Ear hematoma in a cat: treatment of auricular hematoma in cats

1.General information

The appearance of blood where it is not intended by nature is in all cases a serious symptom and requires medical intervention. We are, of course, not talking about scratches, donation, regular menstruation in women and other obvious situations; An alarming sign is internal or external hemorrhages (bleeding, hemorrhages), or the admixture of blood in biological substances.

Blood should not flow from the external auditory canal under any circumstances.

Therefore, regardless of how the patient himself feels about this phenomenon (and the reaction in some cases can be completely inadequate, up to anosognosia, i.e. denial of the very fact of the presence of a disease or symptom), contact a doctor, at a minimum, for advice is strictly required.

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Ixodid tick

Ixodid tick Sometimes an ixodid tick that has burrowed into an ear or another part of the body and sucked blood is mistaken for a lump.
Ticks are brought home by cats traveling through areas rich in bushes. Arthropods most often attack in early spring.

Ticks can carry the following infectious diseases:

1. Borreliosis or Weill's disease - bacteria lead to refusal to eat, dermatitis, and heart problems. Lymph nodes enlarge. After 2 months, lameness develops.
2. Hemobartonellosis: rickettsia, which are activated under the influence of stress and consumption of large amounts of raw river fish. Anemia develops - urine becomes thin, mucous membranes become pale.

If an arthropod is torn off, severe inflammation will develop

Therefore, a responsible owner of a roaming cat purchases a tick remover and carefully removes the parasite. You should work carefully: if you crush a tick, its contents will fall on your hands

Parasites transmit infectious diseases of cats, dogs and humans.

Unscrewing the pliers

Reliable protection - Spot-on drops that protect against ticks, fleas and worms. The parasite should be placed in a bottle and taken to the laboratory. If pathogens are detected, early treatment will avoid consequences.

2. Reasons

Bleeding from the ear is considered a relatively rare occurrence, although the possible causes are quite numerous and varied:

• traumatic brain and otoinjuries;
• acute purulent otitis media;
• perforation of the eardrum when cleaning the ears with an object not intended for this purpose;
• barotrauma (during scuba diving, a nearby explosion, a sharp rise in the plane to altitude, etc.);
• spontaneous opening of a purulent abscess in the ear canal;
• tumor processes, benign or malignant;
• polypous hyperplasia;
• foreign body with sharp edges;
• active fungal (most often candida) infections of the ear canal.

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What causes ear inflammation?

If a cat scratches its ears from time to time, this is not a reason for serious concern. To distinguish your pet’s normal life from illness, you need to pay attention to other signs:

• There may be discharge from the ears with an unpleasant odor;
• the ears smell bad;
• the cat scratches near its ears until it bleeds;
• the animal’s head is tilted towards the affected ear;
• the cat does not allow you to touch his ears;
• the pet's behavior changes.

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If these signs appear, the cat owner should act immediately.

3. Symptoms and diagnosis

The main symptom, in fact, is reflected in the title. The amount of blood, depending on the reasons, can vary - from one drop to a noticeable trickle.

Likewise, the color and composition of the discharge may vary - pure scarlet blood, bloody cloudy mucous fluid, pus streaked with blood, etc.

Only an otolaryngologist can establish the causes, assess the degree of danger and prescribe additional diagnostic procedures. In addition to standard otoscopy, radiography, CT or MRI, laboratory smear analysis, and consultations with specialized specialists may be required.

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The cat is bleeding

There are different situations when kittens, cats and cats start bleeding and here you need to know what happens and why in most cases. Such knowledge allows you to immediately decide on first aid, and also allows you to roughly understand how the treatment of the problem that has arisen will proceed.

It is clear that the article is purely informational, since treatment can be prescribed only after the cat has been examined by a veterinarian, since no one undertakes to make a diagnosis in absentia.

A cat has bleeding before birth, during pregnancy, from the uterus, during childbirth, cannot give birth, after birth, what to do and why this happens

A pregnant cat started bleeding before giving birth, which means there was a miscarriage. This is possible if the cat is still very young, has been injured, or has contracted an infectious disease. The cat's owner may not even notice that the cat has miscarried, since the cat licks and eats the remains of the fetus.

If the fetus is large or does not lie correctly in the womb, then the cat cannot give birth for a long time. You need to lubricate the cat’s vulva with soapy water and, wearing sterile gloves, use your finger to guide the kitten in the desired direction. If the birth is prolonged and the cat is exhausted, you need to urgently call a veterinarian. During childbirth there should be no blood, since the cat gnaws the umbilical cord itself, but if blood still flows, then you need to cut the umbilical cord with sterile scissors and tie it.

If a cat bleeds after giving birth, tissue has ruptured. For minor bleeding, it is enough to give the cat a hemostatic drug. If the blood flows for a long time and in large quantities, then surgery is needed. The cause of heavy bleeding may be an infection or perhaps a fetus remaining in the uterus. Urgent surgery and antibiotic treatment are needed.

