Swimmers' Ear Alert

—Stop it Before It Starts

 

We haven't heard of a single case of swimmer's ear yet —and hopefully with an ounce of prevention we can keep it that way this year. Swimmer's ear keeps Flyers out of the water — including practice and meets each year. Let's reduce the casualties this year with good preventive care.

Here's what two reliable sources have to say about swimmer's ear, Dr. Larry Murphy, and The Rodale Book —Doctors Book of Home Remedies" as posted on the Internet at http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/47/125.cfm.

From the Rodale book, The Doctors Book of Home Remedies

If you could reduce yourself to the size of a flea and crawl into a swimmer's ear, you'd likely see an ear canal that's angry and red. It would look itchy, and you'd notice there's very little earwax. It would feel moist and smell clammy from bacteria burrowing and tunneling into the skin.

What you'd be seeing inside that swimmer's ear is a classic case of otitis externa, an infection better known — not surprisingly — as swimmer's ear.


All it takes to come down with a stubborn bout of swimmer's ear is a set of ears and unrelenting moisture. "It's like keeping your hands in dishwater. The skin gets macerated and leathery," says Brian W. Hands, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist in private practice in Toronto. "The ears are constantly bathed in water-swimming, showering, shampooing. Then people try to dry the ear with a cotton-tipped swab. That takes the top layer of skin off, along with protective bacteria. Then the bad bacteria win."

Swimmer's ear begins as an itchy ear. Left untreated, it can turn into a full-blown infection. The pain can be excruciating. Once infection sets in, you'll need a doctor's help and a round of antibiotics to squelch it. But there are plenty of things you can do to keep the pain from getting worse, and even more to stop it before it starts.

 

Blow-dry your ears. Eliminate the moisture in your ears, says Dr. Hands, every time you get them wet, whether or not you suspect an infection. Pull the flap of your ear up and out to straighten the ear canal and aim your hair dryer into your ear from 18 to 20 inches away. Use either a warm or cool setting, but let the dryer blow for 30 seconds. That will dry the ear, eliminating the moist conditions bacteria and fungi find most attractive for growth.

 

Leave your earwax alone. Earwax serves several purposes, including harboring friendly bacteria, say Dr. Kamerer and Dr. House. Cooperate with your natural defenses by not swabbing the wax out. Wax coats the ear canal, protecting it from moisture.

Advice from Dr. Murphy

 

Here's Dr. Larry Murphy's advice for stopping swimmer's ear before it starts:

 

Make a mixture of 2 parts rubbing alcohol and 1 part white vinegar and put it in a dropper bottle. After leaving the water dry each ear and put 2 to 3 drops of solution in each ear. Do not rub the ear canal with a towel or Q-tip. Instead, allow gravity to let the water out.

 

After the last swim of the day and when you’re home, reapply the solution and blow the ear dry with a hair dryer set on low speed and low heat.

 

 

 

 

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