ear infection

[NeverSure]

Somebody better tell my ears that because I have been using it for this very application for over 60 years. Hydrogen Peroxide softens ear wax and the this talk of skin cells is pointless because they are removed during the irrigation process using the rubber syringe filled with warm water. Hydrogen peroxide is not used to treat the infection.

Good luck to the OP. i will keep my time proven remedies to myself. Now that pharmacuetical companies would have you believe their expensive products are the only things that work.

Well, you're not only wrong about hydrogen peroxide softening ear wax, but you're also wrong about the dead skin cells.

Before Debrox was recommended to me, I would rinse my ears the best I could with warm water and the syringe. After a while I still wasn't satisfied with my hearing so I went to an ENT. He was able to use an instrument and peel a layer of what looked like thin, wet dryer lint off my ear drums in pieces shaped like my ear drum. In other words my eardrum was coated and the syringe didn't knock it loose. My hearing improved immediately as soon as he peeled that off. He told me that was dead skin cells.

Now Debrox, which is very cheap, used twice a day in the ear from a dropper for 2 or 3 days will allow my syringe to get that clean.

The last time I went to the ENT to have my ears checked, he looked into them and said there was nothing to clean.

[ClutchClark]

Somebody better tell my ears that because I have been using it for this very application for over 60 years. Hydrogen Peroxide softens ear wax and the this talk of skin cells is pointless because they are removed during the irrigation process using the rubber syringe filled with warm water. Hydrogen peroxide is not used to treat the infection.

Good luck to the OP. i will keep my time proven remedies to myself. Now that pharmacuetical companies would have you believe their expensive products are the only things that work.

Well, you're not only wrong about hydrogen peroxide softening ear wax, but you're also wrong about the dead skin cells.

Before Debrox was recommended to me, I would rinse my ears the best I could with warm water and the syringe. After a while I still wasn't satisfied with my hearing so I went to an ENT. He was able to use an instrument and peel a layer of what looked like thin, wet dryer lint off my ear drums in pieces shaped like my ear drum. In other words my eardrum was coated and the syringe didn't knock it loose. My hearing improved immediately as soon as he peeled that off. He told me that was dead skin cells.

Now Debrox, which is very cheap, used twice a day in the ear from a dropper for 2 or 3 days will allow my syringe to get that clean.

The last time I went to the ENT to have my ears checked, he looked into them and said there was nothing to clean.

Pal, this thread is not about your fragile ego. Its about the OP getting proper medical care. Go start your arguments on a thread where someones health is not at risk.

OP, I wish you a quick recovery and I admire your desire to remain anti-biotic free; however, with your active ear infection, this actually is one of those times anti-biotics are the right thing to do.

Once you are healed up then you can pursue one of these home remedies. Give each a try and see which works for you.

I can tell you this, there are times in my life where I produced alot of ear wax and there are times when it has not been an issue. So don't think you will be stuck suffering from this forever.

Although i am sure NeverSure will even argue about my own ears. ;-)

[femi fan]

OP, I wish you a quick recovery and I admire your desire to remain anti-biotic free; however, with your active ear infection, this actually is one of those times anti-biotics are the right thing to do.

Once you are healed up then you can pursue one of these home remedies. Give each a try and see which works for you.

I can tell you this, there are times in my life where I produced alot of ear wax and there are times when it has not been an issue. So don't think you will be stuck suffering from this forever.

Although i am sure NeverSure will even argue about my own ears. ;-)

I've swallowed the idea of taking the antibiotics until they say i don't need to any more!

I shall also ask for this culture swab when i go back if the infection is still with me.

I still fail to see how the antibiotics themselves will heal the hole in my eardrum. It seems to me that this must occur by the workings of my body itself. Hence what the mayo clinic, among others, say about the ear drum healing itself but needing 'several' weeks.

What i really need to do is not let the levels of wax build up in my ears so i don't need to visit the hospital every year. Doctors have never been able to tell me what to do, just that it is my bad luck! That's what pisses me off about the inadequacies of our mainstream approach to health care. It's all symptoms-based, not about causes or preventions.

