Otitis Externa
Don’t stick anything in your ear. The only thing you should stick in your ear is your elbow, so if you live by that rule, you’ll do pretty well - Matthew Kashima
image by: USA Swimming
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Best Swimmer's Ear Fixes
Swimmer's ear, or acute otitis externa... not surprisingly, spikes during summer months...
The Slosh Factor
Symptoms like an echoing, itching or clogged feeling in the ear—and lots of discomfort—often signal a bout of swimmer's ear, an inflammation of the skin within the ear canal that occurs when water gets trapped there. While less serious than middle- and inner-ear infections, it can often be more painful, says Dr. Rosenfeld: "About 20% of sufferers require narcotics just to get through the night."
The condition usually occurs after a person's head has been submerged, but it can also result from showering or even profuse sweating. People with excessive…
Resources
Neanderthals suffered from a veritable epidemic of swimmer’s ear
Since swimmer's ear is the result of habits and activity, those differences should tell us something about how Neanderthals lived—and how their lifestyles differed from their Homo sapiens neighbors. In particular, it looks (at first glance) as if Neanderthals must have spent much more time in, on, or near the water. For the moment, anthropologists don't have enough evidence to fully explain why swimmer's ear affected around half of Eurasian Neanderthals. But at least now we know that it did.
What You Need to Know About Swimmer's Ear
It’s a bit of a misnomer, because swimming isn’t always involved. But otitis externa, as the condition is also called, is linked often enough to water exposure that the name “swimmer’s ear” has stuck, Kashima says. If you’ve never had swimmer’s ear before, be glad. “It can be painful, and oftentimes, your ear can feel clogged or stopped up, you might have some discharge with some blood or pus in it, and if you pull on the outside of the ear, it’ll hurt,” he says.
Why earbuds can increase the chances of swimmer’s ear
“The best prevention is to dry your ears as much as possible after you’ve been in the water,” said Dr. Julia Richards, a pediatrician at Novant Health Lakeside Pediatrics in Denver, North Carolina.
Best Swimmer's Ear Fixes
The condition usually occurs after a person's head has been submerged, but it can also result from showering or even profuse sweating. People with excessive ear wax or eczema are more prone to the condition, as are users of hearing aids.
5 Childhood Conditions That Don’t Require a Trip to the E.R.
“Pediatricians see a lot of kids with swimmer’s ear during summer and it’s really painful,” said Dr. Rosen. “But it’s not really an ear infection as much as skin inflammation, so you can initially try to treat it without antibiotics.”
ENT Health
Bone and cartilage damage (malignant otitis externa) are also possible due to untreated swimmer’s ear. If left untreated, ear infections can spread to the base of your skull, brain, or cranial nerves. Diabetics, older adults, and those with conditions that weaken the immune system are at higher risk for such dangerous complications.
CDC
DON’T put objects in the ear canal (including cotton-tip swabs, pencils, paperclips, or fingers).
MayoClinic
Putting fingers, cotton swabs or other objects in your ears also can lead to swimmer's ear by damaging the thin layer of skin lining your ear canal.
MedicineNet
Acute external otitis (acute swimmer's ear) is a common bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, or Pseudomonas bacteria.
Michigan Medicine
Swimmer's ear is more likely if you have a very narrow or hairy ear canal; live in a warm, humid climate; have little or no earwax; have lots of ear infections; or have eczema or dry skin. If you have had swimmer's ear in the past, you are more likely to get it again.
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