Monday, August 22, 2011

Swimmer's ear

Since summer is almost over, my daughter and I are trying to enjoy every second of it. If the weather is hot, we are at the pool!

About 2 weeks ago on a Friday morning, my daughter started complaining about earache. I thought it was just some discomfort (from going very often to the pool) that it would go away by itself, but I was wrong. By late afternoon, I couldn't tuck her hair behind her right ear nor get close to it. She was having hard time chewing her food and opening her mouth. She couldn't rest her head on the pillow and it was hurting even when she was walking!

Once again, being a first time mom, I didn't have too much experience about it. The only thing that I was certain, was that if she would keep feeling that way, I would have to take her to the ER. I really would like to know why kids always get sick on Friday nights when we can't take them to be examined by their pediatricians!

I called one of my friends to talk about it and she recommended me a homeopathic eardrop (Similasan) and tablets (Earache tablets) that she had given to her son when he complained about earache. Since it didn't need a prescription and there is no side effects on homeopathic medicine, I bought it.



The homeopathic pharmacist advised me that if the symptom wouldn't go away in 48 hours, that I should take her to the doctor. That gave me some time and spared us from going to the ER.

I gave it to my daughter that night to see how she would respond to it. Amazingly, she didn't wake up during the night complaining about earache and by the next morning, she was feeling much better. She was still in pain, but nothing like the night before. By the end of the day, she would only talk about it if I would ask her how she was doing. At night, before tucking her into bed, I noticed that the redness on the back of her ear had gone away and that she was able now to touch her ear. Her condition was really improving!

Before the 48 hours period, my daughter was PAIN FREE!!! She could rest her head on the pillow, touch her ears (and pull it) and tuck her hair behind her ear as if nothing had happened.

I'm VERY thankful to my friend for introducing me to homeopathy. It is natural, fast and effective! Homeopathy is a type of alternative medicine developed by a German physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann which is based on 2 principals: "Law of Similars" and "Minimum Dose". The first and main principal is based on that any substance, which can produce symptoms in a healthy person, can cure similar symptoms in a person who is sick, and the second principal is based on extreme dilution of substances help remove the harmful effects of it while yet maintaining its beneficial effects.

After searching about earache, I learned that earache can be caused by an external ear canal infection (Swimmer's Ear) or by a middle ear infection (Otitis Media). While the external infection is often associated with water in the ear canal that is not properly drained, the middle ear infection (the most common diagnosis in sick children in the U.S.) is associated to a sore throat, cold or other respiratory infection. I also learned that bottle-feeding while the child is lying down is a risk factor for developing otitis media (due to the position of the eustachian tube that leads into the middle ear). If bottle-feeding, always keep the child's head a little bit raised.

A lot of swimming can wash away the wax protection of the ear canal and lead to wet conditions which favors bacterial growth leading to otitis externa (swimmer's ear).

Swimmer's ear tips:

  • Keep your child's ear canal as dry as possible during healing process (avoid shampooing)
  • Avoid the swimming pool for the next week
  • Try to prevent future episodes by drying the ears with a towel and by placing drops in the ear after swimming
  • It is recommended to place 5 drops of white vinegar or rubbing alcohol or a mixture of 50% white vinegar / 50% rubbing alcohol into each ear to help evaporate the water out of the ear canal after swimming (if the child has history of swimmer's ear infection)
If you still want to learn more about it, Dr. Sears' website has a great page about how to tell if the child has swimmer's ear or otitis media infection.



Picture's source: http://www.everystockphoto.com/photographer.php?photographer_id=43421
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11 comments:

  1. Very helpful post!

    Glad your little one is on the mend!

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  2. Draining the ear naturally also helps. About a month ago, while on our annual family vacation where there is a pool, my ears were full of water more than once. I looked up how to drain them and the last two items on your list were given. But since I didn't have access to ear drops or rubbing alcohol and vinegar, I went with the other options: setting the hair dryer on low and aiming it at my ear and when I went to bed at night, laying with the water-filled ear facing the pillow so it could drain. Worked each time :)

    Glad your daughter is doing better! Though it must've been frustrating that she began to be sick on a Friday night :/

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  3. @championm2000 Thank you!
    @Sarah the Writer Thank you very much for your GREAT tip!

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  4. Aww glad your little one is all better, it's hard when you don't have a user manual!!

    Pleased you found something that has worked for her, thank you for your lovely comments on our blog and hope you pop back soon xxx

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  5. My daughter was once infected with ear infection too, coupled with fever and respiratory problems. It scared the hell out of me and brought her to the doctor for medication at once. Glad you found a way for an alternative therapy. I heard about homeopathy too. My grandfather who got a stroke was treated this way too. Thanks for the tips!
    Kathy
    http://mommygrowingup.blogspot.com/

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  6. I love homeopathic remedies! Glad you discovered this early on. Your observation that health issues always occur on Friday nights caused a chuckle - that is so true!
    Thanks for following my site! I'm following you from voiceBoks. I'm not able to do much blogging right now as my son has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He will be fine, but we are very busy learning the ropes.
    Blessings,
    Lisa
    http://susannasapron.blogspot.com/

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  7. It's hard when everything is new with that first child, isn't it? Friends can be such an invaluable resource in those situations.

    New follower from the vB Grow my GFC hop

    Jenny
    Full Cart Full Wallet

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  8. @Columba I'm sorry to hear about your son. Hope to see you around soon!

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  9. OH my gosh! I'm dealing w/this SAME issue w/my just about to turn 13 year old. I took him to the doctor he has some drops but he's still in pain although He said its getting better He's still in pain we took him to the doctor on Tuesday. He is my worst patient of my kids.. I am hoping for a full nights sleep if not I am going to tell my husband about this and see if it will help. Thks so much!

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  10. @Ellie I hope your son is feeling better. I know exactly how you feel!

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  11. I've also heard about homeopathy and actually used one of it when my little one was still a baby to combat colic and it has worked quite well :)

    It's really nice how I am finding things in common between us :)

    Spanish Pinay

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