With gastritis and a perforated ulcer, the cat may bleed

Source

4.Treatment

In any case, first aid consists of ensuring the free evacuation of blood and other discharge from the ear canal.

In other words, you cannot pack the ear with cotton, place the patient on his side with the bleeding ear facing up, etc. If there is a risk of infection, use gauze or a bandage, which is applied in several layers to the auricle and bandaged loosely. As a last resort (if medical assistance is obviously not provided soon), instillation of a 0.3% hydrogen peroxide solution into the ear canal is allowed.

It is strictly contraindicated to heat the ear or try to independently remove a foreign body, even if it is clearly visible. Both contraindications apply especially to parents and grandmothers of small children.

In any situation, the first priority is to transport the patient to a doctor as quickly as possible or (depending on the circumstances and general condition) to call an ambulance.

Further therapeutic or surgical strategy is determined by the identified cause of bleeding.

Conservative methods of treating ear hematoma:

Aspiration using a surgical needle . This method is suitable for cases where complex surgical intervention can be avoided. The hematoma is punctured with a needle and the liquid is sucked out using a syringe. Hormones and antibiotics are injected back into the cavity through the same needle into the hematoma cavity. In general, the method is not reliable, and a positive result is not always achieved. And the aspiration procedure, as a rule, needs to be repeated from 3 to 7 times.

Installation of capillary drainage into the hematoma cavity. Possible with some perseverance from the patient. The inner surface of the auricle is treated with a topical anesthetic, then local anesthesia is performed. The hematoma is opened and a silicone strip is inserted into its cavity - drainage. Through it, all newly formed fluid is removed from the hematoma. The swelling cannot form again and gradual fusion of the cavity occurs. The method is effective only in the case of constant compression on the area of ​​the hematoma, therefore with this method of treatment it is always necessary to press the ear tightly against the head with elastic bandages for the entire healing period. This is not always technically possible, and without this condition the method does not work well.

Ointments and compresses . This is perhaps the most unreliable method of treating otohematomas. It is used only in cases where it is impossible to contact a veterinarian. It works sometimes, but more often it is used to delay the development of a hematoma and relieve inflammation from it, until it can be examined by a doctor. Ointments containing hormonal, cooling, vasoconstrictive and capillary blood supply components are applied to the swelling. Plus, hot compresses containing dioxidin, dimexide, novocaine and hormones are applied to the hematoma for 20-30 minutes 2 times a day.

How many times do you need to rinse for a lasting effect?

Ear rinsing is usually used once. A few days before the procedure, the plug softens and comes out easily during the washing process. But, if the specialist was unable to completely clean the ear the first time, a second appointment is scheduled.

To prevent such cases from happening, you need to choose high-quality treatment centers whose staff will definitely not harm your health. Just such a center is located in Kuntsevo. Our center employs excellent, responsive and competent professionals who can easily help you wash your ears. And they will tell you in detail what to do after the procedure.

Recommendations after procedures

After washing the diseased organ, under no circumstances should you expose it to cold, wind, or excess moisture. Otherwise, you can catch a cold in your ear, and then you will have to treat a whole bunch of diseases. Also, after rinsing, ear drops may be prescribed, which must be dripped in order to complete all stages of treatment.

If you decide to rinse your ears yourself, remember that you can injure delicate skin, eardrums or ear canals. One careless movement during the cleaning process can harm the entire body. But in the Kuntsevo Medical Center this will never be allowed, since expert-level ENT specialists work there, who use the latest otolaryngological equipment and a huge amount of knowledge and experience in treatment.

Possible complications

If the cat does not receive timely treatment, the pathological process does not stop, and infection may additionally occur. Suppuration is very dangerous because the sensitive auditory nerve runs nearby. The infection can quickly spread to the brain, causing death.

So, complications may be as follows:

• cosmetic defect:
• suppuration;
• complete or partial deafness;
• meningitis;
• sepsis.

We have listed them in order of severity and characteristics of development in the absence of treatment. Timely therapy is very important, especially as the disease progresses. Most often, cats that receive proper care recover quickly.

Treatment at the ZHIVAGO clinic

When pets come to our clinic, an examination is first carried out, the doctor determines the size and characteristics of the hematoma. If subcutaneous bleeding is fresh and severe, urgent measures are taken. An instrumental examination is carried out only if a more serious injury is suspected, in which other organs could also be affected.

Treatment may be as follows:

• for minor hemorrhages, the contents are pumped out with a syringe and a bandage is applied;
• voluminous hematomas are opened, treated and sutured with the obligatory wearing of a special collar;
• Additionally, antibiotics, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs may be prescribed;
• The cat is observed for some time to exclude postoperative complications.

The doctor selects a program after examining the pet, coordinating it with the owners. All actions are carried out within the framework of clinical recommendations.