Fungal Infection In The Ear

[femi fan]

Five days of appalling antibiotics. Recovered from the side-effects, but the infection was made worse.

Three weeks of anti-fungal pills, now finished. Still got the infection.

Six thousand baht lighter, no progress!!

That's doctors and pills. Although i've been given one or two recommendations for other doctors, i'd rather not go back to them.

What else can i do? I have located a homeopathy centre in chiang mai where i live, but yet to make any appointment. Anybody recommend them as an alternative to mainstream medicine?

I know fungi are stubborn and resistant, but i also know my liver can't be enjoying all these pills. I do also wonder if i just forget about it whether the body will do its own healing and evict the fungal invader.

[babuhavas]

sorry i have no idea about cm,but i had very bad ear fungus,i went to BNH hospital bangkok on soi convent,they put some sort of small vacum pipe in my ear and withing 15 mins i was feeling fantastic,cost me only 2500 baht.

[Nigelmartin]

I had a fungal infection in my ear that I just would not go away. I went to a specialist in the uk and he recommended Benovate scaple application. You apply it once a day with a cotton bud. Mine took about a week to go. Sometime the infection does come back. Just re-apply the betnovate. You can get it from any Pharmacy in cream and liquid form. Buy the liquid. Comes in a 30ml plastic bottle.

[ballbreaker]

Might try a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water.

[ThailandLovr]

I went to two GPs and through several ineffective antibiotics before finally going to an ENT. He gave me different meds and the stubbord problem finally was cleared.

[femi fan]

I had a fungal infection in my ear that I just would not go away. I went to a specialist in the uk and he recommended Benovate scaple application. You apply it once a day with a cotton bud. Mine took about a week to go. Sometime the infection does come back. Just re-apply the betnovate. You can get it from any Pharmacy in cream and liquid form. Buy the liquid. Comes in a 30ml plastic bottle.

Thanks everyone for their ideas.

This particular method sounds interesting to me. However i have now got myself some anti-fungal ear drops, so guess i will give them a go. However the pharmacist told me i'd have to continue with the drops for two weeks after i'm better. I was wondering if the same would apply to your benovate application, and perhaps that's why it comes back sometimes?

What is 'scaple'?

I wonder if i'd encounter problems if i used both my ear drops and your benovate?

[Nigelmartin]

I had a fungal infection in my ear that I just would not go away. I went to a specialist in the uk and he recommended Benovate scaple application. You apply it once a day with a cotton bud. Mine took about a week to go. Sometime the infection does come back. Just re-apply the betnovate. You can get it from any Pharmacy in cream and liquid form. Buy the liquid. Comes in a 30ml plastic bottle.

Thanks everyone for their ideas.

This particular method sounds interesting to me. However i have now got myself some anti-fungal ear drops, so guess i will give them a go. However the pharmacist told me i'd have to continue with the drops for two weeks after i'm better. I was wondering if the same would apply to your benovate application, and perhaps that's why it comes back sometimes?

What is 'scaple'?

I wonder if i'd encounter problems if i used both my ear drops and your benovate?

The specialist I saw in the UK said that from his experience, although a sclap treat, it was safe to use in the ear and was the most effective in removing the fugal infection. Yes may be you are right I didn't persist with the treatment.

[gennisis]

Five days of appalling antibiotics. Recovered from the side-effects, but the infection was made worse.

Three weeks of anti-fungal pills, now finished. Still got the infection.

Six thousand baht lighter, no progress!!

That's doctors and pills. Although i've been given one or two recommendations for other doctors, i'd rather not go back to them.

What else can i do? I have located a homeopathy centre in chiang mai where i live, but yet to make any appointment. Anybody recommend them as an alternative to mainstream medicine?

I know fungi are stubborn and resistant, but i also know my liver can't be enjoying all these pills. I do also wonder if i just forget about it whether the body will do its own healing and evict the fungal invader.

You might want to try Hydrogen Peroxide.Use a 3% solution and allow it to stay in the ear for 10 mins....also very good for cleaning out any ear wax.

