Thursday, June 30, 2011
Dr. Wassmuth quoted in Austin Family Magazine - Cool Pool accessories keep swimmers healthy
Pick up the July 2011 issue of Austin Family to read about "Cool pool accessories keep swimmers healthy"(page 34-35). Dr. Zachary Wassmuth is quoted in the article and discussed how to prevent and treat swimmers ear / ear infections.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Does your little swimmer have swimmer's ear?
With summer in full swing and tempurature over 100 degrees, many kids are spending time in the swimming pool. A common infection that is associated with swimming is otitis externa (commonly referred to as 'swimmer's ear'). Swimmer's ear is an ear canal infection with ear pain being the primary symptom.
Swimmers ear infections are caused by excessive water exposure to the ear canal skin. Most of the time, there is no ill effect of exposing the ear canal skin to clean, chlorinated water. If the water is dirty such as a lake or a river, excessive water exposure is more likely to lead to infection. The risk is increased if there is any trauma to the ear canal such as using Q-tips, scratches from fingernails or cleaning instruments, or having overly dry ear canal skin from excessive ear wax cleaning.
Earplugs help to prevent ear infections simply by keeping water out of the ear canal. This is especially important in people that instrument their ear canals and/or participate in water sports in dirty water. Ear plugs can be found at your local drug store. You can tell that your plugs fit well if you note some decrease in your ability to hear when the ear plugs are in. Obviously, if water leaks into the ear canal, the fit is poor. If you have difficulty finding a ear plug that fits correctly, most ENT offices make custom ear molds at a minimal cost.
If you fear that there has been excessive water exposure, or you are having difficulty removing water from the ear canal, several simple tips will improve your chances of avoiding an ear infection. First, shake all water from the ear canal. Gently dabbing the external ear with a towel will help remove even more water. Finally, using a swimmer’s ear solution or a homemade solution of vinegar/rubbing alcohol mix after water exposure will help to dry the ear completely.
Zachary Wassmuth, MD
Swimmers ear infections are caused by excessive water exposure to the ear canal skin. Most of the time, there is no ill effect of exposing the ear canal skin to clean, chlorinated water. If the water is dirty such as a lake or a river, excessive water exposure is more likely to lead to infection. The risk is increased if there is any trauma to the ear canal such as using Q-tips, scratches from fingernails or cleaning instruments, or having overly dry ear canal skin from excessive ear wax cleaning.
Earplugs help to prevent ear infections simply by keeping water out of the ear canal. This is especially important in people that instrument their ear canals and/or participate in water sports in dirty water. Ear plugs can be found at your local drug store. You can tell that your plugs fit well if you note some decrease in your ability to hear when the ear plugs are in. Obviously, if water leaks into the ear canal, the fit is poor. If you have difficulty finding a ear plug that fits correctly, most ENT offices make custom ear molds at a minimal cost.
If you fear that there has been excessive water exposure, or you are having difficulty removing water from the ear canal, several simple tips will improve your chances of avoiding an ear infection. First, shake all water from the ear canal. Gently dabbing the external ear with a towel will help remove even more water. Finally, using a swimmer’s ear solution or a homemade solution of vinegar/rubbing alcohol mix after water exposure will help to dry the ear completely.
Zachary Wassmuth, MD
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