Don’t Fear the Ear

Mommy, my ear hurts!

That dreaded phrase strikes fear into the heart of parents everywhere, especially in the middle of a summer vacation when you’re not close to your usual medical support system.

This time of year, however, the (kind of) good news is that there’s a chance Jack’s earache is swimmer’s ear (a.k.a. otitis externa) and that’s a whole other ball of wax (if you’ll pardon the pun). It’s an infection of the lining of the ear canal that is common in children whose ears have been exposed to a lot of water. Water weakens this lining and changes the acidic balance, allowing bacteria to penetrate it, causing inflammation, infection and pain.

Good to Know: Children are more prone to get swimmer’s ear from swimming in lake water than swimming pools or the ocean. During the hottest weeks of the summer (like now), some lakes have higher than usual levels of bacteria, further increasing their propensity to cause swimmer’s ear. (Yuk.)

Diagnosis Dr. Mom
So, Dr. Mom, now you have the task of determining whether the ear “hurt” is swimmer’s ear or the more serious middle ear infection which usually requires a course of antibiotics to treat.

Try our secret technique that we learned from highly trained professionals. Pull gently on the outer ear, wiggle it up and down or push lightly on the bump in front of the ear (called the tragus)—if you get a wince or an ‘ouch!’ that’s the classic sign of swimmer’s ear. Other symptoms include itchy/painful ear canals, stuffiness in the ear and clear discharge (turning to yellow without treatment).

The Rx
Next, diagnosis in hand, you must prescribe the course of treatment for your young patient. Generally, swimmer’s ear can be treated with over-the-counter antibiotic ear drops (we’re carrying around the new Polysporin Plus Pain Relief Ear Drops—a little Lidocaine is a good thing). If the young patient permits, massage the ear around the opening or move the earlobe back and forth to help the drops into the ear canal. Continue using the drops until symptoms are cleared up. For pain relief, use acetaminophen or ibuprofen. (If symptoms do not resolve themselves in three days, a doctor should be seen.)

The ‘Worth the Pound of Cure’
If you want the patient to avoid a repeat visit to your ‘office’, there are a few things you can do to prevent swimmer’s ear:

• If possible, limit or reduce the number of hours a day your little fish spends in her favourite element
• After each swim, help Baby Neptune get all the water out of his ears by turning his head sideways and pulling on the earlobe in a variety of directions to clear the water from inside
• Rinse your child’s ear canals with a mixture of half rubbing alcohol (which drys and kills germs) and half white vinegar (which helps restore the normal acid balance of the ear)

The good news—swimmer’s ear is usually better in about three days. And that’s music to our ears.

For more information, we recommend www.aboutkidshealth.ca, providing trusted answers from the The Hospital for Sick Children.

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