Are you or your children susceptible to swimmer’s ear infections, like I am?
If so, I have an excellent little home remedy for you. Since I’ve been following this regimen since 2018, I haven’t’ had a single ear infection.
Here’ what I do:
- I start by emptying one of those little bottles of ear drying drops and replacing the contents with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 Tablespoon of rubbing alcohol. I also reuse the same container over and over again.
- I administer 5 drops in each ear every time I get out of the pool. No need to lie down on each side for 5 minutes as you are required to do so with antibiotic ear drops for it to penetrate. Just 5 drops in each ear, and that’s it.
Pediatrician Dr. Sears recommends the same procedure.Â
He also says that the ear drying drops, which contain only isopropyl alcohol, prevent ear infections. I have to disagree. Before I discovered the vinegar/alcohol combination, I was using the ear drying drops. And believe me, it did not prevent swimmer’s ear infections in my case.
Important – do not place alcohol into an already sore or infected ear. This will be very painful for an already hurting child. Just use white vinegar in this case.
Dr. Sears’ article doesn’t mention any specific age recommendations for using a vinegar alcohol solution for treating ear infections.
So, I consulted a general practitioner who is the father of one of my swim students. He confirmed that the solution is safe for babies too, but recommended using only 2 drops in each ear.
It’s crucial to note that the drops should not be administered if the child has ear tubes or a hole in their eardrum. Additionally, he shared some literature on the subject with me, which can also be found on the Nationwide Children’s website.
This home remedy is the bomb. It has been a game-changer. And this is coming from someone who spends 5 to 7 hours a day, 5 days a week in the pool.
I hope this helps you and or your children as it has helped me.
Until next time..
Love the water but fence it in,
Tessa
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Hello! Thank you for this valuable information. We put in a pool this spring, and my son has had back to back swimmer’s ear infections. I’ve never experienced these before, but his experience is awful. He is currently on antibiotic drops. If we go into the pool when we are still on these, we should just use the vinegar? It won’t hurt him? Thank you!
Just use the antibiotic ear drops for now. It’ll do the job. Before I discovered the alcohol/vinegar solution and had to use the antibiotic ear drops, my doctor told me to keep my ears dry until I finished the dose of ear drops. Are you sure that your son can swim while he’s being treated for swimmer’s ear?
For the future, if you use the alcohol/vinegar solution after every swim session, he shouldn’t get another ear infection. I’ve noticed from time to time when I administer the alcohol/vinegar; the sensation is a little different (the discomfort level on a scale of 1 to 10 is about a 2 or a 3). It feels like the beginning of an ear infection, but the vinegar part of the solution stops it from progressing immediately. With your son, if he feels some discomfort, switch to just vinegar the next one or two times, and it’ll be all better in no time.