Solutions for Canine Otitis

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this experiment was to find easily accessible solutions to kill bacteria and yeast found in the infected ears of dogs. The hypothesis is, if bacteria grown from a dog's ear infection is treated with a homeopathic solution that kills bacteria and yeast with similar effectiveness to the medication, Mometamax, then it is feasible that the homeopathic solution could treat canine otitis. Methods/Materials This experiment used multiple homeopathic solutions: salt water, hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, and a combination of apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. The experiment collected swab samples from the infected ears of dogs which were used to inoculate petri dishes to grow pathogens. Two types of agar were used, nutrient agar and yeast agar. Each trial set grew 3 samples and used 4 dogs throughout the experiment. All the petri dishes had small discs of coffee filter soaked in the homeopathic solutions and placed into the petri dishes. Areas around discs where pathogens didn't grow were considered kill zones. Results The results proved apple cider to be the most effective homeopathic solution when treating bacteria and yeast. The data showed that apple cider had the most kill zones in the bacteria and yeast trails and was even more effective in numerous trials than Mometamax. Hydrogen peroxide also showed good results against yeast. Conclusions/Discussion In conclusion, the hypothesis was correct, because apple cider vinegar proved to be most effective when treating bacteria and yeast, which could make it a viable treatment for canine otitis.

Awards (1)

• Fourth Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2018 Microbiology (Medical) (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1702

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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