You’ve noticed your pet is scratching their ears continuously or they have a new scaly, irritated or raised patch on their skin? This is where microscopic exams can possibly come in handy.
Ears
The veterinarian will take a sample from the ear using an ear swab and then apply the substance to a microscope slide to view under the microscope to see whether or not there are ear mites and to differentiate if the substance is bacteria vs. yeast vs. fungus.
Upon reading the results, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate medication. Doing this test ensures the vet is prescribing the correct medication and not a generalized medication.
Skin
For the skin, it’s a similar process but instead, it’s using the cells from the skin the vet gently scrapes off. Upon reviewing under the microscope, it can reveal fungi, bacteria, abnormal cells and parasites such as mange. Determining what’s causing the irritation/skin flare up leads to the appropriate medication being prescribed.
