Treating Swimmer's Ear At Home Is Easy!

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Treating Swimmer's Ear At Home Is Easy!

When swimmers come across the itchy, annoying and painful symptoms of swimmer's ear, it can result in a trip to the doctor's office for a round of prescription antibiotics and painkillers. But what people don't know is that many of these doctor's visits don't have to be the first line of treatment! According to the Mayo Clinic (provide link address), self-care steps can be used to treat most cases of swimmer's ear without the use of prescriptions or costly visits to your local doctor's office - good news for those of us who are uninsured or have more important things to do than spend unnecessary time and money at the clinic.

Swimmer's ear, or otis externa, is a painful infection of the skin lining the ear canal, often brought on by exposure to water. Four out of every 1,000 people are affected annually by swimmer's ear including children and adults alike, but the risk increases for avid swimmers who are constantly in the water. Also, experts say that once an individual has contracted swimmer's ear, the risk of contracting it again is significantly higher.

To limit the risk of becoming infected with swimmer's ear be sure to:

* Keep your ears dry. Dry your outer ear thoroughly after exposure to moisture from swimming or bathing with a clean towel. Note: never insert your finger or any sharp or hard object into your ear.

* Avoid swimming in polluted water.

If you do develop swimmer's ear, before making a trip to the doctor and turning to prescription antibiotics to deal with swimmer's ear, try following these easy tips to heal the infection at home:

* Place a warm (not hot) heating pad over or against your ear to help reduce pain.

* Keep your ear dry while it's healing. Use earplugs when showering or bathing. Don't swim or clean your ears until the infection is gone.

* Use natural earache treatments such as Hyland's Earache Drops to relieve earache symptoms including throbbing, pulsing pain, burning sensation, and ear congestion (www.hylandsearache.com).

If after two days symptoms persist, it is recommended that you see a doctor, but these handy tips should help to clear most cases of swimmer's ear and to ensure your next visit to the pool doesn't end with an unnecessary trip to the doctor's office. in.

9 Comments

Posted on 07 May 2008

by Rachel @ 10 Apr 2010 11:28 pm

Actually, homepathic medicines are completely safe even for babies. FDA approves vaccines which contain very harmful and known heavy metals and toxins. Both my children had severe vaccine damage and autism and I recovered them using homeopathy. We use homeopathy to treat everything and never use any other medicine. Haven't been to a "doctor" since my children were injured from vaccines and they said they couldn't help. Homeopathy is a very accredited medicine and used world wide for hundreds and even thousands of years in some countries. For swimmers ear Belladonna, Hepar S. and Pulsatilla are most common. Just google swimmers ear and homeopathy. You can buy homeopathic remedies at any health food or Whole Foods store. For more serious problems you can see a licensed Homepath. FYI, homeopathy is a severely diluted substance so it is the "essence" of whatever it is made from. I.E. Mercurius does not have any trace of mercury. Google how homeopathy works to understand.

by Karen @ 28 Mar 2010 07:03 pm

Noel is incorrect re homeopathic remedies and the FDA: http://healing.about.com/od/homeopathy/a/homeopathy_fact_4.htm .

by jalan @ 11 Jun 2009 08:56 pm

i hope this works cause my ear has been hurting for 2 days so im not going back to the pool for a while

by Cassidy @ 01 May 2009 03:10 pm

I'll try these thx wink

by Noel @ 26 Jan 2009 05:44 pm

I am a pharmacy student and learning about homeopathic products in school. You are right, they are not evaluated by the FDA. They also do not have expiration dates. This is because the concentration of the active ingredients, like the mercury, are so low that they can't be measured. Since the mercury concentration is so low, it is likely not to be toxic.

by Hazel @ 19 Nov 2008 02:35 am

I frequently get ear infections and yes always when I get my head wet then catch a chill. This happens so often I usually just wait for the symptoms to disappear. Recently I purchased an earache medicine from Target, made for target called Homeopathic earache drops. When I read the ingredients- it contains chamomile and mercurius solubilis. What? I thought mercury was considered a toxin and not allowed for use in this country for even sealed thermometers. So how is this solution safe to pour into my inner ear canal? All I found on this subject on the net were several homeopathic sites that sell mercurius solubilis, but nothing about the dangers in doing so. On the other hand when I look up mercury... all I read is information on it's poisonous nature. I am guessing that homeopathic medicine does not submit or have FDA approval.. Can anyone shed some light on this?

by kristine @ 10 Jul 2008 11:11 am

by Annette @ 09 Jul 2008 12:45 pm

by yp @ 09 May 2008 10:59 am

fantastic

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