[femi fan]

You might want to try Hydrogen Peroxide.Use a 3% solution and allow it to stay in the ear for 10 mins....also very good for cleaning out any ear wax.

Well, i just went to the local health food shop and got talking with the lady who runs it and another customer who overheard me. The upshot was that i walked out with a bottle of colloidal silver.

My research on the net so far indicates this could be a wise move. Somewhere i just read mentioned to clear out my ear with hydrogen peroxide first, then to put in drops of the silver.

Well, i'll try the silver first, i don't think i have any wax in the ear, the fungus seems to rule the roost! However i've recently been reading a lot about hydrogen peroxide. I thought i needed to get the 35% food grade variety for internal use, or does inside the ear not count as internal? Have you used the procedure you mention yourself?

And if any posters have any experience using either this hydrogen peroxide or the colloidal silver for ear infections, that would be good to read about too.

[FBN]

Chronic or recurrent ear infections are usually as a result of an underlying condition like "swimmer's ear", some debris in the ear canal or excessive use of ear buds.

The final diagnosis can only be confirmed by an examination of the ear canal by an ENT surgeon with the appropriate equipment.

Swimmers ear can be managed by using a commercial ear drop for this after swimming or exposure to fresh or sea water. This is usually a "medicalised" version of the vinegar/water mixture suggested by another poster above.

Antibiotics have just about no role to play in treating ear canal infections in general and fungal infections especially.

A local broad spectrum antifungal/antibacterial drop like Sofradex will usuall do the trick if there are no other underlying conditions.

I would suggest to do a bit of research on the internet before using the colloidal silver; it is really not advised. It will be rapidly absorbed from the sensitive lining of the ear canal and lead to really bad side effects.

Peroxide is highly oxidative and irritant and can cause real damage to the cells that produce ear wax; your body's own best remedy and the best protective agent you have.

[Dakhar]

Chronic or recurrent ear infections are usually as a result of an underlying condition like "swimmer's ear", some debris in the ear canal or excessive use of ear buds.

The final diagnosis can only be confirmed by an examination of the ear canal by an ENT surgeon with the appropriate equipment.

Swimmers ear can be managed by using a commercial ear drop for this after swimming or exposure to fresh or sea water. This is usually a "medicalised" version of the vinegar/water mixture suggested by another poster above.

Antibiotics have just about no role to play in treating ear canal infections in general and fungal infections especially.

A local broad spectrum antifungal/antibacterial drop like Sofradex will usuall do the trick if there are no other underlying conditions.

I would suggest to do a bit of research on the internet before using the colloidal silver; it is really not advised. It will be rapidly absorbed from the sensitive lining of the ear canal and lead to really bad side effects.

Peroxide is highly oxidative and irritant and can cause real damage to the cells that produce ear wax; your body's own best remedy and the best protective agent you have.

As a Doctorate Audiologist, I do agree with FBN. BTW sometimes antibiotics can actually make fungal infections worse.

I like an ENT at Vichayut, by the name of Propot (sp) older feller, actually owns the hospital.

[Jangot]

If all those anti fungal treatments are not working - it may not be fungal.

I used to have a recurrent problem with ear infections, severe pain, itching, and the outer ear canal swolen so much it closed up.

Eventually one doctor stated that it was not fungal, and told me to use "quadriderm ointment, applied with cotton bud.

That cured it within days, and now, any time I feel a slight itch coming on in my ear, I apply quadriderm, and it has never developed into a full blown nasty since.

Hope you find the correct treatment soon - ear infections can make life utterly miserable.

J.

[gennisis]

You might want to try Hydrogen Peroxide.Use a 3% solution and allow it to stay in the ear for 10 mins....also very good for cleaning out any ear wax.

Well, i just went to the local health food shop and got talking with the lady who runs it and another customer who overheard me. The upshot was that i walked out with a bottle of colloidal silver.

