Understanding Ear Infections
Is your dog or cat shaking its head or scratching its ears excessively? Have you noticed your pet tilt its head in a particular direction? If so, your animal may have an ear infection. Ear infections are easy to treat if caught early. However, if left untreated, they can move to the inner ear, leading to serious health issues, including deafness. To ensure your pet’s ear infection is properly treated, contact Juniata Veterinary Clinic. Early detection at our Mifflintown clinic is crucial to a positive outcome.
What is an Ear Infection?
Ear infections or otitis are quite common in pets because the ears are continually exposed to the elements. Ear infections may be caused by ear mites, bacteria, or other disease-causing organisms. When left untreated, the infection can travel from the outer ear to the inner ear, resulting in permanent damage.
Symptoms of an Ear Infection
The most common signs of a possible ear infection are red or swollen ear canals, head shaking, and excessive scratching. Other symptoms include:
- Smelly ears
- Ear discharge
- Head tilt
- Circling
Our veterinarians use an ear otoscope to see into the ear canal. The device shows discharge and redness not seen by the naked eye. This helps our veterinarians determine the type and severity of an ear infection.
How Is an Ear Infection Treated?
Before you begin treating an ear infection in your pet, it is important to get a precise diagnosis from your veterinarian. Otherwise, you could be treating the wrong condition and failing to treat what’s really going on with your pet. In some cases, vets may send a sample of the infection to a lab for analysis. This allows the animal hospital to prescribe a more targeted treatment. Once we diagnose the root cause of your pet’s eye infection, our veterinarians will prescribe medications to alleviate symptoms and eliminate the infection. During your pet’s exam, we may clean its ears and recommend ways to take care of the ears at home.
How to Prevent Ear Infections?
Here are a few ways to protect your pet against ear infections:
- Control allergies that cause ears to become inflamed
- Regularly clean your pet’s ears
- Work with your groomer to remove hair from the ears
- Dry the ear canals after bathing or swimming
Keeping your pet’s ears clean and dry is the best way to prevent ear infections from occurring.
Pet Eye Infections
A pet eye infection is a serious condition that should not be taken lightly. There are several signs and symptoms to look out for that can inform you of just how serious this condition is, and allow you to recognize when it’s time to get help from a veterinarian. At Juniata Veterinary Clinic, we’re here to help residents of Lewistown and Mifflintown provide their animals with eye infection treatment. Whether your pet is a stray or has been with you for their entire lives, they are equally susceptible to eye infections and need help from our veterinarian right away.
What Are Pet Eye Infections?
Pet eye infections are caused when a foreign body enters the eye of your pet and begins to cause damage to their vision and the physical eye itself. Eye infections can be caused by fungus, bacteria, and viruses. They can also be caused by eye worms, which are parasites that burrow into the eye of your dog.
What Are the Signs of Pet Eye Infections?
One of the most obvious signs of a pet eye infection is redness, tearing, and discharge coming from the eye of your dog. Your dog or cat might also be in pain and display changes in behavior, such as increased aggression or fatigue. Other times, pet eye infections can also lead to serious symptoms such as high fevers, and total or partial vision loss.
How a Veterinarian Can Help
Our veterinarian will take a deep look inside the eye of your pet. We will conduct a physical exam to determine if your pet is suffering from pet eye infections. If your pet is suffering from an eye infection, our veterinarian can prescribe treatment such as daily eye drops and medication to kill the bacteria or parasite present in your dog or cat’s eye. Our veterinarian might recommend surgery if your pet’s eye infection is severe. We can also determine if an eye infection is truly the culprit, as medical conditions like cataracts can mimic the signs of an eye infection.