Who else has ever gotten "swimmers ear"

Thanks everyone for their stories of swimmers ear. I guess my question of whether I should swim was mute LOL. I can barely breathe as my cold is so wicked and my ear is killing me ( though not related to one another, I am just a lucky girl). So swimming is out of the question. I will head back Monday and hope that I am not to far behind. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. It is hard to believe how sore swimmers ear is. YIKES. I will buy the auro-dri and I will use earplugs ( it is just the one ear) Thanks again from a very cranky Katie:(

Hey there I still have a cold and my ear is starting to feel better. I feel pudgy and dont like it. I am heading back to the pool monday. I hope I am not to far behind Reni yes I am sad that I am not swimming, though the extra sleep when I am not feeling well helps. It is a drag. But come Monday I am in the water. IF I am slower then that is okay. Thanks for you concern and input everyone Katie

I used to get a bad ear infection (not sure if connected to swimmer's ear) every year once the heater got turned off where we swim. After this happening several times, one doctor gave me advice that works best for me--after swimming/showering, I put my head under the blow dryer, and make sure to get my ears nice and dry. Ever since I've made a conscious effort to do this, no more ear infections.

Hey, When I first started swimming last year I immediately got swimmer's ear. I was out of the water for 2 weeks, on medicated drops and then tried the vinegar/alcohol drops, but got swimmer's ear AGAIN! I'm not a patient person and I don't like to mess around, so I shelled out money for a nifty widget called the Sahara Ear Dry. I feel like a total nerd with my special ear dryer, but I have never had swimmer's ear again. I love that thing! Willow

Hey, When I first started swimming last year I immediately got swimmer's ear. I was out of the water for 2 weeks, on medicated drops and then tried the vinegar/alcohol drops, but got swimmer's ear AGAIN! I'm not a patient person and I don't like to mess around, so I shelled out money for a nifty widget called the Sahara Ear Dry. I feel like a total nerd with my special ear dryer, but I have never had swimmer's ear again. I love that thing! Willow Willow: I've never heard of this item but I just placed an order for one! Oh, to be able to swim without earplugs again! Now, do you have a suggestion for how to get rid of the allergy to chlorine that I just developed this year so I can get rid of the noseplugs also? Thanks a million, Swan

I have swimmers ear right now...it hurts only when I touch it. I typically get swimmer's ear 2-3 times a year. (I suspect it is from my masters pool, since it get's massive age group use). I pour isopropyl alcohol into my ear and shake it out--that usually does the trick. Today I tried Hydrogen Peroxide. Interesting....

Swan I returned on Tueday. It is going well. Glad to be back in the pool. My cold is totally gone. I am not sure if my ear is cleared yet. HMMMMMMMM. I may go to the same walk in clinic tomorrow to check. I bought some Auro Dri. You can feel it cooling off. I have a way to go with my swimming but it is sure coming along. I hate the earplug in the one ear as I cannot hear the coach. So I am hoping the hair dryer in the ear and the auro dri do the trick Good luck to you Katie

I have been told by my physician and my kids pediatrician that Swimmer's Ear is the drying out of the skin in the ear canal. The skin dries out and cracks. Creating excrutiating pain. It is not an infection of the inner ear, something completely different. It comes from when the chemicals in a pool get out of whack. 50/50 alchohol and vinegar as some have said is what prevents it. The alcohol kills all bacteria and the vinegar keeps the ear moist. This summer, after an extended camping trip, I returned to find my backyard pool cloudy and void of chlorine. The Chlorine Feeder had ceased function. My wife allowed my kids and others to get in though the pool was cloudy. I warned them that they were risking getting sick due to the lack of chlorine. The Health Department shuts public pools down for this reason. (and others) Sure enough, of the 8 kids that got in, 2 developed The Ear. In college, after every workout, we had some Little Sisters that were always there to administer drops. (and give us cookies) Noone ever got The Ear. I'm gonna guess it was the drops and not the cookies. 50/50 alcohol and vinegar.

Swan I returned on Tueday. It is going well. Glad to be back in the pool. My cold is totally gone. I am not sure if my ear is cleared yet. HMMMMMMMM. I may go to the same walk in clinic tomorrow to check. I bought some Auro Dri. You can feel it cooling off. I have a way to go with my swimming but it is sure coming along. I hate the earplug in the one ear as I cannot hear the coach. So I am hoping the hair dryer in the ear and the auro dri do the trick Good luck to you Katie If you want to try another home made recipe, my Dr suggested this: Equal parts isopropyl alcohol (91% not the 70%) and vinegar. Add to it Boric Acid until the Boric Acid no longer goes into solution (precipitates on the bottom of the bottle). When you put the drop into your ear, don't shake the bottle and don't siphon up the Boric acid from the bottom. Put a few drops in each ear keeping your head level with the ground. Hold for about a minute and repeat with the other ear. The "logic" for this is that the organisms causing the infection like a wet and basic environment. The alcohol acts as an astrigent, the vinegar is acidic (acetic acid) and the Boric acid acts as an antiseptic and insecticide (plus it is acidic also). I used this for about 2 years but it never completely worked (the ear aches came back eventually). Auro Dri is isopropyl and glycerine by the way. Glad you're back in the "swim of things" so to speak. Swan Swan

I have swimmers ear right now...it hurts only when I touch it. I typically get swimmer's ear 2-3 times a year. (I suspect it is from my masters pool, since it get's massive age group use). I pour isopropyl alcohol into my ear and shake it out--that usually does the trick. Today I tried Hydrogen Peroxide. Interesting.... Probably sounded like me trying to warm up with all that cracking and popping.