My research on the net so far indicates this could be a wise move. Somewhere i just read mentioned to clear out my ear with hydrogen peroxide first, then to put in drops of the silver.

Well, i'll try the silver first, i don't think i have any wax in the ear, the fungus seems to rule the roost! However i've recently been reading a lot about hydrogen peroxide. I thought i needed to get the 35% food grade variety for internal use, or does inside the ear not count as internal? Have you used the procedure you mention yourself?

And if any posters have any experience using either this hydrogen peroxide or the colloidal silver for ear infections, that would be good to read about too.

YES....I have an extreme ear wax production line that can cause me quite severe vertigo problems with a total loss of balance. I now have been washing out both ears with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution on a weekly basis and so far...all is well. I buy a small bottle of 30% concentration and then dilute it.

[imaneggspurt]

You will need a specialist swab to be diagnosed the correct antibiotics,i had this and once done was on the road to recovery within days, see a nose/throat specialist,

[femi fan]

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice.

I was originally diagnosed with a fungal infection with white spores being visible to the doctor.

After those highly toxic ciprofloxacin antibiotics, he told me the fungus had gone down a bit, but i had more bacteria. I subsequently understood the reasons for this, but too late.

I went elsewhere to a general doctor who i thought i could trust. He gave me the anti-fungal pills after looking in the ear. Very expensive pills too. Three weeks, no cure. I don't want to go back to him.

I was given some eardrops by a good pharmacist here in chiang mai. The active drug in them is clotromazole. After three session my instincts told me to look for other solutions. I was to wait for my symptoms to go, then continue for another two weeks. No thanks!

I did a lot of reading up on the colloidal silver after buying it (i had also come across it before, but when i had full health), and thus far have used a cotton bud soaked in it and gently put in my ear. But the advice says two drops, so i'll buy a dropper tomorrow. Interestingly my ear feels the best it's felt in days.

I have lost what little confidence i have in doctors for general health complaints because all that's happening is that they're taking my hard-earned money and giving me nothing in return except a damaged liver.

I have been recommended a doctor at his own clinic who is distinctly non-pill pushing, so perhaps i'll ask him about colloidal silver. But if it does what many say it does, then of course no point in asking doctors who aren't paid to dish out cheap solutions, but rather expensive pills!

[T_Dog]

Might try a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water.

I had several ear infections my first year in Thailand until I started using 50% white vinegar and 50% isopropyl alcohol. I put in three drops in each ear after swimming.

[femi fan]

Chronic or recurrent ear infections are usually as a result of an underlying condition like "swimmer's ear", some debris in the ear canal or excessive use of ear buds.

The final diagnosis can only be confirmed by an examination of the ear canal by an ENT surgeon with the appropriate equipment.

Swimmers ear can be managed by using a commercial ear drop for this after swimming or exposure to fresh or sea water. This is usually a "medicalised" version of the vinegar/water mixture suggested by another poster above.

Antibiotics have just about no role to play in treating ear canal infections in general and fungal infections especially.

A local broad spectrum antifungal/antibacterial drop like Sofradex will usuall do the trick if there are no other underlying conditions.

I would suggest to do a bit of research on the internet before using the colloidal silver; it is really not advised. It will be rapidly absorbed from the sensitive lining of the ear canal and lead to really bad side effects.

Peroxide is highly oxidative and irritant and can cause real damage to the cells that produce ear wax; your body's own best remedy and the best protective agent you have.

Could i ask by who colloidal silver is not advised? And specifically what bad side effects? The side effects i got from the cipro drug were appalling, both mental and physical.

Everything i read indicated that it will do the job and with no side effects. The main caution i read about was to limit the direct application to just two drops about two times a day. I have also read that swallowing two teaspoons will be good for me, but i'm not prepared to do that without some professional advice.

And that's the hard bit! Getting that advice without an agenda of profiteering. I think it should be quite easy here in chiang mai, but i've yet to find some kind of naturopath that i'd really like to talk to.

