Ear hematoma on senior dog

[AngeleL]

Hi everyone, my old boy Loki, a Standard Poodle of 13 yrs old started having ear hematoma's 2 weeks ago and its not getting any better.
He is intact, 60 lbs and no vaccination except the first puppy vaccinations. It started 2 weeks ago on the left ear and now also starting on the right ear. No changes in his diet or routine. He gets 30c rhus tox when needed for his weak legs at times when needed. He has a consistent gagging cough mostly at night and morning that's been going on for over a year now. He use to be on doxycycline 100mg tabs to clear what was thought to be an infection but it never cured and was told he might have to live with it or keep him on steroids.....this is where my new adventure towards holistic measures really started as i refused to keep him on that! somehow rhus tox seems to also help with that for him.
He lays in the sun a lot so better with heat, he comes for his daily walks so when he refuses i know he doesn't feel good. His diet consists of raw/cooked and he loves his high quality kibbles (Origin) with goat milk. He is VERY affectionate to the point that you need to tell him to go and laydown elsewhere or he would just stay on your lap forever lol he's always had leaking eyes and needs to be cleaned every morning, but keeping him shaved face helps a lot. Ear are very warm to the touch, he lets me touch them and i keep them wrap in a bandana so that it helps when he wants to shake. He will shake quite a lot if he doesn't wear it cause it must be so uncomfortable to have his ears swollen like that. I have drained them twice now (so you our vet that comes once a week in our community won't be coming anymore as he is semi retiring and will only practice in his own town) , he is a good boy and knows it feels much better when its done. His BEAM hasn't changed from the usual, very loyal wants to follow and be with me at all times, quiet and resting a lot....still manages to run the crows once in a while lol normal appetite.....give him a meaty bone and he is one happy boy lol I forgot to mention he's got a couple of growth tumors since he was 10 yrs old, and ironically seems to have gone down since i introduced rhus tox so i thought it was weird. So all this being said, he is my normal happy lover boy but this ear problem is sucking the life out of him and I am desperately trying to find the right remedy for him as i will not have him go through anaesthesia in his old age, and I know that homeopathy is the right cure for him. Any help will be very much appreciated.

 

[Dr. Sara]

Dear Angele,
In order to know what treatment is most likely to resolve an aural hematoma, it is helpful to understand how and why they develop. Aural hematomas are caused by the inflammation and rupture of tiny blood vessels in the ear flap. The blood seeps between the ear cartilage and skin. The ear protrudes away from the body, so the animal may easily damage it further by shaking its head or rubbing the hematoma because it feels strange.

Vets used to believe that hematomas always occurred because of trauma: a bite from another animal, ear mites, or an ear infection. The animal then damaged the blood vessels of the ear by scratching or shaking its head. Trauma can certainly cause inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis) and rupture of these vessels, but more research is pointing to an immune-mediated cause of the vasculitis. This immune-mediated vasculitis can occur when an animal has seasonal or food allergies, has a transfusion reaction, or has an immune reaction (allergic reaction) to any medicine or vaccine. The current conventional medical treatment for aural hematomas now focuses on treating them as part of an overall allergic process.

Allergic problems are all capable of causing vasculitis. Yeast ear infections are caused by an animal's excessive response to normal organisms, and seasonal and food allergies are also indicative of an excessive, abnormal immune response. Symptomatic homeopathic remedies may help alleviate symptoms of a hematoma in the short term, but a constitutional approach with a qualified veterinary homeopath will be necessary to get to the root of the problem. Careful homeopathic prescribing should gently resolve all of the signs of illness as the animal responds to the remedy.

Many remedies can be useful in symptomatic treatment of aural hematomas. Arnica is certainly the 'go to' remedy for trauma and bruising, and it does help many aural hematomas. However, there are a lot of useful remedies, and as symptoms change, the appropriate remedy may change also. You need to study the first aid remedies so that you can use them appropriately.

As an example, my own dog developed bilateral hematomas as part of a blood transfusion reaction. Initial treatment with Arnica did not help, so I changed to Hamamelis; it did not seem to help either. Two remedies which did help considerably were Crotalus-h, a snake venom remedy, followed by Silicea a week later. The biggest improvement, and final resolution, occurred when I determined what my dog's constitutional remedy was, and treated her with that. During this time, I carefully observed my girl to see which remedy was most appropriate, I never gave more than one remedy at a time, and I waited to see what was going to happen before switching remedies. This is why it is so important to work with a skilled practitioner who knows you and knows your pets to find the best treatment for Loki.

This article gives a good discussion of the conventional approach to the treatment of aural hematomas:
Aural hematoma and it’s treatment: A review
I hope this helps!
Dr. Sara

 

[AngeleL]

thank you Dr Sara, i have an upcoming schedule call with Dr Christina on the matter and will look up the article to learn more!