Hi Danone, you raise several good points and I can understand why.
I will try and answer them as best I can.
Firstly you need to be aware that surolan is a prescription-only medication. That means it cannot be obtained/given to an animal unless authorised and prescribed by a vet. If you have a bottle I suspect that is because your vet has prescribed it for you in the past for a different condition or even for a different animal? If you now give it to your piggie without vet approval you will be breaking the law. It is a very powerful medication that not only contains antifungal and antibacterial antibiotics but also steroids to control inflammation and that is why it should only be given to an animal under the direction of a vet....and that is why no-one on the forum would tell you it is Ok to use in your current situation (because then the forum (and thus its owners) would be deemed as complicit in encouraging someone to break the law) and why you will be told instead to seek veterinary advice.
Second: The Peter Gurney site, for the same reason, only recommends "over-the-counter" products, many of which are natural products such as tea tree drops or hwat he quotes as "conventional" ear drops for canker ie otodex. A prescription isn't needed to buy "conventional" (over the counter) goods. Surolan is not in this category - you need a prescription to get it..and nowhere on his site does he mention this product by name as a treatment for ear mites.
In respect of the manufacturers claims for Surolan.....Looking at the manufacturers literature as you rightly point out, their pack insert states "for treatment of ear and skin infections caused by yeasts, bacteria and ear mites". However if you look at their technical literature, it is clear that the product is designed to treat THE EFFECTS of ear mite infection (ie swelling, inflammation and possibly secondary infection with bacteria or yeast that all accompany an ear mite infection). In one clinical test it cured 90% of dogs and 80% of cats after 21 days (but NOT all of them) and therefore one could assume the ear mites were killed in those animals. BUT...as the manufacturers themselves state:
"The results of this study indicate both products were
effective in the treatment of canine and feline otoacariasis.
The mode of action remains unclear, because none of the
active ingredients of either product has a known acaricidal
activity. One hypothesis is that the vehicle of the products
(liquid paraffin, Surolan or sesame oil, Canaural) may alter
the habitat of the ear canal in such a way that it becomes
biologically unsuitable for the mites. Another hypothesis is
that the mites are simply drowned, suffocated or immobilised
by the vehicleâ€."
Link to technical literature is below
http://www.ausrichter.com/files/newsletters/Newsletter 15.pdf
Finally you also need to bear in mind that the cat/dog ear mite is Otodectis cynotis. This is not the same mite that infects guinea pigs which is larger and called Psoroptes cuniculi. There is no data to show the liquid paraffin in surolan has the same effect on Psoroptes as was seen on Otodectis.
Hence, the only veterinary-recognised treatment for actually killing guinea pig ear mites at the moment is ivermectin ( a vet may prescribe surolan in addition to ivermectin, to treat the inflammation or a secondary infection)
I hope I have managed to address your remaining questions and that you get a suitable treatment for your piggies tomorrow from the vet. I'm bowing out of this thread now as I think the original issue (ie what to do about your piggies ears) has been addressed.
x