[femi fan]

YES....I have an extreme ear wax production line that can cause me quite severe vertigo problems with a total loss of balance. I now have been washing out both ears with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution on a weekly basis and so far...all is well. I buy a small bottle of 30% concentration and then dilute it.

This started the problem: about annually i need to get the build-up of wax taken out of my ears. Until now i assumed this was unavoidable, and was not given any information by doctors in how to avoid it happening. I was just told i had a narrow ear canal.

I have read a lot lately about hydrogen peroxide and it again seems to be a useful product for health concerns, but of course it's cheap, so doctors aren't interested in it.

I'll get onto your practice once i can get the infection gone in the first place. So far i've had it a month.

Incidentally, there's been very little pain, more itching really, and only sometimes. And discharge about twice a day. Although that's gone now. Maybe the silver is working already!

[femi fan]

If all those anti fungal treatments are not working - it may not be fungal.

I used to have a recurrent problem with ear infections, severe pain, itching, and the outer ear canal swolen so much it closed up.

Eventually one doctor stated that it was not fungal, and told me to use "quadriderm ointment, applied with cotton bud.

That cured it within days, and now, any time I feel a slight itch coming on in my ear, I apply quadriderm, and it has never developed into a full blown nasty since.

Hope you find the correct treatment soon - ear infections can make life utterly miserable.

J.

Thanks. I've had very little pain though. The main thing has been discharge and a more muffled kind of hearing than normal.

But i'm just becoming most loathe at seeing doctors and depending on pot luck who is good and who isn't!

[ThailandLovr]

If all those anti fungal treatments are not working - it may not be fungal.

I used to have a recurrent problem with ear infections, severe pain, itching, and the outer ear canal swolen so much it closed up.

Eventually one doctor stated that it was not fungal, and told me to use "quadriderm ointment, applied with cotton bud.

That cured it within days, and now, any time I feel a slight itch coming on in my ear, I apply quadriderm, and it has never developed into a full blown nasty since.

Hope you find the correct treatment soon - ear infections can make life utterly miserable.

J.

Thanks. I've had very little pain though. The main thing has been discharge and a more muffled kind of hearing than normal.

But i'm just becoming most loathe at seeing doctors and depending on pot luck who is good and who isn't!

Imaneggspurt is right: "You will need a specialist swab to be diagnosed the correct antibiotics,i had this and once done was on the road to recovery within days, see a nose/throat specialist, "

You have a discharge present. This holds all the information necessary for a proper diagnosis and correct treatment.

"But i'm just becoming most loathe at seeing doctors and depending on pot luck who is good and who isn't!"

^

Obviously, but I don't think this represents clear or prudent reasoning on your part.

Believe me, I wish you only the best. But I would submit your self-diagnosis/treatment or advice by perhaps amateur pharmacists represents far more of a pot luck approach. I urge you to see an ENT at a major hospital. I am sure somebody here on TV can recommend one for you.

Good luck.

Over and out.

[femi fan]

Obviously, but I don't think this represents clear or prudent reasoning on your part.

Believe me, I wish you only the best. But I would submit your self-diagnosis/treatment or advice by perhaps amateur pharmacists represents far more of a pot luck approach. I urge you to see an ENT at a major hospital. I am sure somebody here on TV can recommend one for you.

Good luck.

Over and out.

Thanks! I had thought that i'd mentioned i'd been to one, but it looks like i didn't. I went to the ENT at chiang mai ram hospital, probably seen as the number one hospital for farangs in this town, who removed my excess wax.

A week later i felt it necessary to go back since i had a little liquid discharge, and had been warned to come back if this was the case. So back i went to the ENT section. It was the doctor there who announced i had a fungal infection with white spores visible to him. He put me on ciprofloxacin antibiotics which i reluctantly accepted. Only after my five days were up and i was due to go back to him did i look up on the net about this drug. It explained quite graphically why i was suffering from mental and physical side-effects. I also discovered that antibiotics are of no use to fungi, so was i misdiagnosed my medicine?

