dirty ethel rackham Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 It's not any small child. It's me. I have had issues wi th recurring swimmers ear and a subsequent constant irritation in my ears for years. (Most days I feel like I have bus crawling in my ears when I supposedly don't have an infection according to the doctors.) Today, I have a feeling of fullness and some pain when I touch my outer ear. I can't get in to see my regular doc and I kow that, if I go to urgent care, they will tell.me that I don't have an infection. Okay, rant over. What can I do? I need this gone and I need to manage with over the counter and/or herbal remedies. I start a new job on Monday and I'm worried about having the stamina to do the job without this issue. What say you, Dr. Hive? Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I use half alcohol, half vinegar and drop into my son's ears. It usually works pretty quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 (edited) The best thing we ever did was get some ear putty for swimming. We got it at cvs and put it in ds's ears before swimming. Works great! ETA-I think they were called silicon ear plugs? Edited August 4, 2017 by Moxie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykidsrmyjoy Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Not sure if this cleared up DDs swimmers ear or not, but it did seem to improve after I tried it. I put 2-3 drops of tea tree oil in coconut oil and put a few drops in DD's ear. DD also used silicone ear plugs the year she had more trouble with swimmers ear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted August 4, 2017 Author Share Posted August 4, 2017 I use the alcohol drops after showers and swimming to prevent ear infections. I dont think they are good.for healing an infection that has already taken hold. It burns going in. I went swimming last week and had run out of drops. I did buy the silicone ear plugs and more drops, but it hurts to use them now. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 We use Dryears when water won't come out. I've used the orange Macks putty too but sometimes they fall out and it's annoying having to buy them all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I use half alcohol, half vinegar and drop into my son's ears. It usually works pretty quickly. Yes, I have been using this on my kids for years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I just pour a capful of rubbing alcohol in my ear- hold it in there for 10 seconds and flip my ear to the other side (catching liquid in a tissue). It works everytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Cure: Those antibiotic drops. Cure when they can't see an infection and it hasn't quite taken hold yet: Strong alcohol dripping to the ear, along with heavy doses of the real Sudafed to clear congestion from inside. Prevention: I've had several recommendations for this. One is to use wax plugs in the water, but I find that that is iffy because they leak and also they create a moist, warm environment that bacteria adore. Another is to use a 50/50 mix of alcohol and vinegar after water exposure. Another is to use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and peroxide, ditto. Another is to use Swimmer's Ear, ditto, which IIRC is glycerin and some kind of solvent, I forget what. What has actually worked for me, for years, is avoiding ear buds, ear plugs, and headphones completely, and rinsing my ears with strong (90%+) alcohol every time they get wet, and clipping damp hair back behind my ears until it's entirely dry, plus keeping it back there when I'm feeling 'marginal' like you're describing. I haven't had an actual infection in years, and I used to get them all the time. Warning: My doctor gave me Cipro the first few times. I think it permanently damaged my tendons. Beware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 If you have swimmer's frequently, you probably have ear canals that do not naturally get rid of wax build up. Ask me how I know. I had swimmers ear regularly until I was in my thirties, when a nurse explained how to prevent. I have to keep wax from building up. That way there's no place for water to be trapped. So I flush my ears about monthly was peroxide and warm water 1:1 solution. At first I had lots of wax so I had to do debrox drops to loosen it and regularly flush. Now, I only need to flush. I used to put alcohol drops in after swimming and sometimes showering too. But I don't need to. Water doesn't get stuck behind wax so my ears dry out without the alcohol. If I do get an infection (I haven't had one in a couple years) I started using NutriBiotic Ear Drops, containing grapefruit seed extract and tea tree oil. I don't know how I discovered them, probably at a health food store. The natural antibiotic (tea tree oil) kills the infection just as well as any prescription. I can treat my ear without waiting for an appointment, waiting at the doctor, going to the drug store with the prescription etc. I keep a dropper bottle in my medicine cabinet. for me it also costs less than copays. https://www.amazon.com/Nutribiotic-Ear-Drops-Fluid-Ounce/dp/B00014DROG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1501887801&sr=8-1&keywords=nutribiotic+ear+drops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) I don't have wax buildup. I'm probably too aggressive cleaning my ears because I've had the bugs crawling in my ears sensation off and on since I had a horrible case of swimmers ear 16 years ago. I had a toddler at the time and self care wasn't happening. It got so bad I felt like someone was stabbing me in the ear with an ice pic. I don't think we ever fully got rid of it so I've been struggling with it. I've been to the doctor for this many times and they keep telling me it is not infected. By I know it is. Anything with alcohol is very painful in my ears. It seems like i feel it burning all the way through the ustacean tubes. Dh picked up some garlic mullein oil at the health food store to see if I can kick this thing. I hate this feeling. I made dh look to make sure I didn't have anything in there. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Edited August 5, 2017 by dirty ethel rackham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) I don't know if this will help you, but I was having ear issues (plugging and pain) and the doctor said they weren't infected, but offered to put me on a steroid to clear up the last bit of suspected inflammation from a sinus infection.I wanted to avoid that, so I did some googling and tried quercetin and oregano oil.After being on the quercetin for about 2 weeks, my ears were mostly better. I finished the bottle and after a couple of weeks, the plugging and eventually pain came back so I ordered another bottle. I'm not sure if the oregano oil did anything. Edited August 5, 2017 by JudoMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 The half alcohol half vinegar helps prevent fungal infections as well as bacterial. For oils, I have used garlic oil with some oregano and clove oil added to it (so they are diluted). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 You mention seeing your regular doc, but have you gone to an ENT specialist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I would lean more towards a vinegar/water mix with just a little bit of alcohol. More alcohol in the solution when you are trying to prevent the infection (for the drying effect), less once your ear is already hurting so then you want mostly vinegar at that point to help with the infection/fungus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Cipro: yes, be VERY careful with Cipro by mouth, it has known issues with tendons, but Cipro drops to the ears I would not have any issue with using as they are topical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I have had many bouts of swimmers ear.....even though I don't swim. I have found that since I started taking Allegra 180 every day year round the number of infections I get has significantly gone down. I have generic Cipro drops for when it gets infected but I rarely need to use those now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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