling is better.

 Quote: Lisa Simms

The ear wash originally came from my vet and I believe it was alcohol based with other ingredients. It was meant for ears and would not keep them moist.

Oh, sorry.... I meant the OP, who got hers from the drugstore.

I hate how things get so expensive too, but I tend to go to vets who work with livestocks or you can try Bansfield at Petsmart. I had to bring in one of my dogs for a rabies shot and I paid 17 dollars.

Well, we both mentioned earwash, so................

No problem.

Hey, is it midnight yet???????????

Happy New Year, almost.

agree with the outrageous cost of medicines from vets - just paid £400 for small op to clean G/retriever ears and another £80 for ear cleaner, MALASEB shampoo for her feet (infecting her ear with her feet)and a fortune for anti-biotic tablets. I then found petmeds online - their products are a fraction of the vet cost and the vet has to give a prescription where you can then order prescription drugs online.
I dont have insurance so will now save a fortune ordering on-line. http://www.petmeds.co.uk/ they have US site also.