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Ear infections can be a pain, isn’t it? The worst part is that every single one of us (for the most part), sometime or the other has experienced this. There are an extensive number of home remedies for swimmer’s ear that are effective in warding off the pain.
The treatment for swimmer’s ear is not rocket science, given the fact that it is caused because of the infection on the outer canal of the ear. Opting for the home remedies or the natural remedies do work magic for this condition.
By the end of this article, you will have a good idea about all the amazing options to get rid of swimmer’s ear fast and without any kind of negative implications whatsoever.
What is Swimmer’s Ear?
Medically termed as Otitis externa, Swimmer’s ear is a condition which is caused because of the infection in the outer canal of the ear.
There could be a number of vectors causing the condition – bacteria and fungi being the most predominant ones.
Swimmers are mostly often at risk of this condition when they have water remaining in their ears, hence the name. The presence of the water in the outer canal of the ear is what provides the microbes with a moist environment to grow and flourish altogether.
What Are The Causes Of Swimmer’s Ear?
When it comes down to the causes behind swimmer’s ear, the possibilities could be quite extensive. It is important to ensure that you do focus on understanding and being aware of the causes because this is where you need to work to get rid of the problem for good.
Some of the causes of swimmer’s ear include:
Jabbing the ear constantly
Keeping your ears cleaned is definitely a must do but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will follow the traditional modes of cleaning because that’s where you are doing things wrong. It is very important to ensure that you avoid using cotton swabs or jab things into your ears repeatedly because that’s where the problem lies.
When you jab in hairpins, pen caps and stuff like that, you are putting yourself up for a problem because this condition does end up rubbing off the protective layer of the earwax which makes you end up scratching your skin in the ear.
Moisture trapped in your ear
Remnant moisture inside the ear often does end up causing issues with the condition of swimmer’s ear. The main reason behind the same is because of the fact that the moist environment in the ear often acts as a medium for the bacteria or the fungi to flourish and grow effectively around.
Additionally, if you are soaking yourself in a hot tub, the same has been found to soften the skin around, causing the germs to enter easily into the ear, causing the infection and the subsequent pain.
Reactions to cosmetics
You might not realize this but the prevalence of the cosmetics can actually have negative impacts on the induction of the condition of swimmer’s ear. This has been found to irritate your skin, thus causing the issue altogether. Not just that, skin diseases like eczema and psoriasis has also been found to have impacts in the ears.
Additional causes
Some of the accessory symptoms for the condition does include ageing as well as narrow ear canals which have been found to have impacts on the drainage of the water trapped inside the ear.
You might not even realize this, but remnant water that can flow out of the ear can be one of the biggest reasons behind the condition of swimmer’s ear and the narrow ear canal can be one of the most common causes behind the same.
Home Remedies For Swimmer’s Ear
Some of the remedies to cure swimmer’s ear include:
1. Get rid of the Moisture
You might not realize this, but the moisture trapped inside your ears is possibly the most common reason behind the condition. It might not necessarily seem like a home remedy but more of a preventive cause that can keep your condition in check.
If you are experiencing the initial of the symptoms and the water is the cause behind the same, it is best suggested to ensure that you do get rid of the moisture first and not provide the microbes with a further place to host on.
For effective results, tilt your head to one side and try and push the water out by patting your other ear firmly but not to an extent to end up hurting yourself.
2. Breast Milk
Even studies (R) have found the efficacy of the breast milk in helping lower the risks associated with infections and a varying types of diseases. This has also been found to have beneficial impacts in improving one’s immunity for the better which further helps improve the overall health too.
Breastfeeding your child is one of the best ways to get rid of the problems altogether, helping improve the child’s immunity against the infection altogether.
3. Heat Compress
Heat compress has been proven to be the best home remedy for swimmer’s ear and the pain that does accompany the condition altogether.
Given the fact that the ear infection causes inflammation inside the ears which is why we feel so much pain, it is very important to ensure that you do opt for this specific remedy to get rid of the pain and the inflammation altogether.
For effective results, heat a pan and place a towel on the hot pan for 3-5 seconds. Place that on the ear, making sure that the heat is bearable and not hot enough to end up burning your ear.
Do this for a few times to help ease the pain and get rid of the inflammation that’s build up inside the ears because of the microbial action.
4. Consume High Antioxidant Foods
Consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and just foods rich in high antioxidant properties have been found to have amazing impacts for pain relief for swimmer’s ear.
Given the fact that the high levels of antioxidants do help in getting rid of the free radical damage, the same does contribute to the boosting the overall immunity of an individual, thus helping in getting rid of the problem altogether.
Foods like lemon, oranges, berries and even the vegetables help in building up one’s immunity, thus helping in increasing the healing time altogether.
5. White Vinegar Rinse
The process of using white vinegar to cure swimmer’s ear has been in action for quite some time now because of its amazing impacts in reducing the inflammation and pain altogether.
The rinse with white vinegar helps in restoring the natural pH of the ear canal which has been proven to have amazing impacts in handling the inflammation altogether. The mild acidic property of the white vinegar has also been found to have beneficial impacts in handling the problems associated with the infection.
