Icleaned my dogs ears with a Q tip and may have hurt his ear drum. I cannot go to a vet for a week at least
The symptoms areHe had brown debri, I got it outbut he scrathching the outer ear which got very red at the upper right cornor.
Overnight he developed an ear flap hematoma. I bought a comfy eelizabetah collar and put it on. Overnight the hematoma went down but he was tilting his head, the bd ear side..
I wiped the ear and saw alitle yellow and alittle blood. Then later in the day he was fine! He was eating playing not tilting his head, I thought he was cured. He went to sleep, no ear shaking all night but woke up with a sore ear andd again a head tilt, what can I do at home??? Is a powder helpfulfrom the pet store? an aspirn?
Dr. Marie replied:
Oh, the poor little guy. I'm sorry to hear that he is having problems like this.
Most likely you haven't caused damage with a q-tip. A Q-tip wouldn't cause a hematoma, but it could cause a head tilt though. We don't really know what causes an aural hematoma.
This really is a case that needs veterinary care. If we can catch things early it's possible that your dog could be treated with some oral steroids (which are very inexpensive) as well as maybe some medication in the ear. But, if this goes on for a while it's possible that Cyde could need surgery on the ear.
Any sort of ear cleaner or powder that you can get from the pet store is not going to be very helpful. And aspirin is definitely not a good idea. Aspirin can cause dogs to bleed more and it could actually make a hematoma much worse as a hematoma is a collection of blood between the skin and cartilage of the ear.
If finances are a concern, perhaps one of the links on this page would help.
If he will allow it, using a cold compress (such as frozen peas wrapped in a towel) on the swollen part of his ear (i.e. the ear flap) may help reduce the swelling temporarily.
If he does actually have damage to his ear drum as well as a hematoma then getting him on medication right away will really help.
I wish I could give you better advice on what you could do at home, but I can't stress enough how important it is to get your boy to a vet as soon as possible. I really hope he is ok!
Dr. Marie.
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Disclaimer: Although Dr. Marie is a qualified veterinarian, the information found on this site is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. AskAVetQuestion.com and Dr. Marie do not accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, death, or disease which may arise from reliance on information contained on this site. Do not use information found on this site for diagnosing or treating your pet. Anything you read here is for information only.
Customer reply:
I am just curious why he seemed all better playing fetch, eating for seveal hours..
It was a long q tip and I am so worried about the ear drum
Since he did get better and then started to tilt his head again is it more likeky a hematoma that recuured?
Dr. Marie replied:
This is a tough question to answer! A hematoma doesn't usually get better and then worse like this in such a short time period. And, if you had done damage to his ear drum then he really shouldn't have gotten better at all as this type of damage usually lasts for many weeks.
Unfortunately I don't have an answer for you as to why he seemed to improve.
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Veterinarian, Dr. Marie created this site to be able to provide quick, accurate veterinary advice online. She would love to help with your pet's problem!
Dr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.
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