I'm dyin' here! I had it a couple of years ago and its back..if you've never had it you don't know how painful it can be! Until I can get to a doctor, does anybody know of a home therapy that can moderate the pain?

[url]http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/S/swimmers_ear.html[/url]


give it a try....


Good luck!

Don't swim. [stick]

I couldn't help myself...

Later,
R

argh,
i'm in HELL!!!!
some one Please cut my ear off!!!

it's ease.
a couple drops of isopropyl alcohol in the ear canal, let is sit for a moment, then drain.

it will burn for a little but in a minute your ear will stop aching.

when i swim i carry a little bottle of isopropyl in my shorts and a drop goes in my ears as soon as i come out of the water.

ed to say i get swimmers ear almost evey time i go swimming

thanksguysthatwasfastandimgonnatryitrightnow

I've had doctore tell me that the alcohol cure is bad, but it worked for me for 37 years.  For 5 seconds, it was agonizing, but it cleared it up.

However, use a hair dryer (med or low) to dry out the ear and relieve pain.

it burns...

Trumpet you beat me to it!  Dryness and prevention is the key!

Thanks guys! It fells better now...hope it works in the long term...

Seriously, cure and prevention is very different.  Alcohol drops before and after a shower/swimming is a good step for prevention.  If you have pain, please go to a doctor.  He will pull out a big thing of wax.  The wax lets water in but it can't drain out.  Then bacteria grows.  He will give your antibiotic drops or an antibiotic prescription for pills.  In severe cases people with no health care can die because the infection grows and grows.  My step brother had it real real bad.  I have it once every 6-9 months.
Go to a doctor.  In the future use drops.

Also, I am very tight with my cash and I am no friend of doctors but this is one time you need a professional.

Thanks for the concern, haulingice! Yes, money is a concern because I'm a student assistant, and also if I want to go to see a doc I will have to jump through many hoops at the community college foundation...I don't think its a wax thing though, because I regulary use this stuff that bubbles the wax out..I will give the alcohol drops a day or so...

Where were you swimming, the Santa Monica Bay?
Try douching your ear out with rubbing alky, then for an added treat light your ear on fire....

I used to have the same problem.  The key is to periodically remove the ear wax that builds up and traps water which then breeds the infection.

I use one of those blue squeeze things that hospitals use to clear babies noses.  I fill it with moderately hot water while I'm showering, blow the ears out a few times.  You should see some of the crap that comes out of ears!!

The bulb squeeze things can be bought at any drug stores, just ask for the ear cleaners.

Once you do have the infection, then alcohol and/or hydrogen peroxide will help clear it up.  Prevention is a lot better.  Since I've been clearing my ears once a month or so, I haven't had an ear infection since (+20 years).

I hope this helps.

Merlin

When I was receiving my terminal physical from the Navy, the doctor asked me if I'd swum competitively as a child because I had scar tissue in my ears as if I had.  I had ear infections from swimming all growing up.  

They have a product on the market called "Swimmer's Ear."  You can get it at Wal-Mart, etc.  It's only a couple bucks and you put a few drops in each ear after you swim.  It's got alcohol in it but also some type of sweet oil to keep your ear from drying out.  Haven't had a problem since I started using it.  

Otitis Externa... (outer ear inflamation)
Get an ear syringe from Wall Mart or the drug store
1. Hydrogen Peroxide ..flush the ear out gently several times..let the peroxide oxidize in the ear..and keep gently aspiriating out the material in the ear..this will rid the ear of the bacteria causing the inflamation
2. Wash the peroxide out with alcohol..and drain...this will dry the water out and keep bacteria from building up in the ear
3. There are also commerical products...Swim Ear I believe is one..
use this before you go swimming..dont use ear plugs these are dangerous if you do any underwater swimming..as pressure can drive them into the ear.
The trick is to get the water out of the ear after swimming so bacteria have no warm moist medium to grow in..
you can flush your ear out with alcohol and a little glycerine this will dry the water out and keep the ear from being irritatated by the alcohol..
4. If you dont get relief from the pain via the hydrogen peroxide method you are going to need anti biotics as the swelling can burst the ear drum...leaving scar tissue and washing out some of your hearing ..
5. If you are already in pain ..go to the emergency room and have it checked out ASAP

