Difference between Malotic and Otomax?

Question

My 2.5 year old APBT has had ear problems. He had his ears cleaned when he was at the SPCA being neutered. I didn't get to speak to the vet there and all that was written on his papers was that he had "yellow-brown debris" in his ears that did not look like mites (his regular vet told us he had mites but she was also standing like 6ft away from him to check his ears. Needless to say, he won't be returning to see her!) They said that they applied Malotic to his ears and we could get some from a regular veterinarian. All the places that I've called say that they don't carry Malotic -- only Otomax. Is there a difference between the two?

His ears smelled really bad, had yellowish crust, and he sounded like he had fluid in them when he shook. They were also very sensitive to touch. What could have caused this?

Answer 1

Malotic is just another name for an ear cleansing antibacterial property. Your dog sound like it has a yeast infection. A proper ear cytology should be done. Otomax and other "otic" drugs should be fine. Interestingly enough otic ear cleaners and antibiotics can cause deafness with prolonged continued use in chronic cases. Help prevent yeast infections by cleasing your dogs ears out with a warm wet washcloth follow by a dry one or paper towel. Clean out as much gunk as you can see. Do this weekly. If your dog swims do it after swimming too. If you have another dog licking and sucking on his ears stop the behavior and cleanse them again. This will help prevent re-occurrances.

Answer 2

I would get him checked by another vet and see if they can get the debris out of his ears and they will probably give you Otomax to use. It is basically the same medicine as the Malotic. He should see a vet especially if you think there is fluid in his ears.
Mites may be treated differently but he needs to go to a vet ASAP
Good luck

Answer 3

perhaps when the dog was bathed water go into the ear canal and now it's become infected... Otomax is a very strong antibiotic used for ear infections. however, given too often can actually cause deafness. Both work... but my suggestion would be to also ask the Vet for a "rinse and drying agent" that can be used daily for cleansing the ear... do this outside so the dog can shake their head to get rid of the junk that's building. you can take a q-tip but do NOT go deep into the ear - just enough to get the loose stuff you see.

Answer 4

I have a basset hound who has problems with his ears and the Otomax has been prescribed to him on a few occasions for infection. He has a more serious problem with yeast in his ears. This could be what your dog has as well. I say that because my dog has liquid in his ears and the vet said it was almost entirely yeast. My vet believes my dog has a food allergy which caused for the yeast and infections so we have recently put him on a strict diet to see how it works. You should take your dog to a vet where they will take swabs of his ears and analyze them to see what the problem is. If you don't want to do that, you might try changing to a hypo-allergenic dog food.

Answer 5

I don't think there is a huge difference, just different brands. I've had to use both before (different vets) and they seem to have worked equally well for my lab's ear infection (yeast). Did the vet take a sample of the debris to see whether it is bacterial, fungal, or yeast infection? That can make a difference in treating it.

Answer 6

Malotic is Gentamicin and betamethasone, Otomax is Gentamicin, betamethasone and clotrimazole. Gentamicin is an antibiotic, betamethasone is a steroid and clotrimazole is used for yeast. So, Otomax would be an alright substitute for Malotic.

Answer 7

Same active agents-just different brands-should work exactly the same