Zymox Otic for treating ear infections

[Sandra Griffith]

My ALD Aylah came down with an ear infection while my sister was kindly taking care of her.  I was snowed in in London and was delayed coming back by a week so she took Aylah to the vet who gave her a corticosteroid shot (which made her pee a lot for about 48 hours), oral antibiotic, some cortisone pills, and some antibacterial ear drops.  All of this did the trick and lo and behold Aylah's ear infection cleared up nicely.

I am so pleased that my sister acted so responsibly as Aylah was in quite a bit of pain and discomfort, poor baby.

When I returned to the States I went on line to try to find  a more wholistic approach should Aylah be plagued by ear infections again.  I like to be prepared.  I came across a product that I'm sure some of you are familiar with called Zymox Otic.  They have an ear cleanser, ear treatment with hydrocorticone, and ear treatment without hydrocortisone.  I ordered all three so that I would be prepared should Aylah have a recurrence and decided to just use the ear cleanser and plain ear treatment (the one without hydrocortisone) weekly just for maintenance purposes.  So far so good.

About two weeks after Aylah's ears were in fine fiddle having fully recovered from their infections, my sister told me that her ALD Bella (who happens to be Aylah' sister as well) was having the same symptoms and would I mind taking a look.  She appeared to also be suffering from an ear infection so I gave her my Zymox Otic with hydrocortisone and suggested that she try it for a few days (she was not at home and not near her vet and it was the weekend).  She could always take Bella to the vet on Monday if it didn't seem to be getting better.  By Monday, Bella was not longer shaking her head or wincing when her ears were fooled with.  She continued using the Zymox Otic for two weeks and the infection was gone!  I had read that you should not clean the ears while they are being treated, so she just used the treatment.  I groomed Bella this weekend; cleaning her ears with the Zymox otic cleanser and then using the Zymox Otic treatment without hydrocortisone before her bath.  Her ears were wonderfully clean (unlike what they had been when I first was asked to look at them-lots of yucky greasy brown gunk).  I put cotton balls in her ears (as I usually do) whilst she had her bath and then, just to be carefully, dried them with a cotton ball and reapplied the plain Zymox Otic afterwards.

What makes the Zymox Otic unique is that it treats both bacterial and fungal ear infections using enzymes rather than heavier duty pharmaceuticals.  I tend to like a more natural approach so I was pleased by this.  It does not say anything in its literature about being able to treat ear mites so my guess is that if the ear infection is caused by ear mites it might not be affective.  A product called Thornit is supposed to be affective for  ear mites and I have some on order from the UK where it is made but it has not arrived thus far.  I want to be prepared just in case.

 

 

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

I have read excellent reviews of Zymox. There are hundreds of reviews online and they are mostly positive. I ordered it for Ollie because his ears were a bit smelly and he was scratching them. Within a day he stopped scratching and the smell disappeared completely in about 3 days.

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

We don't have any issues with ears with our doodles but our maltese Bindi has had cronic ear issues for years.  Last year we started treating her with Zymox products and she hasn't had an issue with her ears that Zymox hasn't been able to handle since!  Fabulous product!

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Where do they sell these?  Petsmart, Petco?

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

Jane,

I buy mine from a little boutique in the mountains but I just googled it and found it a whole lot cheaper via www.drugstore.com and the like.  I've been paying $25 for Zymox with HC .5% 1.25 fl oz.....looks like I can get it cheaper online :)

[Sandra Griffith]

I was not able to find it in any brick and mortar store near me.  I ordered it on line through Amazon.com were the Zymox Otic with hydrocortisone was $9.99.  You may also order it from the people who manufacture it (Pet King Brands).  It is $14.99 at drugstore.com.  You would have to calculate the shipping costs to see which is cheaper for you.