Tracy R Touzjian wrote 01/16/2008 10:32 AM I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... #175594 - 01/16/2008 10:32 AM
Tracy R Touzjian Webboard User Reg: 07-01-2006 Posts: 252 Loc: Offline	I know you are not supposed to. Now he is paying the price. I cleaned my dogs ears last night with dry cotton balls and went into the canal with q tips. This morning he is obviously in distress. Head shaking, walking around with his head lowered, hiding in the corner of my office. When I squeeze the base of his ear there is a squishing sound. He does not act like it is painful when I do that. I have an appointment at the vet this afternoon. My question is... Is there any way I could have perforated this dogs eardrum? He is a very large dog. 135 lbs. He did not act like I hurt him when I was cleaning them. Just this morning when we woke up. He has had infections before, but never acted this uncomfortable. I feel just awful! Especially since I knew better. I am so embarrassed to explain to the vet what I did. Any opinions?
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Amber Morgan wrote 01/16/2008 10:43 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Tracy R Touzjian ] #175596 - 01/16/2008 10:43 AM
Amber Morgan Webboard User Reg: 10-18-2006 Posts: 1849 Loc: St. Louis, MO Offline	It's not unheard of to loose a cotton ball down there without realizing it. The vet will be able to look and see if anything is lodged in there or if anything is perferated. The only reason I mention the cotton ball is that it seems odd to me that you hear the squishing sound this long after the cleaning. Carbon
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Tracy R Touzjian wrote 01/16/2008 10:52 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Amber Morgan ] #175598 - 01/16/2008 10:52 AM
Tracy R Touzjian Webboard User Reg: 07-01-2006 Posts: 252 Loc: Offline	Hi Amber, Thanks for the response. It had occured to me that I could have lost some of the cotton off the swab in the canal. The thing about the squishing is, I did not use any kind of cleaning solution. Only dry cotton balls and dry q-tips. So I'm pretty sure now there is some kind of infection. I'm just hoping I didn't rupture it with the swab!
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Shody Lytle wrote 01/16/2008 10:56 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Amber Morgan ] #175599 - 01/16/2008 10:56 AM
Shody Lytle Webboard User Reg: 06-27-2007 Posts: 547 Loc: Orcutt, California Offline	I don't know if this would apply to dogs, but for a long time I had problems with my ear canals. It was a sort of combonation of allergies and skin issues. Every time I got too enthusiastic with a q-tip or my finger it would irritate the canal. They would easily get sort of "raw" and get damp with what I assumed was cellular fluid. Sometimes even a little blood. This in turn would trigger an infection, similar to swimmers ear. It was awful. and painful. I could never put anything in my ears, no matter how they itched. I would also get a fluid sound when I rubbed them. Luckily, this has resolved. It is possible you merely irritated the delicate tissues, and they are oozing a little fluid. This would increase his risk of an infection though. Good luck, hope he feels better. Shody http://www.pbase.com/shody
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Carol Boche wrote 01/16/2008 11:17 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Shody Lytle ] #175601 - 01/16/2008 11:17 AM
Carol Boche Webboard User Reg: 10-30-2005 Posts: 4531 Loc: South Dakota, USA Offline	Have you tried using some solution, massaging it a bit and then letting the dog shake his head to see if that helps? If there is dry cotton in there, wetting it may help dislodge it. Anything after that, I would have the vet look at. Until The Tale of the Lioness is told, the Story will Always Glorfy the Hunter
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Tracy R Touzjian wrote 01/16/2008 11:32 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Shody Lytle ] #175602 - 01/16/2008 11:32 AM
Tracy R Touzjian Webboard User Reg: 07-01-2006 Posts: 252 Loc: Offline	Thanks Shody, That makes a lot of sense. I hope thats all I did!
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Tracy R Touzjian wrote 01/16/2008 11:34 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Carol Boche ] #175603 - 01/16/2008 11:34 AM
Tracy R Touzjian Webboard User Reg: 07-01-2006 Posts: 252 Loc: Offline	Hi Carol, No I havn't tried that. I'm afraid to do any more damage. I don't know if it's OK for me to put any solution in there if I've ruptured the membrane. I have an appointment in a few hours. I guess I'll just wait to see what they say. Fingers crossed!
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Carol Boche wrote 01/16/2008 11:35 AM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips.... [Re: Tracy R Touzjian ] #175604 - 01/16/2008 11:35 AM
Carol Boche Webboard User Reg: 10-30-2005 Posts: 4531 Loc: South Dakota, USA Offline	I saw that you thought there may be infection after I posted, so I think you are doing the right thing. Let us know how it goes, okay....good luck Until The Tale of the Lioness is told, the Story will Always Glorfy the Hunter
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Tracy R Touzjian wrote 01/16/2008 04:12 PM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips....Update [Re: Carol Boche ] #175656 - 01/16/2008 04:12 PM
Tracy R Touzjian Webboard User Reg: 07-01-2006 Posts: 252 Loc: Offline	Truman's ear is intact! Only a nasty yeast infection. Thanks so much for your replies. I'm such a Nervous Nellie when it comes to my dogs!
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Natalya Zahn wrote 01/16/2008 04:35 PM Re: I cleaned his ears with Q-tips....Update [Re: Tracy R Touzjian ] #175663 - 01/16/2008 04:35 PM
Natalya Zahn Webboard User Reg: 12-22-2006 Posts: 1824 Loc: Cambridge, MA Offline	That's good news Tracy! Glad there was no permanent damage from that Q-tip. Oscar had a yeast infection in one ear once... it was nasty... at least they're pretty easy to clear up! ~Natalya
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