How to treat swimmer's ear

[johndiver999]

I use 70% isopropyl I think it is, plus white vinegar. 50/50 mix. If I am diving for several days in a row, I put it in before diving and sometimes between dives and definitely after diving. I try not to use a qtip too much, you want some wax to help waterproof the ear.

 

[doctormike]

For some reason, that 50/50 mix advice persists, but really that is a lot more vinegar than you need.

The whole point of this sort of drop is to dry the ear (alcohol), and lower the pH (vinegar) because pseudomonas bacteria - the most common outer ear pathogen - doesn't do well in acidic environments. But you only need a small amount of vinegar to drop the pH significantly, so no reason to add all that extra water to your ear drops (vinegar is mostly water). That works against what you are trying to do.

The Swim-Ear drops are 95% isopropyl alcohol (and a little glycerine), so that's less water than 70% isopropyl, which is 30% water. So adding a little vinegar to Swim-Ear makes sense, if you can get it. If not, use the least diluted alcohol you can find and a small amount of vinegar.

 

[johndiver999]

Based on my vast (personal) experience with fighting swimmer's ear, if you use a too strong mix of alcohol it burn like hell, dries out the ear and makes it more likely to have problems. If you really want to be fastidious, there are commercial ear dries that supposedly work.

 

[doctormike]

Yes, totally agree about the ear dryer.

The most important sentence in medical school is "there is a bell curve for everything"! I use the Swim-Ear (95%) without a problem, but I don't doubt your experinece. I think that the glycerin helps...

Also, overusing ANY dehydrating ear drop, no matter what the percentage alcohol, can cause sensitivity and pain, because you can remove the natural coating of cerumen which helps stop the problem in the first place. So this really shouldn't be a preventative measure. For that, coating agents work well.

 

[Akimbo]

Based on my vast (personal) experience with fighting swimmer's ear, if you use a too strong mix of alcohol it burn like hell, dries out the ear and makes it more likely to have problems. If you really want to be fastidious, there are commercial ear dries that supposedly work.

I have used Mack's Ear Dryer for years. It takes about the same time as Ear Beer but you don't have to lay on your side.

My only complaint is the rechargeable battery in mine finally died.

 

[LFMarm]

For anybody interested, I worked out the following formulation (% in weight) with my pharmacist

• 91% ethyl alcohol
• 2% boric acid
• 7% glycerine

Thanks all for the suggestions.

 

[johndiver999]

For anybody interested, I worked out the following formulation (% in weight) with my pharmacist

• 91% ethyl alcohol
• 2% boric acid
• 7% glycerine

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Is ethyl alcohol less troublesome than isopropyl? I would suspect so.

 

[LFMarm]

Is ethyl alcohol less troublesome than isopropyl? I would suspect so.

Not sure. The pharmacist recommended it and I was ok with given that it still helps evaporating water

 

[dmaziuk]

Is ethyl alcohol less troublesome than isopropyl? I would suspect so.

According to my resident chemist isopropyl alcohol is absorbed through the skin but not in any significant quantities. It's toxic, but unless you take a nice day-long bath in it, you'll be fine.

 

[frog@man]

For anybody interested, I worked out the following formulation (% in weight) with my pharmacist

• 91% ethyl alcohol
• 2% boric acid
• 7% glycerine

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Thank you!

An important part of any medicine is the instruction of its application. Do you have experience using it – necessary number of drops, time left in the ear canal, before/after dive, between each dive and the like?

Let us know your observations.