Any suggestions to help my Bear

I'm having issues with Bear and his E collar. He was bitten by fire ants a couple days ago and he scratched up the bridge of his nose. I took him to the vet, got him meds and an E collar to keep him from scratching. The E collar is supposed to keep him from scratching his nose open. Well, He's now got the bites around his eyes bleeding as well. He using his paw to hit his E collar into his nose and eyes and it actually causing more damage. I tried taking off his E collar and just watching him and he just constantly is scratching at his nose and eyes with his paws.

When he brings his paws up and hits the collar with them, he's hitting the collar into his nose and eyes and breaking open the scabs that are starting to form. I can't take the E collar off or he'll have every bite bleeding and oozing. I can't bandage the bridge of his nose so he can't rip it open since I'd have to bandage his entire muzzle. That would stop him from eating and most definatly would make him want to scratch more.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any words of advice for me?? I take him and Dixie to the vet tomorrow for her staples to come out and to have them just check up on his face. There's nothing else they can really do except sedate him. I really don't want to do that unless I really really have to. If there's anything I can do, I'm willing to try.

Poor baby! Erm....i don't know. Could you try putting Cortizone cream or something to help ease the itch? Benedryl? I don't know but i got a single bite on my leg together and man it's itchy.

If the itching is from the healing, try keeping Vitamin E oil on his wounds. Also, you might try some Benadryl. It will not only help with the itching from the bite venom, but will tend to calm him down. The dosage my vets have told me to use is typically 1 mg per body weight, but I only do half that.

Oh, and you might try taping socks onto his feet

WHen i had two large labs hooked up to ivs because they had parvo i was about to lose it, they would jump up to vomit and rip out the iv. NO one was there to relieve me and i was so exhausted after 48 hours of this watch i didn't know what to do. I asked the vet couldn't they please have a sedative. He gave them to me, i gave them to them and we all managed to make it through, the iv's stayed in place, and with the antinausua drugs, and the sedative i think they healed faster then they would have fighting the pain and waves of sickness. Maybe your vet could give you a sedative for your dog, let him sleep it out until his skin has had a chance to heal. THat is the only thing i can think of. Sorry i don't have anything better to suggest.

Thanks for all the suggestions. He did get a shot of benadryl at the vets office when I took him so I'll try that. The way it looks, it's going to take quite a while for this to heal up. So I can try the Benadryl. If that doesn't work, I might have to get him sedatives. I'd rather him be sleepy and calm than in pain and miserable. I just don't really want to drug him umless I absolutely have to.