Ear Mites can be a horribly irritating and painful problem for our pets to be affected by and can lead to a serious infection; so the sooner they are dealt with, the better. An ear mite is a tiny little creature that lives in the surface of your pet's ear. The condition is highly transmittable and can be passed from pet to pet either via direct contact or by way of humans who carry the mite from an infected pet to those uninfected ones.
If your pet is suffering from ear mites they will likely be constantly shaking their heads and scratching at their ears to rid themselves of the nasty pests and endless irritation. Telltale signs of the problem can be seen if you actually look into the ear itself. The ear may appear red and inflamed from all the scratching and although you will not see the mite culprit, there will be indications that it exists. You may notice a build up of wax within the ear as well as numerous black specks (likely spots of dried blood). In those cases where the ear mites have not been treated immediately or effectively, the mites will actually move down into the ear canal and cause an infection of the middle ear. This means that the animal may appear to be off balance and might be unable to hold its head up straight.
The first step in helping your pet is to clean out the ear and try to relieve some of the discomfort. Use an eyedropper or syringe (without the needle) to insert some Vegetable or Olive Oil into the ear canal. While keeping your pet's head still (as they will want to immediately shake the substance out) massage the ear thoroughly to loosen any deeply impacted mite dirt (you may be able to gently squeeze some of it up and out of the ear). Use cotton balls to clean the ears and only attempt to use q-tips very carefully being sure not to allow them to enter portions of the deeper ear canal. In order to relieve irritation caused by the mites, use a natural treatment of Psorinum or Sulphur.
In order to actually kill the mites there are a couple of natural remedies that you can make at home. The first one is a mixture of 9 drops of Yellow Dock Root Extract and 1 tablespoon of water. Use an eyedropper to insert the treatment into the pet's ear, being sure to massage it well prior to the animal having the opportunity to shake it out. Administer the treatment once every three days for a period of six weeks.
The second treatment mixes 1/2 an ounce of Almond Oil with 400 IU's of Vitamin E. Warm up the mixture to body temperature and apply 1/2 an eyedropper into each affected ear. Massage the mixture around in the ear and remove the excess with cotton balls. Administer the treatment for a period of six days, leave it for three days and then repeat.
Continue reading to learn which remedies worked best for our reader to help pets with ear mites.
