Dr. Ivan Baljošević from the Institute for Mother and Child advises how not to get a bacterial infection in the ear while bathing and what is preventive.
Source: Shutterstock/Kim Kuperkova
One health problem that seems harmless at first glance, could ruin your vacation or summer. It’s water in the ear! Why is it happening and how can we not ruin our long-awaited vacation this summer, explains prof. Dr. Ivan Baljošević, otolaryngologist at the Institute for Mother and Child.
Water in the ear is a problem related to an infection of the outer ear, notes prof. Dr. Baljošević also reveals that the number of patients who most often complain about pain and infections of the external ear has continued to increase.
“The disease is related mainly to swimming in some dirty waters and begins with uncharacteristic symptoms such as a feeling of itching, scratching and some mild ear fullness. However, already after 24 hours the symptoms progress very quickly and there is a very intense pain in the ear that spreads to the lower jaw, so that children and adult patients cannot open their mouths. It is precisely this intense pain that brings them to the doctor,” emphasizes the doctor.
In addition, swelling of the local lymph glands located under the ear occurs very quickly and is accompanied by high temperature, malaise and all symptoms that threaten and disturb the general condition of the patient. It is necessary to consult a doctor within two or three daysand if we don’t do that, the consequences can be very bad, notes Dr. Baljošević, because the disease will not go away on its own, considering that in 90 percent of cases it’s about a bacterial infection.
Source: MONDO/Stefan Stojanović
These are very invasive bacteria that live in these swimming waters and can cause, swelling of the entire neck, neck infection, phlegmon of the neck and ulcers and complications that are better not to talk about,” notes the interlocutor, Ivana Božović.
What is prevention?
“There are a certain number of preparations on the market that can be given as a preventive measure to prevent the development of ear infections. They are mainly preparations based on olive oil or almond oil, which should be instilled before going to the pool or the beach. Earplugs they are not suitable because,” notes the professor, “because they cannot completely and hermetically close the auricle and the ear canal and often fall out during swimming, especially if the child is active, temperamental, restless, as most children are.”
How to deal with an ear infection
All ear infections in 90 percent of cases are bacterial. In only 10 percent of cases, fungal infections are involved, mostly in those who vacationed in some exclusive destinations such as the Maldives, the Caribbean, and the like, where, due to high temperatures and high humidity, a large number of fungi live that our body is not used to.
“What we see in patients who come from Turkey, Egypt, Greece or our coast, Montenegrinthat’s exactly you bacterial infections. They are exclusively treated with antibiotic drops. So you shouldn’t take antibiotics on your own, but it would be nice if we had some antibiotic drops for the ears as some kind of first aid that we could give,” notes the otorhinolaryngologist.
Source: Shutterstock/MRAORAOR
How to get rid of water in the ear
Doctor Baljošević advises that it is best to instill three percent hydrogen into the ear. It is the best antiseptic that reduces swelling in the ear and removes earwax.
“In our ear canal, which in adults is about four and a half centimeters long, and in children about two and a half centimeters, there is a normal formation of cerumen or earwax, which is a protective layer of the ear against infection. By picking the ear with sticks, we remove this natural protection and create suitable ground for the development of infections,” the professor concludes.
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(MONDO/RTS)