I checked out the link that suggests using a vinegar/alcohol soltution that is a sound idea..and inexpensive
Boric acid powder can also be used but again the more expensive alternative
What you want to accomplish is to create an more acid environment in the ear which the type of bacteria causing the problem dont do well in ...
The alcohol dries up the water
Using 100% alcohol will dry up the water but will overdry the ear and may cause a little irritation
I've had good results using an ear bulb type syringe and hydrogen peroxide wash..even with a severe infection..then drying with alchohol...you run the risk of a ruptured ear drum if the infection goes on too long..hence the Emergency Room and the full course of anti biotics...always take the full course of treatmet...(eat all the pills) even after the pain goes away...finish out the treatment..as even small numbers of bacteria can reproduce bringing back your problem..and making the bacteria more resistant to the anti biotic

The alcohol is a good start. Add a few drops of vinegar to the alcohol. (1 pint rubbing alcohol + 2 tablespoons of vinegar) The vinegar will stop the fungus & the alcohol will dry the water. The sweet oil mentioned above won't hurt, but I haven't tried that. I was a competitive swimmer & it works.
Scott

9divdoc:Just to be clear: If I am in the stage where the swelling is pronounced (right ear canal practically shut) then this is beyond where the alcohol/vinegar/peroxide can do any good? Time to see the doc? I felt better after putting the alcohol in last night, but am in great pain now...

Try the new Aguila Colobri low-velocity .22 long:   20 gr soft-points @ 375 fps

Oughta clear out that wax in no time!

[;D]

I only had it once, but I found that alcohol and glucose worked and didn't hurt as much as they said!  Pull your ear lobe out so it gets down into your ear, then throw the hairdryer on it to speed up the process.  

I hope that works!

Continue to use the stuff every couple of hours. I would also use a q-tip to clean it out. Be careful here. You have some nasty's in there that keep the funk growing. You might have to get some anti-biotics if you have gotten an infection, but just keep applying the alcohol mixture with a syringe. Clean it out with a q-tip.

I dont know how much pain your in or how swollen your ear canal is...
Ive been able to get good results from the peroxide alchohol irrigation and aspiriation...its gonna hurt to get the syringe in to the affected area and you need to massage the area to make sure all affected areas are covered.....and it might take a day or two to get to feeling back to normal..
I used to teach scuba back in college and ended up with a lot of painfull ears till I used boric acid and alcohol before and after...but for now Id try the peroxide alcohol treatment...unless the pain is unmanageable...you also can get some moist heat on the ear..from heating pad if you have one...take aspirin/tylanol for pain..rest
However if you have insurance and the pain is getting to you...rather than see how much pain you can take you probably should head out to the ER or local clinic if one is available...and have it checked out...
I offer the peroxide/alcholol/heat treatment as a last resort with no professional care available to you..
Good luck to you..

Cure is antibiotic drops:

I like Floxin otic suspension but there are others. If ear canal is swelling shut you will need an ear wick(like a sponge placed in the ear). You may need oral antibiotics should things worsen or if the middle ear is involved. I find that Augmentin works well for this.
The goal is to prevent otitis externa maligna. If your external ear is getting red, hot, swollen you need to be seen immediately.

Prevention: various over the counter preparations. They all have alcohol to dry the ear.
You can make your own very easily:  

1/2 rubbing alcohol
1/2 3% white vinegar  (this helps maintain proper ear pH and avoid skin from becoming excessively dry).

Put a few drops in after swimming, etc. First dry the ear by placing finger with a towel up to your ear canal and tip head, wiggle, etc. Then use drops.

Qtips and ear plugs etc cause problems with this as well. I see more problems with people who swim in lakes and rivers than in pools FWIW. I swim in a lake-very clean as lakes go.

Hope this helps.

my doc gave me this recipe,half and half distilled white vinegar and pure grain alcohol