Now that summer has arrived, spending more time in the pool is an everyday occurrence for a lot of children and adults. But this favorite summertime activity doesn’t have to turn into a headache- or a pain in the ear that is.
Swimmers’ ear is an infection of the outer ear canal that is caused by bacteria that grow in warm moist places. Sometimes out attempts at hygiene and curing the problem only make it worse. Many people use cotton swabs to clean the ear canal on a daily basis, but this can actually harm the ear by disrupting the protective wax coating of the ear canal. This allows the water to contact the skin, changing the pH and allowing bacteria to enter the skin. Cotton swabs can also cause trauma to the very delicate skin of the ear canal and cause an infection.
There is a very simple preventative remedy that you can use at home for swimmers ear. The first is to dry the ear canal after swimming by holding a hair dryer about 12 inches from the ear on a low setting and dry out the ear canal. The other preventative treatment is to add a few drops of a mixture of half white vinegar and half rubbing alcohol to the ears. Both solutions will inhibit the growth of bacteria and the alcohol will help dry up any water remaining inside the ear. This remedy should not be used if an infection is already in progress. Placing any kind of fluid inside a painful ear without the advice of a physician is not advised.
Seek professional treatment for any painful ear conditions.
