The Mystery of Ear Infections

Last week we saw 2 dogs that had severe fungal (yeast) ear infections. Some of you might have dogs that experience chronic ear infections. You may be constantly monitoring, cleaning, and medicating one or both ears. You may even have been told that these infections are a symptom of allergies, and perhaps you have tried antibiotics, antihistamines, steroids, and/or hypoallergenic prescription diets for your dogs. Some dogs with severe, chronic bacterial infections may even have had an ear ablation, in which the ear canal is surgically removed in an attempt at a final solution.

The medical term for these ear infections is otitis, and most commonly otitis externa, or inflammation of the outer ear canal. In conventional medical practice, a sample must be taken from the ear canal to examine the organisms present. The thinking is if we can just find out what organisms are predominant in the ear canal, and kill them, then all will be well. You just gotta love the germ theory. It makes things so simple.

If only life worked that way. The ears are actually outposts of the immune system, along with the anal glands. Both will often flare up together, so if your dog has an ear infection, you might want to get those anal glands checked, even if your dog is not scooting or showing other signs of rear end distress.

Why is this? When the immune system is disrupted, and the detoxification systems of the body cannot function normally, your dog’s body will attempt to clean house any way it can. Mucous membranes, such as the lining of the ear canals and the delicate lining of glands are one avenue that the body will utilize to remove toxic debris out of the internal milieu.

The word “infection” is somewhat of a misnomer. The yeast and bacteria have not arrived from a distant location and landed in your dog’s ear. They are normal inhabitants of every millimeter of our skin, and they are vital to a functioning immune system. The real solution to ear infections is to rebuild and reorganize the immune system, while restoring normal detoxification processes, so that the body does not need to continually produce this repulsive discharge.

The two most important changes you can make to help with ear infections are to improve your dog’s diet and stop vaccinating it. The best diet is a varied, no-grain, raw food diet. We also recommend that you stop vaccinating your allergic dog immediately. Vaccines are extremely disruptive to the immune system. Both processed pet food and vaccinations are common causes and perpetuators of allergy symptoms.

Further treatment of ear infections involves targeted nutritional supplements and individualized homeopathic remedies for your dog. We often add cranial-sacral therapy, Reiki, and acupressure to speed healing.

Help is available, even for the most chronic of conditions. Given the correct assistance and support, you’ll be amazed at how your dog’s body can heal itself!