For this, make a solution using equal parts of white vinegar and water/rubbing alcohol. Lie down on your side with the affected ear facing upwards. Get someone to pour some of the solution into your ear canal, ensuring to fill it up.
Keep the solution inside the ear for a few minutes and then make sure to get rid of all the remnant of the white vinegar rinse for the good. Make sure you have drained out all the solution and there’s nothing left inside.
As a sign of precaution, make sure that you avoid doing this if you have holes in your eardrum or even if you have any form of ear tubes inside because the same can cause problems then.
6. Avoid Jabbing Your Ears with Things
You will often experience situations during suffering from swimmer’s ears when you would want to scratch your inner ear or jab things inside to get rid of the itch and the pain.
This is what ends up making things even worse. Instead of just jabbing things inside the ear, it is always best suggested to ensure that you avoid doing that.
Don’t poke your ears with the swabs or don’t even try to put your finger in and get the problem sorted. That is not how it works. It is very important to ensure that you don’t do that because the same does nothing but just aggravate and irritate the skin inside the ear even further.
7. Garlic
The active compound in the garlic, Allicin, is what does help in getting rid of the infection and warding off the signs and symptoms associated with the pain and the inflammation.
Allicin has been found to have beneficial antimicrobial (R) and anti-inflammatory (R) properties which does help in getting rid of the infection altogether.
For this, peel and cut garlic clove in half. Place the half cut clove inside the ear and leave it in for a few minutes. Make sure that the clove is big enough so it doesn’t seep inside the ear completely, blocking out the ear canal.
8. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide solution is amazing for getting rid of the earwax buildup inside your ear. If you have been struggling with the excess ear wax inside the ears that’s making the water retain inside, it is always best suggested to opt for the hydrogen peroxide drops to drain out the same without any issue whatsoever.
The 3% hydrogen peroxide is very effective in removing the ear wax effectively and also helps fight off the infection in the treatment for swimmer’s ear.
It is very important to use the drying drops and if you can’t find any, make sure to opt for the dryer to dry out the wetness inside the ears and such. It is very important to ensure that you don’t have any kind of moisture left behind in the ear canal because the same can be very effective in enhancing the condition of the infection.
9. Olive Oil
Olive oil is yet another one of the effective ways in which one can get pain relief for swimmer’s ear. It is very important to ensure that you do avoid going ham with the application of the oil because the same can clog the canal too.
Using a dropper, pour in a few drops of the olive oil into the ear by lying down on your side with the paining ear facing up. Let the oil seep into the ear and then you can get rid of the excess by patting your other ear and tilting your head down.
Don’t use cotton swabs or things like that because the same does end up making things worse.
The olive oil helps in breaking down the earwax buildup and thus gets rid of the pain that you might be feeling because of the inflammation as such.
Additionally, olive oil also does have beneficial antimicrobial properties (R) which further helps manage the condition and gets rid of the irritation altogether.
10. Omega-3 rich diet
Instead of just being blindly reliant on anything, stick to a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids. It has been found that foods that are rich in fatty acids like salmon, and even lean proteins have beneficial impacts in handling the inflammation that is causing the pain and the uneasiness around inside the ears.
It is mainly because of the beneficial anti-inflammatory properties which come in handy during this specific situation. If you are not willing to consume the fishes, try out for supplements because even they work amazingly.
11. Essential oils
There are a number of essential oils that do work amazingly in treating the condition for the better by getting rid of the infection and even treating it for the better.
Several essential oils like tea tree oil, oregano oil, basil oil etc. have been found to have amazing impacts in getting rid of the pain and get rid of the infection caused by the microbes because of the potent antimicrobial properties that they possess.
Even a number of studies have found the efficacy of these essential oils in helping get rid of swimmer’s ear fast. Additionally, apart from them, some of the other essential oils that do work magic include garlic oil, peppermint oil, mustard oil etc.
12. Echinacea
Echinacea is a flowering plant which imposes beneficial impacts in getting rid of the pain and the irritation caused because of the condition of swimmer’s ear.
This specific home remedy for swimmer’s ear is actually quite effective in warding off the problems associated with the lack of proper immune system. Echinacea has been found to have beneficial impacts in draining out the lymphatic system and even boosts the immune system simultaneously.
The dosage for this, if you are taking supplements does depend on what the doctor suggests you with. Don’t go out of your way to consume more and become the same can have negative impacts on one’s health altogether.
How To Prevent Swimmer’s Ear?
You might not realize this but swimmer’s ear can be prevented if you opt for healthy preventive measures for the condition.
It is very important to ensure that you do follow some of preventive measures for the good.
Some of the best ways to prevent swimmer’s ear include:
- Ensure that your ears aren’t wet and dried completely
- Avoid using cotton swabs or any kind of item to jab into the ears
- Always maintain proper earwax hygiene
- Don’t forget to wear earplugs while swimming
- Make sure to take good care of your skin
- Use ear drops from time to time to get rid of the wax buildup
The home remedies for swimmer’s ear are quite effective in not just handling the pain but the inflammation as well. It is very important to ensure that you do opt for ways with precaution in mind. Don’t be rash with your decisions because that’s where the problem arises from.
