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  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Traffic Jam View Post
    My cure for a year-long ear infection that was not cured by antibiotics, steroids, suctioning, or referral to an ENT;
    Put nothing in your ear to dry it or scratch it. (Using q tips removes good wax and impacts it). Don’t submerge your head in water in the bath tub. Wear ear plugs when swimming. Dry up any water in the ear with a mixture of alcohol and vinegar.
    Thanks. Vinegar and alcohol - same thing Nsherry recommended.

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    I gotta say, this thread is full of more BS responses than most in these forums, and that's saying something. I don't know what prompted so many nay-sayers regarding swimmers ear from people that are clueless!

    For what it's worth, I would seriously question oral meds (i.e. systemic treatment) for something so easily treated proximity with ear drops. If drops don't fix the problem within a couple of days, you are dealing with something else that I would then go to a doctor for. When living in a swimmers ear friendly environment, treat daily with drops whenever any symptoms are present. And, since the drops aren't antibiotics, you are not going to have to worry about creating super-bugs. And again, for what it's worth, if the problem is fungus (probably yeast), it doesn't evolve like bacteria (eukaryotic vs. procaryotic repoduction) so super-yeast isn't really a thing or something anywhere nearly as easily created as super-bugs in the form a bacteria. Also, fungus is eukaryotic, like you and me, so any antibiotics to fight fungus tend to be problematic in that they tend to be toxic to us if they are toxic to the fungus.

    In case anyone is interested, from the Mayo Clinic web site:

    Prevention

    Follow these tips to avoid swimmer's ear:

    • Keep your ears dry. Dry your ears thoroughly after exposure to moisture from swimming or bathing. Dry only your outer ear, wiping it slowly and gently with a soft towel or cloth. Tip your head to the side to help water drain from your ear canal. You can dry your ears with a blow dryer if you put it on the lowest setting and hold it at least a foot (about 0.3 meters) away from the ear.
    • At-home preventive treatment. If you know you don't have a punctured eardrum, you can use homemade preventive eardrops before and after swimming. A mixture of 1 part white vinegar to 1 part rubbing alcohol may help promote drying and prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi that can cause swimmer's ear. Pour 1 teaspoon (about 5 milliliters) of the solution into each ear and let it drain back out. Similar over-the-counter solutions may be available at your drugstore.
    • Swim wisely. Watch for signs alerting swimmers to high bacterial counts and don't swim on those days.
    • Avoid putting foreign objects in your ear. Never attempt to scratch an itch or dig out earwax with items such as a cotton swab, paper clip or hairpin. Using these items can pack material deeper into your ear canal, irritate the thin skin inside your ear or break the skin.
    • Protect your ears from irritants. Put cotton balls in your ears while applying products such as hair sprays and hair dyes.
    • Use caution after an ear infection or surgery. If you've recently had an ear infection or ear surgery, talk to your doctor before you go swimming.

    By Mayo Clinic Staff
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  3. #23

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    [QUOTE=jefals;2200032]Yeah. It's in my EAR! Not my vagina! Crazy stuff, man! ? Even tho this medicine says it's also for vaginal yeast infections.
    So, let me get this straight. You fall out of a tree, you break your arm. The doc sets it, but forgets to tell you not to climb a tree again. So you don't pay him? Sometimes the doc's might know how to cure something but not necessarily what causes it. I bet there's lots of things for which they don't know the cause. Like I'm really gonna say, "Doc, don't bother treating my ear, if you can't tell ne what caused the problem ". Regardless, I want the ear fixed!.../QUOTE]

    That begs the question, "where have you been putting your ear Jefals?":

    Obviously you weren't cured which obviously you desire. Might that involve having to address the cause rather than symptoms? Could it also possibly involve the patient not fully complying with the Docs orders?

  4. #24

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    Stick a clove of garlic in your ear (like a ear bud, in the outer part, not in the canal).

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by jefals View Post
    Wait -- so are you saying that fungus just naturally can propogate inside the human ear, regardless of external conditions, since the inside of the ear is warm and wet? Then how come I went 71 years without ear fungus? How come all of us don't always have ear fungus?
    Chances are you did have one fungus or another along with bacteria and mold spores in your ears, among all the other places on your body that's exposed to outside elements.

    And there's a few other factors besides temp and humidity, such as sunlight, air movement, and ph balance. Regardless, your epidermis did a great job keeping the right little bugs where they belong and limiting the wrong bugs from getting a foothold.

    Obviously seek medical attention to address the urgent symptoms, and combine that with reflection of any changes that might have made you susceptible to having a compromised immune system. Getting good nutrition, adequate rest, managing stress/anxiety? Everything matters when it comes to your health and well being.

    Hope you get it worked out and take my advice with a grain of salt, as I hope you take all the other responses.

