Treat Ear Infections Early!
Last week we touched on the importance of cleaning ears to prevent ear infections. Most people know that the common signs of an ear infection in your pet are head shaking and ear scratching. Do you know what can happen if an ear infection is not treated, though? If your pet has an ear infection that is not treated, they will continue to scratch at their ears and shake their head. Doing so can break blood vessels in the ear which can cause an aural (or ear) hematoma.
A hematoma can happen in anywhere in the body. Most times it shows up as a bruise that you see from a broken blood vessel that has spilled blood into the surrounding tissue. An ear hematoma is easy to spot. Your pet’s ear flap will be swollen from being filled with blood. Upon further inspection, you may notice ear drainage or odor typical of ear infections. Hematomas are very uncomfortable for your pet, so as soon as you notice one, you need to call the staff at Ash Veterinary Clinic and Emergency Center so we can get your pet feeling better quickly.
There are multiple options for treating ear hematomas, but the main goal of most therapies is to alleviate the swelling and prevent recurrence of the hematoma while minimizing scarring of the ear. In order to alleviate the swelling, the pocket of fluid needs to be drained. The way this is done is by making a small incision in the pet’s ear flap so that the fluid has a place to drain.
After the fluid is drained, a small drain tube is then placed in the ear flap and glues to allow the excess fluid to drain until the tiny broken vessels have healed. Your pet will go home with an e-collar, which is the upside down lampshade that is used to prevent itching at that ear. You will be responsible for “milking” the fluid out of the ear daily, which is just like milking a cow! You work the fluid down from the top of the ear and out the drain tube. This helps the ear hematoma to dry up quickly. You’ll want to be sure to keep your pet confined to an area of the house that will allow for easy clean up. Often these patients will still want to shake their head and the blood tinged discharge can make for a mess!
If your pet’s hematoma is the result of an ear infection, we will also thoroughly clean your pet’s ear prior to sending them home. We do an ear cytology, where our licensed technicians look at the ear debris to see what kind of bacteria or yeast is growing in your pet’s ears. Once we run this test, I can properly prescribe the medication that will help clear up your pet’s infection.
If you suspect your pet has an ear hematoma, call us at Ash Veterinary Clinic and Emergency Center at 734-782-2827 as soon as you can. While an ear hematoma is not an emergency in the strict sense of the word, the early they are treated, the better they will respond to treatment and the less discomfort your pet will be in.
