How to prevent ear infections?

[fusionx]

I'm getting fungal infections in my ears all the time lately. I don't want to keep using antibiotic ear drops forever.

It's basically "swimmer's ear", though I don't swim..

Will rinsing with saline solution or hydrogen peroxide or something every day stop this crap? It's annoying as hell...

[borked]

daily and never had an ear infection in my life....

[polish_aristocrat]

I only had ear infections when I was a young child... can't help you here

[LeRoy]

Take a daily shower ;)

[woj]

could try rinsing your sinuses with saline water... might clean up the infections from the inside...

[subc]

go to prompt care, pay around $70 or so for ear cleaning (without insurance) and you will have spiderman's hearing abilities. Do this every 2 years or so (you will be surprised at the amount of crap they pull out on your first visit).

Don't use the sticks with cotton on both ends. They compact ear wax inside your ear.

[SexualDragon]

Just stick your finger in your ear and go ting-a-ling-a-loo

[Mr Pheer]

I dive quite often, in salt and fresh water. Diving puts pressure on your ears and gets the water in them really good, and divers tend to get more ear problems than most people.

Something that will really help, is a couple drops of rubbing alcohol in your ears after swimming or taking a shower, and then let it drain. Alcohol is hydroscopic, it bonds with water and then it evaporates.

If your ears are already infected, wait until the infection clears before doing this.

[polish_aristocrat]

Originally Posted by subc

Don't use the sticks with cotton on both ends.

interesting... I thought everyone is using them

[HookUPcom]

http://similasanusa.com - They are the leader in ear meds.

[The Heron]

Go to an ENT specialist and let them fix you up. Never heard of fungal infections in your ears and I've had tons of ear problems.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by borked

daily and never had an ear infection in my life....

Every ear doctor will gladly explain to you that Q-tip and things that look like these are NOT for your ears. Even check the packaging and you will notice it does not mention using on your ears anywhere. They are super bad for your ears and cause many problems.
Light rinsing, I like warm oil with those ear bulb things (look like those things people use to suck baby snot out of their noses).

I learned most of this after having to take the wife to the ear doctor after her ear started bothering her. He inserted the funnel thing in her ear and tried a mini vacuum to clean it and that was not working. He then slid a miniature pick into the funnel and her ear and even though I was sitting across the room a good 12-15 feet away I could see this huge dark glob he pulled out on the pick - like the size of a pea. Then he vacuumed out her ears after that. Said it was wax that got packed in by her using the q-tips. Then explained the evils of them to us. She also was amazed at how well she could then hear again from that ear.

[brassmonkey]

eat lemons for a few days it will dry it out drink at least 6 glasses of water per day

[Spunky]

Put a couple drops of olive oil in the ear and rinse out in the shower the next day

[ExLust]

My doctor recommend Postotic(sterile eardrops) to my swelling ear before.

[Mr Pheer]

leaving olive oil in your ear overnight, and eat lemons for a few days? wtf are you guys smoking

alcohol works great, just like i said.

http://www.ehow.com/how_17828_prevent-swimmers-ear.html

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/me...p?articleid=48

If you want to try the domeboro solution like in the DAN article, you can get it in most drugstores, just mix it with water. One packet will make a shitload of solution. But alcohol works just fine.

[DaddyHalbucks]

Try to prevent your ears from getting wet in the first place!

Use ear plugs when you shower.

If you do get an infection, go to the doctor and get prescription ear drops. I think it consists of an anti-bacterial and an anti-inflammation agent.

[fuzzylogic]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Every ear doctor will gladly explain to you that Q-tip and things that look like these are NOT for your ears. Even check the packaging and you will notice it does not mention using on your ears anywhere. They are super bad for your ears and cause many problems.
Light rinsing, I like warm oil with those ear bulb things (look like those things people use to suck baby snot out of their noses).

I learned most of this after having to take the wife to the ear doctor after her ear started bothering her. He inserted the funnel thing in her ear and tried a mini vacuum to clean it and that was not working. He then slid a miniature pick into the funnel and her ear and even though I was sitting across the room a good 12-15 feet away I could see this huge dark glob he pulled out on the pick - like the size of a pea. Then he vacuumed out her ears after that. Said it was wax that got packed in by her using the q-tips. Then explained the evils of them to us. She also was amazed at how well she could then hear again from that ear.

i have heard of stories like that. can you explain how and in what way did her ear bother her?

[fuzzylogic]

my solution is to remove your ears.

btw, i've never had an ear infection. yes, i have ears :p

[Azoy?]

Originally Posted by woj

could try rinsing your sinuses with saline water... might clean up the infections from the inside...

Yep that works best because the saline solution cleans the area while also helping you drain it.
Cue tips are actually bad for you because they help push wax inside the ear canal.
Check out this link http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=325397&pro ductId=325397&navAction=jump&navCount=3 for a great product.
My best advise is ask your doctor what is best for your particular case and ask to get a referral to an ear nose and thought specialist as general practitioners don't know as much as someone who specializes in that field.

[FreeHugeMovies]

A few drop of alcohol in your ear after every shower / swim.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by fuzzylogic

i have heard of stories like that. can you explain how and in what way did her ear bother her?

