What Is Swimmers Ear?
It is that time of year, time to pull out your swimsuit and head into the water for some summer fun!
But sometimes what follows is the furthest from summer fun….an ear infection, or more specifically…swimmers ear!
Swimmers ear is a bacterial infection of the skin of the outer ear canal that often flares up from swimming or from the ear being to wet for a prolonged period of time.
Swimmers Ear Facts
According to MedicineNet.com, here are some pretty important swimmers ear facts:
- Swimmer’s ear, or external otitis, is typically a bacterial infection of the skin of the outer ear canal.
- Swimmer’s ear can occur in both acute and chronic forms.
- Excessive water exposure and frequent instrumentation (usually with cotton swabs) of the ear canal are important causative factors.
- Itchy ears, a feeling of fullness, swelling, drainage, and pain are early symptoms.
- Avoidance of water are frequently necessary for treatment.
- Proper ear care can avoid most infections.
A lot of people quickly run to their physician when their ear starts to ache. But many times you can naturally get rid of swimmers ear without the need of any medicine.
Naturally Get Rid of Swimmers Ear
There are several ways to naturally get rid of swimmers ear. I am going to go over two of the methods with you today.
Both of these methods use only natural ingredients such as alcohol, vinegar and essential oils.
Here are the two methods.
Using Alcohol and Vinegar
Here is the first method to naturally get rid of swimmers ear:
- Take a solution of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% white vinegar.
- With an eye dropper, drop a few drops into the ear that is hurting.
- Allow the drops to stay in for a few seconds and then drain. The alcohol will help dry up the water in the ear and the vinegar has antibacterial properties to help with the infection.
- If the ear is already hurting, you may want to leave this solution in the ear a bit longer (about 5 minutes) and then drain it out.
If you or the person experiencing swimmers ear is prone to these type of infections, use this mixture after you come out of the pool/water each time to prevent an infection from happening.
I have a video on this method at the bottom of this post, so be sure to check this out!
Using Essential Oils To Help With The Pain and/or Infection
A second method is to use essential oils. If you are experiencing pain in the ear and the swimmers ear is a bit more advanced, you may want to try this second method.
If the ear is really sore, try adding a few drops of basil, melaleuca or helichrysum essential oils to a cotton ball and gently place it into the ear opening (do not press into the ear canal). Replace as needed for the infection and pain every 4-6 hours. SAFTEY NOTE: Never place essential oils directly into the ear canal!
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When To Seek Out Medical Professionals
If at anytime the infection worsens or if these methods do not work, at that point it may be best to seek out your physician for further evaluation.
I personally have tried both these methods with myself and my girls and they have worked every single time. As always I would like to mention to use this or any home remedy at your own risk. Consult your physician before trying home remedies.
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Swimmers ear is a pain in the you know what for us divers. I know that it’s one of those thing you can’t avoid if you are into this kind of thing but it’s just so irritating. My father, who was also a diver, taught me how to treat it and the method is just like yours (the first one) but with a few alterations. It works I must say and it saved me a lot of times.
I had no idea that it was actually a bacterial infection, but I have used the alcohol and vinegar mix in the past, and it works like a charm.
I didn’t know about the oils, but will write it down for the next time I might need it.
Thanks for the info, specially now with summer around the corner!
Can u keep the mixture of the viniger n alcohol in a jar. Or its only to be mixed when needed.
We premix ours without any issues.
My kids have been in the pool every day for the last month. My son just started complaining about water and pain in one of his ears. I did your 50/50 alcohol vinegar mix and let it sit in his ear for 3 minutes and then drained for a minute. Then he started saying his ear really hurt and even asked to go to the dr. I swabbed it dry and gave him some Tylenol and he forgot about it by bedtime. Is it normal for an ear to hurt after putting the 50/50 solution in it?
When we put it in the ears, you might feel a slight warmth from the alcohol but I wouldn’t say it hurts. The ear could already have an infection and he might need to be seen. Hope your little one feels better.
The vinegar and alcohol did not work for me. It actually made it worse now it feels like there is more water in my ear then before
Who’s marly quit being so disrespectful
My 6 year old granddaughter swims daily and she has been complaining for a week off an on about her ear hurting, I tried your solution and she says it feels great the pain is gone
Thank you very much
Happy to help Mary and so happy to hear that your granddaughter is feeling better!
I have very bad swimmer’s ear it has been hurting for almost a week. I have tried everything and nothing seems to work. Then I saw this rubbing alcohol and vinegar method, after my mom put it in I sat and let it in for 5 minutes then proceeded to drain. Now my ear feels very clogged is this normal?
For the alcohol & vinegar mixture, does it matter if the rubbing alcohol is comprised of denatured alcohol or isopropyl alcohol?
You should use isopropyl alcohol.
My ears been stuffed with water for the past month and ear drops arnt working I’m miserable
Thank you. This worked great!
Happy to hear that it worked for you.
How many times a day should I do the first mixture or is it supposed to help after the first time?
Thanks!
I get swimmers ear a lot mostly because of my cotton swab use, a habit I need to break
I hope it helps because I don’t want to go to the doctor again for it.
Hi Holly! Yes, the cotton swab use can definitely cause ear irritation and in my opinion, should be avoided at all costs. I would only use it up to 3 times a day. If it doesn’t clear up in a few days, it might be best to see the doctor.
does it matter if u tried different medics 4 hours before this
I had this ear infection last year and was using treatment, however I stopped using the treatment too soon and ended up in excruciating pain for several days please don’t make the same mistake I did x