Counter Measures to Prevent Swimmer’s Ear

Summertime has come! Surely most of us are really excited for this season. It is because we believe that this is a perfect time ,indeed,  to splash and dive into a lovely swimming pool or beach after a very stressful and never-ending paperwork, fieldworks and household chores. 

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Yet, the risk to acquire a painful ear infection after swimming, splashing or diving into the pool, beach or any kind of body of water is at the highest point. That’s absolutely would take place if the swimmer’s ear strikes, except you know how to avoid it.

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Swimmer’s ear is an infection of the outer ear canal in which sometimes caused by a fungus but is normally by bacteria. It is quite vulnerable to occur in the summer when people swim a lot and they hold water in their ears for a long period of time. These are the sources why swimmer’s ear is developed because bacteria flourish in a warm, damp and moist environment. Exposure also to huge amounts of water tends to wash away the oily and waxy substance which normally lines and protects the ear canal. As a result, the antibacterial protection is lost and the bacteria begin to enter.

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External ear infections, specifically, the swimmer’s ear, do not only strike during summertime but it can hit anytime. They do not only thrive in different body of water but it can also grip to showers.

Swimmer’s ear usually begins with an itching or prickly in the ear. Never scratch your ear even it is so itchy because it will only worsen the infection. Afterward, you may experience mild to severe pain. You may also experience discharge drains from your ears and have some hearing loss from swelling of the ear canal in more severe cases. Thus, in this case, you need to consult a doctor immediately.

In order to sidestep the problem about swimmer’s ear. Here are some measures how to deal with this ear infection:

• Beware and sensitive enough with the area before thinking of swimming or diving into various body of water. Avoid swimming, jumping or diving into the pools, beaches, ponds, lakes, oceans or any other body of water in which the water might be contaminated. Be cautious enough once that any among of these bodies of water is not clean, it means a lot of bacteria floats.

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• Let the water get out from to avoid swimmer’s ear. You can normally feel water whistle around in your ear if there is still some in there after a shower or swim. So, shake the water out of your ear if you have been swimming, diving or jumping into the pool, beach, lake, pond and ocean.

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• Gently pull on your ear, jiggle it, and shake it to and fro to determine if the infection is in the outer ear. If that hurts, it is possible to be an outer-ear infection such as swimmer’s ear.

• Use over-the-counter antiseptic eardrops such as Aqua Ear or Swim Ear after you swim, dive or jump into to prevent or relieve the pain of a swimmer’s ear. You can also drop your own antiseptic mixture into your ears using equal amounts of rubbing alcohol and white vinegar provided that you have normal eardrums and you have consulted your doctor first. Health experts disclosed the alcohol absorbs water and may kill bacteria including fungus.  They also recommend to drop a mixture of half white vinegar with half water into your ears for those people who spend long hours in swimming.

• Using a tight bathing cap which fits over the ears, across the forehead and around the back of the neck may also help protect the ears of a competitive swimmer who is constantly in the water.

• Never swab, scratch anything inside your ears nor poke around into them to avoid infection or mild swimmer’s ear. Health experts said wax produced in the ear puts up a barrier which is antibacterial and protects against moisture. They added that if you go against nature’s system, you are putting yourself into trouble. Using cotton swabs daily to clean your ears is not advisable because it can only harm their sensitive parts.