EAR PROBLEMS: ACHE AND EAR WAX
Even the humble ear ache has come to be surrounded by controversy as doctors argue over the need for antibiotics in the treatment of middle ear infections. Some say the prescription of antibiotics is unnecessary because middle ear infections get better by themselves. Furthermore children who get better without antibiotics develop better immunity and less frequent attacks in the future. Other doctors argue that untreated middle oar infections lead to Mastoiditis, Meningitis, Encephalitis and death. All of these complications are infrequent since antibiotics arrived in the 1930s and 40s.
Opponents of antibiotics say that it is not antibiotics that have turned the tide, but improved nutrition and hygiene. One compromise position involves holding off antibiotics for two or three days to give the immune system «a look» at an infection before blasting away. Australian doctors being a conservative group of professionals the hair trigger rule still applies. If they see a middle ear infection they open fire with antibiotics.
Water and the introduction of unfriendly bacteria cause external ear infections. Under chlorinated home or public swimming pools in the summer months are the main offenders. Most of these infections resolve with antibiotic ear drops.
One unusual form of earache occurs at night in the absence of infection. When some people lie down at night their Eustachian Tubes close up and don’t drain. Air in the middle ear is reabsorbed and the resulting vacuum causes a severe throbbing earache.
Home Remedies
Pain in the ear signifies the need for medical attention. Simple methods to relieve an earache involve swallowing, yawning, blowing out with the nose and mouth closed or the instillation of olive oil or glycerin heated to body temperature.
Children with repeated ear infections after swimming due to water retention can have their ears washed out with Aquaear or Vosol drops. Use these solutions after each session in the pool or the shower. The use of a hair drier is a novel but potentially dangerous approach to the removal of recalcitrant water from a wet ear.
Ear Wax
Wax in the ears is water repellent, an insect repellent and an antibiotic. Furthermore ears are self cleaning and no assistance is necessary to remove wax from the inside of the external canal. The use of cotton buds or similar devices simply rams wax into the ear like gunpowder into the barrel of cannon. It is true that people with hairy ears or mild dermatitis get an ear full of wax. Following the nightly instillation of some olive oil or Cerumol drops, cleaning impacted wax out of these ears is a job for the doctor.
Home Remedies
Don’t clean wax out of the ears with anything less than an elbow. Use olive oil or Cerumol drops to liquidize earwax in the event of a build up.
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