It was often itchy. Then she finally started to complain of a bit of pain in her ear. She never really noticed the hearing loss in it, and I just figured I mumbled a lot and that was why she said huh all of the time.
Doctor just took a peep in her ear with his little viewer and said her left ear had buildup in it. Both needed cleaning but one was compacted.

[fujiko]

avoid using qtips everytime cos they push the wax deeper, which causes infekkchan

[raven1083]

use cotton buds and drop some oil

[borked]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Every ear doctor will gladly explain to you that Q-tip and things that look like these are NOT for your ears. Even check the packaging and you will notice it does not mention using on your ears anywhere. They are super bad for your ears and cause many problems.
Light rinsing, I like warm oil with those ear bulb things (look like those things people use to suck baby snot out of their noses).

I learned most of this after having to take the wife to the ear doctor after her ear started bothering her. He inserted the funnel thing in her ear and tried a mini vacuum to clean it and that was not working. He then slid a miniature pick into the funnel and her ear and even though I was sitting across the room a good 12-15 feet away I could see this huge dark glob he pulled out on the pick - like the size of a pea. Then he vacuumed out her ears after that. Said it was wax that got packed in by her using the q-tips. Then explained the evils of them to us. She also was amazed at how well she could then hear again from that ear.

Well, that's odd, because last July I had the same thing - went to the ENT doc, she Karchered out my ears (not unpleasant) and got rid of two great big globs of wax. Insurance covered it to be done once a year. She said it's normal and accumulates over time. Told me to make sure I clean out my ears with them at least once a week.

[fuzzylogic]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

It was often itchy. Then she finally started to complain of a bit of pain in her ear. She never really noticed the hearing loss in it, and I just figured I mumbled a lot and that was why she said huh all of the time.
Doctor just took a peep in her ear with his little viewer and said her left ear had buildup in it. Both needed cleaning but one was compacted.

ahh, ok. i only have a strange crackling in one ear. it happens when there is a lot of broad or dense noise like driving with the windows down. you know, cabin noise like sound. it happens with other sounds too, like hearing crowds cheer on Leno.

[seeandsee]

get a tube

[bobby666]

don't use had/earphones
one hour of wearing earphones= 1000* times more bacterias in your ear!

[Fletch XXX]

Originally Posted by borked

daily and never had an ear infection in my life....

actually humans cleaning their ears is what causes all the infections, ear wax is a natural mixture of things that keep your ears from getting infected.... i clean my ears too, but thats not going to stop you from getting ear infections, q-tips remove ear wax which is the natural barrier for ear infection lol

not to mention doctors recommend against using q-tips and stuff to jam in your ears.

http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/d...ring/wax2.html

ear wax is a natural protector against water in your ears and infection. thats what ear wax is for and is.

[fusionx]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to do the doctor and anti-fungal drops one more time, then start doing the alcohol and saline rinse things.. hopefully that will prevent it.

Q-Tips are the devil's work, for sure.. they are for cleaning the outside of the ear, and swabbing stuff around in hard to reach places.. definately not for digging inside the ear canal

[fusionx]

Originally Posted by Mr Pheer

If your ears are already infected, wait until the infection clears before doing this.

I tried alcohol during an active infection once... bad idea.. it's really burns!

[borked]

Originally Posted by Fletch XXX

actually humans cleaning their ears is what causes all the infections, ear wax is a natural mixture of things that keep your ears from getting infected.... i clean my ears too, but thats not going to stop you from getting ear infections, q-tips remove ear wax which is the natural barrier for ear infection lol

not to mention doctors recommend against using q-tips and stuff to jam in your ears.

http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/d...ring/wax2.html

ear wax is a natural protector against water in your ears and infection. thats what ear wax is for and is.

Let me guess - you use mouthwash to clean out your mouth right?

[tranza]

When you take a shower you prevent lots of infections, basic hygiene you kno...

[John-ACWM]

It's not about how clean you are as a person,it just happens.

[Fucksakes]

all my life as a kid I wore hearing aids and had to see the doctor to get them clean.. 2 ways.. 1 was with the pic and other was to squirt warm water in my ear.. I was told never to use them qtips.. and now at home I use a thing to quirt warm water in my ear and it does a great job cleaning them.. as for infections.. never had.

[Snake Doctor]

Don't put your head underwater, in the bath tub or otherwise.

I was getting alot of ear infections when we lived in a house with a spa tub. I never made the correlation between dunking my head in the soapy water and the ear infections until recently.

If you're in a situation where there was water in your ears...rubbing alcohol will get it out like Mr Pheer said

[Snake Doctor]

BTW, shower massage works great to...allows you to rinse out your ears with your ear pointing down...so the water doesn't collect in there.

[Ethersync]

Originally Posted by fusionx

I'm getting fungal infections in my ears all the time lately. I don't want to keep using antibiotic ear drops forever.

It's basically "swimmer's ear", though I don't swim..

Will rinsing with saline solution or hydrogen peroxide or something every day stop this crap? It's annoying as hell...

Xylitol will fix you up.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_837.html
http://askdrellie.blogspot.com/2007/...nfections.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol