|
|
|
Swimmer's Ear
September 19, 2007
|
According to The Center for Disease Control 6.2 million cases of swimmers ear occurs
every year in our country. In today’s Health Matters John Biffar looks at how you
can still make a splash without coming down with an earful.
This is Ciara Richard. Once she comes to the surface she has her own way of finding
out if she has water in her ears. “If you go like this it sounds like a trampoline.”
That sound could signal the start of swimmer’s ear. This common condition begins
when excessive water in your ear in your ear canal starts to break down protective
barriers. Without those barriers bacteria can take over and cause a painful infection.
Ciara says, “It hurt really bad in my ear.
And it was sore.”
But parents,
Pediatrician Emilio Del Valle
tells us that there is one thing you
can do to prevent that pain in the first place. All while keeping your kids focused
on fun in the sun. “what we recommend to parents is that if they’re going underwater
all the time in the summer that they rinse their ears a lot when they’re going inside
the house.”
Physicians like Dr. Del Valle say it only
takes two common household ingredients
to make a simple, safe and successful mixture to use on your child’s ears. “Get
the mixture of alcohol and white vinegar or even buy it and put it in the canal
when they’re going in for the night to dry out the water and to kill the bacteria
in the canal.”
Before using eardrops to treat an infected ear, you should check with your physician
to be sure that an eardrum has not been ruptured.
Pediatricians recommend that patients refrain from swimming for a least a week.
|
|
|
|