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    thanks everyone, for the medical advice.
    Maybe I should have posted this in the AT forum, cause the conditions I was hiking in when I got this thing was more like weather over there. Or maybe I just wasn't clear, and I don't know if I can be more clear now, but I'll try.
    I'm not asking you guys anything at all about treatment. I'm wondering if this is something common, given these hiking conditions - namely being out on the trail in the rain. Is it common to see hikers get ear infections in the rain? I'm really just trying to verify if that's what caused the problem.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by jefals View Post
    thanks everyone, for the medical advice.
    Maybe I should have posted this in the AT forum, cause the conditions I was hiking in when I got this thing was more like weather over there. Or maybe I just wasn't clear, and I don't know if I can be more clear now, but I'll try.
    I'm not asking you guys anything at all about treatment. I'm wondering if this is something common, given these hiking conditions - namely being out on the trail in the rain. Is it common to see hikers get ear infections in the rain? I'm really just trying to verify if that's what caused the problem.
    Between 1962 and March 2016 I lived within 50 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and on the coast of Nigeria and Angola in west Africa for 3+ years. Suffice to say it rains a lot along the Gulf Coast and equatorial west Africa. I have worked outdoors during hurricanes. I have worked offshore in the rain. I have sailed in the rain. I have canoed in the rain. I have backpacked and bicycle toured in the rain. For 3+ years during the time when my home was in New Orleans I worked in Kazakstan where the temperature ranged from -34 F & C to +117F. I suffered one ear infection during that time. That infection occurred sometime between leaving my home in New Orleans and arriving at my work place in Kazakhstan. Approximately 4 days travel. I saw the camp doctor immediately upon my arrival. He prescribed amoxicillin. Ear infection gone. Rain and or cold have not caused me to have ear infections.
    Stuff happens. That's all I know.
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  8. #28
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    Stress can weaken the immune system, even the good stress of excitement over your journey, travel, or a new environment.

    Amoxacillin is a great antibiotic for inner ear infection. An outer ear infection, such as swimmers ear, usually responds well to the vinager and alcohol as previously described.

    If if you aren’t sure, or if you don’t want to waste time with a treatment that may take longer, definitely see your medical professional.

    Mostly, get well soon, continue to take good care of yourself, and have a great hike!

  9. #29
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    My lone infection was the inner ear variety. No doubt exacerbated by 4 separate airline flights to get back to work. It’s good to know that the doc in the Boonies knew what he was doing.
    Wayne

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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by jefals View Post
    thanks everyone, for the medical advice.
    Maybe I should have posted this in the AT forum, cause the conditions I was hiking in when I got this thing was more like weather over there. Or maybe I just wasn't clear, and I don't know if I can be more clear now, but I'll try.
    I'm not asking you guys anything at all about treatment. I'm wondering if this is something common, given these hiking conditions - namely being out on the trail in the rain. Is it common to see hikers get ear infections in the rain? I'm really just trying to verify if that's what caused the problem.
    Between 1962 and March 2016 I lived within 50 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and on the coast of Nigeria and Angola in west Africa for 3+ years. Suffice to say it rains a lot along the Gulf Coast and equatorial west Africa. I have worked outdoors during hurricanes. I have worked offshore in the rain. I have sailed in the rain. I have canoed in the rain. I have backpacked and bicycle toured in the rain. For 3+ years during the time when my home was in New Orleans I worked in Kazakstan where the temperature ranged from -34 F & C to +117F. I suffered one ear infection during that time. That infection occurred sometime between leaving my home in New Orleans and arriving at my work place in Kazakhstan. Approximately 4 days travel. I saw the camp doctor immediately upon my arrival. He prescribed amoxicillin. Ear infection gone. Rain and or cold have not caused me to have ear infections.
    Stuff happens. That's all I know.
    Wayne
    You know a lot, pilgrim.
    I don't know about Kahzakstan, Angola, workin offshore, sailing....
    I'M TALKIN BOUT HIKIN IN THE WOODS WHERE THE MUSHROOMS GROW.... See many mushrooms out there in the Gulf coast, there, Wayne? ??

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    Between 1962 and March 2016 I lived within 50 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and on the coast of Nigeria and Angola in west Africa for 3+ years. Suffice to say it rains a lot along the Gulf Coast and equatorial west Africa. I have worked outdoors during hurricanes. I have worked offshore in the rain. I have sailed in the rain. I have canoed in the rain. I have backpacked and bicycle toured in the rain. For 3+ years during the time when my home was in New Orleans I worked in Kazakstan where the temperature ranged from -34 F & C to +117F. I suffered one ear infection during that time. That infection occurred sometime between leaving my home in New Orleans and arriving at my work place in Kazakhstan. Approximately 4 days travel. I saw the camp doctor immediately upon my arrival. He prescribed amoxicillin. Ear infection gone. Rain and or cold have not caused me to have ear infections.
    Stuff happens. That's all I know.
    Wayne
    If you ain't that guy in the beer commercial with the world's most interesting man - YOU SHOULD BE!!!!

  12. #32

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    I would try using roll-up type hearing protection. They come in sealed package (in pairs) and may prevent whatever is getting into your ear(s) from getting in and causing mischief.

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by jefals View Post
    . . . Maybe I should have posted this in the AT forum . . .
    Same bunch of blow-hards over there as here, your's truly included.