[Sheryl]

I won't be putting anything in my ear again! I am however using tissues to mop up the weepage that comes out, i trust that is okay to do. I also tug on the lobe a bit when inside gets itchy, which is fairly often.

I do have to thank you and everyone else on this forum for taking the time to try and help me. I hope everybody may bear with me after writing this post. I'm replying to sheryl's post specifically, but please, everyone is more than welcome to tell me where i'm wrong, or to give me their own experiences that confirm my ideas...

I am taking actions akin to an aetheist walking into a church of God to pray for good times! However, i do recognise that the 'house of hospital' can help at times. I am taking that route now, but i'm not sure how long i can continue to use antibiotics...

My own experience of antibiotics from five years ago to treat my last ear infection, along with all my research on them, makes me averse to these things. The one they gave me five years ago was ofloxacin, which has several potential side effects including 'permanent disability'. Many other slightly less problematic ones too! It affected both my body and brain and after two days i just had to stop them. I couldn't even think straight.

My understanding is that antibiotics weaken the immune system, open one up to candida infection, and of course expose one to any of the side effects that come with pills in general.

Furthermore sheryl, you are very insistent that home remedies will not work. I have read so much about colloidal silver (and it helped me last time) and how it is nature's natural antibiotic, and indeed was in every pharmacy before antibiotics were discovered. In addition apple cider vinegar and manuka honey get good raps, and i think the latter is anti-bacterial too. Hydrogen peroxide often gets mentioned, and that's a 'home remedy' too.

It seems to me that antibiotics may or may not work for a particular symptom for a particular person, but if one is unlucky and they don't work, then all you get is side effects and a weakened immune system, and you have opened yourself up to more problems down the line.

How can we be so sure home remedies do not work? And i thought the whole purpose of the human body was to be balanced, and if left to heal itself it will do so. Why should an ear drum not heal itself?

That said, am i taking antibitoics to clear up my infection so that once the infection is gone then my ear drum can heal itself properly? (I cannot for the life of me see how an antibiotic can actually help the drum go about closing up the hole that is in it.) And if i'm right with this thinking, then why can colloidal silver not do the job?

The trouble with colloidal silver is that because it's not a mainstream drug, nobody is allowed to say what dosages can be used to help out.

Yes, that is exactly what you are doing. A serious infection, which if left to nature could enter your bone.

Yes, the drum itself will heal with time.

My statement about home remedies was specific to your condition. there is no home remedy that will close a perforated ear drum and the common home remedies for ear problems are dangerous when the drum is perforated. Nor is there any home remedy which will clear up the infection.

The problem with colloidal silver is not that it is not a "mainstream drug" but that there is a solid reason why it is not. Silver has very good antiseptic properties when used topically but its effectiveness when taken orally is unproven, and it is known to be potentially dangerous (Google "argyria"). And see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11107524?dopt=Abstract

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0832g6d3

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8632503?dopt=Abstract

While overuse of antibiotics is certainly to be avoided, their discovery revolutionalized medical care and has saved millions of lives, and they definitely have an important place. I happen to share your sensitivity to the neurological side effects of oflaxacin and related drugs (a class called ("quinolones") but it is important to understand that (1) most people don't and (2) as unpleasant as these effects are, they are temporary and not dangerous. As for "permanent disability" and other serious effects, you need to look at the percentage of peopel to whom that happens -- it is very, very, very small and the risks of these drugs is far less than their benefit if used appropriately. The opposite is true of colloidal silver taken internally: its risks far exceed its benefits (which appear to be nil, advertiser claims to the contrary). It is certainly not a benign substance. (External applications of silver, other than discoloring the skin a bit, are fine).

[FBN]

The perforation will only heal once the infection is cleared. In adults it may take months. It is important to have an ENT clear any dead material in the ear canal under direct vision especially in the presence of a perforated eardrum. Using peroxide drops in this instance will cause permanent damage to the middle ear structures as it is a very potent oxidising agent.

