Symptoms

• Starts with an itchy ear canal
• Ear canal can become painful
• Pain gets worse when the ear is moved up and down
• The ear feels plugged or full
• Ear discharge may start as the swimmer’s ear gets worse
• No cold symptoms or fever

Causes

• When water gets trapped in the ear canal, the lining becomes wet and swollen.
• This makes it prone to an infection with germs (swimmer's ear).
• Wax buildup also traps water behind it. Most often, this is caused by cotton swabs.
• Ear canals were meant to be dry.

Return to School

• Swimmer's ear cannot be spread to others.  No need to miss any school or child care.

1. What You Should Know:
   • Swimmer's ear is a mild infection of the ear canal.
   • It's caused by water getting trapped in the ear canal. Ear canals were meant to be dry.
   • Here is some care advice that should help.
2. White Vinegar Rinses:
   • Rinse the ear canals with half-strength white vinegar. Mix vinegar with equal parts warm water. (Exception: ear tubes or hole in eardrum.)
   • Start by having your child lie down with the painful ear upward.
   • Fill the ear canal.
   • Wait 5 minutes. Then, turn your child's head to the side and move the ear. This will remove the vinegar rinse.
   • Do the other side.
   • Continue twice a day until the ear canal returns to normal.
   • Reason: Restores the normal acid pH of the ear canal and lessens swelling.
3. Pain Medicine:
   • To help with the pain, give acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) or ibuprofen. Use as needed. See Dose Table.
4. Heat Pack:
   • If pain is moderate to severe, use a heating pad (set on low). You can also use a warm wet cloth to outer ear. Do this for 20 minutes. (Caution: Avoid burns). This will also increase drainage.
5. Reduce Swimming Times:
   • Try not to swim until symptoms are gone.
   • If on a swim team, it's usually okay to continue.
   • Swimming may slow your child's recovery, but causes no serious harm.
6. Return to School:
   • Swimmer's ear cannot be spread to others.
7. What to Expect:
   • With treatment, symptoms should be better in 3 days.
   • They should be gone in 7 days.
8. Prevention of Symptoms:
   • Try to keep the ear canals dry.
   • After showers, hair washing, or swimming, help the water run out of ears. Do this by turning the head.
   • Do not use cotton swabs. Reason: Packs in the earwax. The wax buildup then traps water behind it.
   • If swimmer's ear is a frequent problem, rinse the ear canals after swimming. Use a few drops of a white vinegar-rubbing alcohol rinse. Use equal parts of each to make the rinse.
9. Call Your Doctor If:
   • Ear pain becomes severe
   • Ear symptoms last over 7 days on treatment
   • Your child becomes worse