Swimmer’s ear is infection of the ear canal which is the passage that carries sound from the outside of the body to the ear drum. This inflammation of the external ear canal occurs when water gets into the ear especially  during swimming or bathing and does not drain properly. This causes the ear canal to be irritated and infected.

However you don’t have to be a swimmer for you to get this infection. Anything that can cause a break in the skin of the ear canal can cause an infection. Dry skin or eczema , vigorous cleaning of the ear with cotton swabs, scratching of the ear canal as well as putting foreign objects such as bobby pins in the ears can increase your risk of swimmer’s ears.

How would i know my child has swimmer’s ears.

Children with this condition will complain about itching or pain in the ear. Ear pain ca be severe and gets worse when the outer part of the ear is pulled or pressed upon.  Hearing can also decrease as the canal swells. The infected ear may ooze yellowish pus.

How is swimmer’s ear treated  ?

The doctor will diagnose this condition after examining the ear canal with an otoscope. Once diagnosed  , the doctor will prescribe ear drops. Ask your doctor to demonstrate  how to use the ear drops. It is also important to keep your child’s ear canal as dry as possible during the healing process. This means you have to delay washing and shampooing until inflammation has disappeared.

Once a child has swimmer’s ear infection, you need to avoid future episodes. You can avoid this by putting drops in your child’s ears after swimming. It can either a 70 percent alcohol solu­tion or a mixture of one-half alcohol, one-half white vinegar. You should also dry the ears with a towel immediately after swimming or bathing.