My son, Adam, woke up with ear pain early Monday morning. A trip to the doctor revealed that he had swimmer’s ear. But after two days on the antibiotic drops, he was worse, not better, and neither one of us was getting any sleep.
Thanks to Facebook and live friends, I got a lot of advice. Suggestions ranged from the medical, take him to an ENT to have it flushed, to the alternative, ear candling. My husband was so intrigued by this suggestion — which entails putting a special hollow candle in the ear and burning it to draw out excess liquid, wax and debris — that he spent a whole evening on YouTube watching videos of the procedure.
In the end it turned out the swimmer’s ear led to a full blown ear infection. After a day on oral antibiotics and steroid drops, we are finally sleeping again. But the question is how to keep him out of the water now that he’s feeling better. Have any strategies for that?
Swimmer’s ear is a real pain
Betsy Stein | 06/19/09
2 Responses to “Swimmer’s ear is a real pain”
About Betsy Stein
Betsy Stein has been editor of Maryland Family magazine since 2002. Her main and most fulfilling job, however, is her family — husband, Chris, and children, Maggie, 12; Lilly and Adam, 11; and Jonah, 7. Before kids, Betsy was a reporter for the Howard County Times beginning in 1991. She covered education, planning and zoning, and courts and cops at various points in her career.
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Reminding him of the pain might help. How long does he need to stay out?
Put a drop of vinegar in his ear before and after he swims and you won’t have the problem anymore. Worked for me!