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Therefore, just like a good detective novel, we need to begin at the start and retrace the "footsteps" looking for clues along the way. The very first thing I tell owners with a dog w/ear disease is that many ear diseases look the same it is the underlying causes that vary.
#OTOMAX HC SKIN#
If the dog has had previous skin or ear disease, getting a copy of the medical records may help tremendously in developing a differential diagnosis list. The next step may be the most important one, obtaining a detailed history! This starts by getting a copy of the dog's medical record. A geriatric dog, w/o prior ear disease, would have neoplasia (eg adenoma, adenocarcinoma) or an endocrinopathy as important rule outs. A puppy w/ear disease should have Otodectes, dermatophytosis and juvenile cellulitis ("puppy strangles") on the list of differential diagnosis while a young adult dog would typically have environmental allergen induced atopic dermatitis and cutaneous adverse food reactions high on the differential diagnosis. For example, it has been reported that Labrador retrievers have a higher incidence of cutaneous adverse food reactions then does the general population. Age, breed and sex can help point you in the right directions. Obtaining the signalment is the first step that must be taken when a dog is presented w/clinical signs of ear disease. It is appropriate therefore to approach the diagnosis of ear disease just as you would for any other skin disease. As Dr Flemming Kristensen stated "A patient showing ear problems is a dermatology case until proven otherwise". If ear drops are accidentally put in the eyes, flush the eyes with water and seek emergency treatment if improvement is not immediate.It is important to understand that ear disease is only a symptom (no more specific than "pruritus"). Reading the label out loud helps prevent mistakes.
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Take a “time out” before using eye drops to confirm that the correct bottle is in your hand. Write the date you open any non-prescription drops on the label and throw the bottle away 4 weeks later, as it may contain bacteria by then. Once you have used prescription ear (and eye) drops for as long as the doctor told you, discard leftover drops. To reduce the risk of harmful mix-ups, try using water and saline ear drops to remove earwax instead of stronger substances that contain carbamide peroxide. Use your ear drops at a different time than eye drops. Also keep pet medicines away from human medicines. Do not store your eye drops and ear drops in the same location. Keep your eye drops and ear drops in their original cartons, as pictures of an eye or ear are often on the boxes (see figure) but not on the bottles. To avoid mix-ups between eye drops and ear drops, consider the following:
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We even have a reported case in which ear drops for a pet were accidentally put into the eyes of the pet owner's child. However, mix-ups between other types of ear drops and eye drops have been reported. In your home, ear drops that are used to clear wax out of the ears are most often confused with eye drops.
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Thus, eye drops are specially made to be gentle and germ-free, yet effective. Eye tissue is much more sensitive than ear tissue. However, ear drops should never be used in the eyes. Sometimes, eye drops can be safely used as ear drops because there are relatively few medicines for ears. Many ear medicines use an eyedropper (small glass or plastic tube with a rubber bulb at the top that is squeezed to draw liquid medicine into the tube), which can subconsciously lead you to believe the medicine should be placed in the eyes. People have also chosen OTC otic (ear) drops when they intended to purchase optic (eye) drops. Consumers have mistakenly picked up a bottle of otic (ear) drops, believing it was optic (eye) drops. Otic and optic (or ophthalmic) are also listed on the outer cartons of some bottles of eye drops and ear drops. The medical terms used for ears (otic) and eyes (optic) are very similar. Unfortunately, putting ear drops into eyes is a fairly common mistake for several reasons: Bottles of ear drops and eye drops can look alike and may be located right next to each other in pharmacies and where you store your medicines. In most cases, the injury to the eyes is temporary, but visual changes are always a real possibility if something irritating gets in the eyes. Your eyes will burn and sting right away, and later you might notice redness, swelling, and blurred vision. If you accidentally put ear drops into your eyes, you will quickly know that something is very wrong. Medicines labeled otic are for ears, not eyes. It would be easy to mistake these ear drops as eye drops when the front of the bottle is facing away.