Having told him i was having problems when i went back, and remember this is the ENT doctor, he then said i could have anti-biotic eardrops. Upon getting home, and already feeling instinctively this was the wrong thing and i'd go elsewhere, i then find out the acting drug is cipro again!!

That was the beginning of my thus far four week nightmare. So what do i do, go to another ENT at another hospital? Is it all down to potluck which doctor i get to see? Having now had three weeks of anti-fungal pills, and then some eardrops of the same, just who and what can fix me in the medical establishment, and at what extra cost in time and money and possible wrong and toxic outcomes to my body?!

It's a predicament.

It's too early for me to celebrate, but i have to say that less than a baht's worth of this colloidal silver, and in one day, my condition seems much improved. All discharge has stopped for a start, and my hearing has improved. I do hope to be able to report positively on this soon in terms of a full recovery.

Incidentally the side effects of ciprofloxacin read like a horror movie on wikipedia's entry for this drug, and mention that it's prescribed in over 100 countries. If that's the kind of medical 'help' they propose for my body, but which then makes my condition worse, then it weakens my trust of the established order in health care.

[Dakhar]

clotromazole is an anti-fungus, so that particular doctor was on the right path with that drug at least.

Sporanox is an oral tablet, and is available in Thailand in both a generic and non-generic form.

I have already suggested that the OP visit Dr. Propote at Vichayut http://www.vichaiyut.co.th/eng/doctor_detail.asp?Id=18

He is wealthier beyond your imagination... he has no need of your money.

Tell him an American Audiologist working/living in Thailand told you to go see him and he will know exactly who I am. He is "good people."

Fungus is usually easily diagnosed by

1) symptoms/case history

2) visualization

Sure, a culture can be taken, and a sensitivity study can be ran, but it would suck up time, that much is for sure.

I don't know why there is such a fetish with cipro, a drug that has been given "Black Box" status with the FDA http://www.youhavealawyer.com/blog/2008/07...ck-box-warning/

I almost think there is something financialy going on here with that particular drug. Doctors here, seem to give it out every chance they get. In the US, it is not a "first line" drug.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Dakhar

[cognos]

i hope you are well soon. I got an ear infection a few times in LOS, once after swimming at jomtien beach. After you recover, you may want to consider using ear plugs when swimming in less pristine areas and when taking a shower, as i also got ear problems from showers in some hotels in BKK sans ear plugs.

[Thongkorn]

Might try a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water.

True , i had an infection , i found a salt water swiming pool. i went a few times and that did the trick.

[femi fan]

Dakhar, thanks, but i'm in chiang mai! If i just cannot find a solution, then i'll pay a visit to bangkok and see mates and go to your recommended doctor.

Cognos, trouble is i rarely go swimming, and haven't done so for months!

I do play golf though, but can't see how i could have got the infection from the showers there.

I think i may have got water trapped in the ear before or after i had the wax removed.

[preahko]

I had multiple (fungal) ear infections when I first moved to Thailand, until I followed the advice of a doctor at Bangkok Christian Hospital: he said never use cotton swabs in your ear in the tropics, there is a fungus that easily grows on them. I never used them again in Thailand, and I never got another infection (I use them in the West, as I always did, with no ill effects here...I just avoid them on my trips to Thailand).

[petertucker48]

Might try a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water.

Also suggest 50/50 white vinegar and contact lens saline solution.

[femi fan]

Well in the end colloidal silver got rid of the infection after five weeks of pills had not. And it took just two days, and perhaps half a baht's worth of medicine!

And i observed no side effects, just a pretty much instant fix.

[hamishgillan]

Good to hear that!

Someone mentioned quadriderm earlier, that is a cream produced by schering plough, and is steroid based, not to be used for long periods, once the fungal infection has cleared up, stop using it.

made the stupid mistake of using it for a while and has weakened my skin, luckily not in a visible area.

[benno]

get real. medi starts with otospo..

See a doctor..