Insect bite

[Fsmackit]

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Hi, I have a 17kg Staffie bitch (3 yr old) . Four days ago she was bitten by something in her ear, possibly a bee or a wasp. Her ear swelled up and she was itching it and shaking her head. I gave her some Zyrtec (anytihistamine Cetrizine) 1 10mg tablet once a day. This eased the discomfort but didn't bring the swelling down. After 2 days I switched to Piriton (chlorphenamine) one 4mg tablet twice a day. Again, this seems to have eased the irritation but her ear is still swollen and is hard. I was wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar and whether it would help if I lanced the swelling and drained the fluid? Any similar experiences from anyone would be useful.

Many thanks

Fi

 

[eingana]

Hi Fi and welcome to Dog Forum

Is the lump from the bite, or from the physical damage that she did to it from kicking it? If she's kicked it until she's got a haematoma then it may not only need lancing but may need holding together with buttons or stitches until it is healed too, as haematomas have a nasty habit of refilling with blood repeatedly as the layers inside the ear get separated very easily.

What colour is the lump? Swelling from bites tends to be a paler red than haematomas and if it's become more generalised than just the bite area itself or is dark, looks like it may be filled with fluid or is lumpy (rather than just the one lump of the bite) then you really need to not try to treat this by yourself and get your little one to a vet I'm afraid. There's no point at all in lancing something that is just going to refill and run the risk of introducing infection at the same time, is there?

 

[Fsmackit]

Hi, thanks for the prompt response. The swelling is just inside her ear, it is under the skin and slightly pink and warm. I think it is just the reaction to the bite, no other physical damage. I cannot see where the bite happened, there is no broken skin visible, just a lump about 2 inches long, along the length of her inner ear. It is only one lump - i.e it is not "lumpy" but rather smooth and hard.

 

[eingana]

Thank you for that clarification. That sounds much more like inflammation from the bite, which basically needs to go down with time, antihistamines and maybe some Sudocrem, which contains local anaesthetic and an astringent to help reduce the swelling. You've done well if you've kept your little one from causing extra physical damage to it actually- I know so many dogs that would have kicked their ear into holes before they could be stopped.