As far as colloidal silver is concerned, read this: http://www.today.com/health/real-life-blue-man-dies-after-heart-attack-stroke-4B11243410

Silver is a heavy metal and, like with other heavy metals such as mercury and lead, the body is simply unable to metabolise and excrete these metals effectively, hence their very high toxicity.

[femi fan]

Yes, that is exactly what you are doing. A serious infection, which if left to nature could enter your bone.

Yes, the drum itself will heal with time.

My statement about home remedies was specific to your condition. there is no home remedy that will close a perforated ear drum and the common home remedies for ear problems are dangerous when the drum is perforated. Nor is there any home remedy which will clear up the infection.

The problem with colloidal silver is not that it is not a "mainstream drug" but that there is a solid reason why it is not. Silver has very good antiseptic properties when used topically but its effectiveness when taken orally is unproven, and it is known to be potentially dangerous (Google "argyria"). And see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11107524?dopt=Abstract

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0832g6d3

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8632503?dopt=Abstract

While overuse of antibiotics is certainly to be avoided, their discovery revolutionalized medical care and has saved millions of lives, and they definitely have an important place. I happen to share your sensitivity to the neurological side effects of oflaxacin and related drugs (a class called ("quinolones") but it is important to understand that (1) most people don't and (2) as unpleasant as these effects are, they are temporary and not dangerous. As for "permanent disability" and other serious effects, you need to look at the percentage of peopel to whom that happens -- it is very, very, very small and the risks of these drugs is far less than their benefit if used appropriately. The opposite is true of colloidal silver taken internally: its risks far exceed its benefits (which appear to be nil, advertiser claims to the contrary). It is certainly not a benign substance. (External applications of silver, other than discoloring the skin a bit, are fine).

I realise that antibiotics have had a great impact on medical care, but the really annoying thing about our approach to medical care is that it has got almost nothing to do with finding the causes of medical problems, nor about prevention. I get this ear infection but why?!

I think i was lucky to get a doctor with good doctor attributes, and therefore was able to get over my reticence towards pills in general.

Most if not all 'home' remedies can never be proven due to the cartel-like system put in place by the controllers of our medicines. It's always catch 22 too, since they demand proof and evidence of something working, yet this requires millions of dollars to find out to their satisfcation (which only big pharma have), and furthermore our medical approach is symptom-based and treats a part of the body, rather than the whole.

It's very very difficult to pursue 'alternative' methods to fixing our health problems because of these reasons, and because our education system does not educate us properly about all the options.

I'm getting waylaid here, but this is the problem facing those who wish to use colloidal silver and so on. We have to base our decisions on the anecdotal quality of other people, often on the internet which brings its own unique problems. Colloidal silver does get good raps, and an excellent site you might be interested in perusing is earthclinic. 'Evidence' by anecdote!

Never mind, i've gone the mainstream route this time, and will be so happy to see it work. You have helped me take that plunge too.

[femi fan]

The perforation will only heal once the infection is cleared. In adults it may take months. It is important to have an ENT clear any dead material in the ear canal under direct vision especially in the presence of a perforated eardrum. Using peroxide drops in this instance will cause permanent damage to the middle ear structures as it is a very potent oxidising agent.

As far as colloidal silver is concerned, read this: http://www.today.com/health/real-life-blue-man-dies-after-heart-attack-stroke-4B11243410

Silver is a heavy metal and, like with other heavy metals such as mercury and lead, the body is simply unable to metabolise and excrete these metals effectively, hence their very high toxicity.

So are zinc, copper, selenium, and chromium according to some definitions. And in the right doses they are all essential to our functioning. Selenium i think is an antioxidant.

Luckily i couldn't bring myself to use hydrogen peroxide then!

Perhaps the worst heavy metal is mercury, yet the amalgam fillings for teeth they used for years contained mercury. Amazing.

As for the blue skin of colloidal silver users, this is a favourite internet tale. The amount of silver in colloidal is miniscule.

[uptheos]

If you have an ear infection/ache with discharge, DON'T take any antibiotics before you have a lab swab taken!

You never know what strange thing will come back from C&S and you will know exactly what the bug is S to.