[Dailydrool] Morse update - pseudomonas infection

[Adrienne Gillespie via Dailydrool]

Fiona has had several psudomonas infections in her ears. It has been an 
ongoing problem almost since I got her. You are correct that there are 
few antibiotics that fight it. Right now, she is on an ear drop cocktail 
that is a mic of Baytril, dexamethasone, and tobramycin. Before that she 
was on a mix of Baytril, dexamethasone,and amakacin, which is REALLy 
expensive. ($240/month for the drops!!!). We;ve also had drops with 
clindamycin, polymixin and few others I can't remember.

Here is what I've learned:

1. You can use something for a while, then it will stop working. You try 
something else and then it stops. Eventually, you can cycle back to one 
that worked before, so don;t throw anything away!!!

2. You must be vigilant. As soon as you see a flare up happen, get in 
and at your vet run a culture. That way you will know just the right 
drug to use and not waste time while the problem spins out of control. 
The culture will usually give you a couple of drugs to choose from. They 
don;t always give the the most expensive one first.

3. Develop a cleaning protocol. Fiona gets her ears flushed every other 
day with a mix of water and EpiOtic cleaner (not sure if that is 
available in the UK or not). I also bather with shampoo containing 
chlorhexadine and have chlorhexadine wipes for hot spots.

This might sound like a lot of work, but it is just part of our routine 
now.

Be patient, but vigilant. It will clear up eventually. If it is not, 
have your vet check the culture results and see what other options there 
are.

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Adrienne Gillespie
clara at spiritone.com
http://booksandbassets.wordpress.com