    Quote Originally Posted by jefals View Post
    . . . I'm not asking you guys anything at all about treatment. I'm wondering if this is something common, given these hiking conditions - namely being out on the trail in the rain. Is it common to see hikers get ear infections in the rain? I'm really just trying to verify if that's what caused the problem.
    It's pretty key to separate inner and outer ear infections in this discussion, as stated so clearly and concisely by Kestral, "Amoxacillin is a great antibiotic for inner ear infection. An outer ear infection, such as swimmers ear, usually responds well to the vinager and alcohol as previously described."

    Two very different beasts.

    The simple answer, as far as my knowledge goes, is that outer ear infections are not especially common among hikers in wet cold conditions. BUT, outer ear infections do occur almost always due to a change in the chemistry of your outer ear due to the environment (super common among competitive swimmers and SCUBA divers, for instance, because of the constant water in the outer ear changing the ear chemistry. If you are not wearing a brimmed hat or hood, and therefore rain is running down your head and probably also getting into your ears, at least a little, it is reasonable to think that the wet could be contributing to your ear issues, cold, maybe not so much.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

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    To answer your question, or give my best guess, I don't think ear infections are common on the trail. Put another way, I've never had another hiker tell me that he has or had an ear infection. On another note, I love it when the paranoid crowd starts hyperventilating over the evil drug companies and the medical profession.
    Lonehiker (MRT '22)

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    Quote Originally Posted by jefals View Post
    Uh, ok....I'm just trying to find out about this ear infection, tho...?
    You're right, some comments mine included were not medically helpful but in reality even docs can't really comment on medical problems online without seeing the patient.

    btw, I sense the makings of several potential trail names here ... Hope you find the cause and a solution.

  16. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by nsherry61 View Post
    It's probably what we call swimmers' ear. Cary a small dropper bottle with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and rubbing alcohol (or whatever other similar internet recipe appeals to you). Put a drop in each ear once a day and the problem will go away and not return. The vinegar makes the ear canal acidic which inhibits growth of the infection and the alcohol dried out the ear canal in which constant wetness can lead to "swimmers' ear".

    Good luck.
    DO NOT EVER PUT VINEGAR OR ALCOHOL IN YOUR EAR!!!! Next time you go to your doctor ask him and he will tell you how incredibly stupid this advice is. You can do serious damage to your ear if you do this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by nsherry61 View Post
    The simple answer, as far as my knowledge goes, is that outer ear infections are not especially common among hikers in wet cold conditions. BUT, outer ear infections do occur almost always due to a change in the chemistry of your outer ear due to the environment (super common among competitive swimmers and SCUBA divers, for instance, because of the constant water in the outer ear changing the ear chemistry. If you are not wearing a brimmed hat or hood, and therefore rain is running down your head and probably also getting into your ears, at least a little, it is reasonable to think that the wet could be contributing to your ear issues, cold, maybe not so much.[/COLOR]
    Ok, NOW we're getting somewhere! Uh, maybe?
    My ear infection is of the outer variety. And , while I had a hood on my poncho, not really sure how effective that was. Plus, I didn't have the poncho on, during the time it took to get packed up.....
    So I think we could be on to something!
    FWIW, tho, your first sentence leaves me a little baffled . Hikers in wet conditions are getting their ears wet just like swimmers, so why is it nor common for hikers but it us for swimmers?
    Is it because the hikers are wearing wide-brimmed hats or other protection? Would ear-plugs work for swimmers?
    Thanks, Nsherry!

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    Quote Originally Posted by lonehiker View Post
    To answer your question, or give my best guess, I don't think ear infections are common on the trail. Put another way, I've never had another hiker tell me that he has or had an ear infection. On another note, I love it when the paranoid crowd starts hyperventilating over the evil drug companies and the medical profession.
    Ok. CRAP! There goes my theory! Oh well...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bronk View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by nsherry61 View Post
    It's probably what we call swimmers' ear. Cary a small dropper bottle with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and rubbing alcohol (or whatever other similar internet recipe appeals to you). Put a drop in each ear once a day and the problem will go away and not return. The vinegar makes the ear canal acidic which inhibits growth of the infection and the alcohol dried out the ear canal in which constant wetness can lead to "swimmers' ear".

    Good luck.
    DO NOT EVER PUT VINEGAR OR ALCOHOL IN YOUR EAR!!!! Next time you go to your doctor ask him and he will tell you how incredibly stupid this advice is. You can do serious damage to your ear if you do this.
    Don't know about alcohol and vinegar, - AND NOT TELLING ANYBODY ELSE WHAT TO DO BECAUSE, FOR ONE THING YOU MIGHT HAVE A RUPTURED EARDRUM IN WHICH CASE IF YOU DO WHAT I'M ABOUT TO TELL YOU, YOU MIGHT BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT THRU YOUR OTHER EAR -- BUT my doc has me mixing a solution of water and vinegar - (50 parts water to 1 part vinegar) - I used tablespoons, so I have about a quart or so of this stuff - fill up a bulb and squirt in this in my ear, to clean out the crud.

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    What are you resting your head on at night on the trail?
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