Preventing Ear Infections
Around July is when I start hearing from parents that their kids are getting ear infections and will have to miss out on swimming lessons for a week while they fight the infection.
Ear infections are PREVENTABLE with a little extra attention during the summer months.
They are caused when ear wax traps water in the ear and bacteria grows. It doesn’t mean that the pool water is dirty. All water has bacteria. You can get ear infections from shower and bath water. Any water trapped in the ear can cause an infection. Bacteria grows in dark, moist places…an ear canal is a perfect breeding spot for bacteria when there is too much wax in the ear canal and the water can’t dry out.
Ear wax is generated by the body to protect the ear canal. It’s a good thing. But with everything in life, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Swimming causes a lot of water to go in one’s ears. That means your body will start producing extra ear wax to protect the ear canal. This can cause over production and build up. Hence the increased number of ear infections in the summer time.
Here are some suggestions to prevent very painful ear infections:
WATCH your child when they are swimming. Notice if they are tilting their head, shaking their head and/or touching their ears a lot. Those are the signs I’m always looking for when teaching students.
Set a periodic reminder to check your child’s ears for wax build up.
Get a Digital Otoscope. You can find these on Amazon. They connect to your smartphone and help you get a better look into your child’s ears to see if there is build up.
Every time you take your child to the doctor have them check your child’s ears for wax build up
Talk to your child about the importance of letting you know when water gets stuck in their ears. It’s not a minor issue. It’s a symptom of the beginning of an ear infection coming down the road! Kids don’t know what’s important unless you tell them it’s important.
Keep some Debrox and a bulb syringe in your medicine cabinet for cleaning out that extra wax build up when you notice it. Sometimes it can be hard to find Debrox. Walmart carries a generic version that works just as well. In a pinch you can use some hydrogen peroxide to loosen the wax then flush with warm water. Put a few drops of baby oil in the ear afterwards to keep the ear canal from drying out and itching.
