Ear - Swimmer's

When To Call

Call Doctor or Seek Care Now

• Severe ear pain and not improved after using care advice
• Redness and swelling of outer ear
• Fever higher than 104° F (40° C)
• Your child looks or acts very sick
• You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent

Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours

• Yellow discharge or pus from ear canal
• Fever
• Blocked ear canal
• Swollen lymph node near ear
• You are not sure that ear pain is caused by swimmer's ear
• Ear symptoms last more than 7 days on treatment
• You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent

Contact Doctor During Office Hours

• You have other questions or concerns

Self Care at Home

• Swimmer's ear with no other problems

Care Advice

What You Should Know About Swimmer's Ear:

• Swimmer's ear is a mild infection of the ear canal.
• It's caused by water getting trapped in the ear canal. Ear canals were meant to be dry.
• Here is some care advice that should help.

White Vinegar Rinses:

• Rinse the ear canals with half-strength white vinegar. Mix vinegar with equal parts warm water. Exception: ear tubes or hole in eardrum.
• Start by having your child lie down with the painful ear upward.
• Fill the ear canal.
• Wait 5 minutes. Then, turn your child's head to the side and move the ear. This will remove the vinegar rinse.
• Do the other side.
• Continue twice a day until the ear canal returns to normal.
• Reason: restores the normal acid pH of the ear canal and lessens swelling.

Pain Medicine:

• To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
• Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
• Use as needed.

Heat For Pain:

• If pain is moderate to severe, use a heating pad (set on low). You can also use a warm wet cloth to outer ear.
• Do this for 20 minutes. Caution: avoid burns. Repeat as needed.
• This will also increase drainage.

Reduce Swimming Times:

• Try not to swim until symptoms are gone.
• If on a swim team, it's usually okay to continue.
• Swimming may slow your child's recovery, but causes no serious harm.

Return to School:

• Swimmer's ear cannot be spread to others.

What to Expect:

• With treatment, symptoms should be better in 3 days.
• They should be gone in 7 days.

Prevention of Swimmer's Ear:

• Try to keep the ear canals dry.
• After showers, hair washing, or swimming, help the water run out of ears. Do this by turning the head.
• Do not use cotton swabs. Reason: packs in the earwax. The wax buildup then traps water behind it.
• If swimmer's ear is a frequent problem, rinse the ear canals after swimming. Use a few drops of a white vinegar-rubbing alcohol rinse. Use equal parts of each to make the rinse.
• Lake water has the greatest risk. Rinse the ear canals with tap water after any lake swimming. Do this until you can get vinegar ear drops.

Call Your Doctor If:

• Ear pain becomes severe
• Ear symptoms last over 7 days on treatment
• You think your child needs to be seen
• Your child becomes worse

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