Hydrogen Peroxide to Prevent Ear Infections??

[Olwyn]

My sister just got off the Grand Princess, where she developed a horrific ear infection after her first dive in Costa Maya!

Apparently she had some wax in her ear before the dive, which prevented water from escaping, and by the evening she was in agony!!

The doctors and nurse on the the ship would not give her anything until they removed the ear wax, but the drops for that only aggrivated the situation! By morning her ears were streaming blood and pus! She was in horrible pain. They then gave her codeine which led to an entire night of vomiting...but still no antibiotics!!

A specialist in Belize told her that drops for ear wax are the worst thing you can do for an ear infection...followed closely by codeine, which caused the vomiting....What the Hell????

In any case, Steph was told that a few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in each ear after a dive can prevent this sort of thing. If she had known that, her trip would not have been ruined...sigh.

Has anyone run into this sort of thing before?

Happy Diving!

Olwyn

[bruce-r]

No, I haven't heard to use Hydrogen Peroxide for after dive ear treatment. The usually treatment is alcohol based as that would dry more rapidly the HO.

[mjt2890]

You use hydrogen peroxide in a 50/50 water mixture to clean ear wax out of your ear. At least that's how they do it at the doc office. You use alcohol after scuba or snorkeling.

 

Hope that helps.

[JStarbrite]

I use a 50/50 solution of rubbing alcohol and distilled vinegar after diving. Works just as good as over the counter "swimmers ear" drops at a fraction of the cost.

 

I always clean ear wax with over the counter drops before diving season once a year. Never tried peroxide. Makes sense. I think the over the counter stuff is just peroxide and glycerin

[river_sand_bar2]

The solution of a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and distilled WHITE vinegar does 2 different things.

 

The distilled WHITE vinegar kills the germs that cause the infection... the rubbing alcohol dries up the excess water. Its the combination of the two that will prevent an ear infection after a dive or any water activity for that matter.

 

I keep a small bottle of it in my dive bag and use a q-tip to dry my ears after every dive.

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

And of course if you're not into the mixing thing, go to the pharmacy and ask for a recommendation for an over-the-counter solution (usually most use "swimmers ear" drops which are not as expensive as implied (the bottle is also under 4 ounces so you can fly with them if you get some redness after your time in the water)).

 

Randall

[JStarbrite]

"Swimmers ear drops"- $4.95 four ounces

 

Rubbing alcohol- $1.50 16 ounces

White distilled vinegar- $1.50 32 ounces

 

Having a lifetime supply already in my cupboards- Priceless!

 

P.S. using q- tips in your ear does more to PACK ear wax deeper than it does to remove it. Ear wax should come out naturally, or flushed out with an ear syringe and warm water.

[DiveCruiser]

I carry swimmers ear and put it in after every dive. I am very prone to ear infections

 

Bob

[Laughing Gull]

Vinegar and Alcohol are both great. My friend's kids suffer from FREQUENT ear infections and she now puts vinegar in their ears after each swim, especially pool swims. BTW vinegar is also great for ant bites.

[AarrowOM]

I've never heard of using H2O2 for ear infections. Personally, I use a vinegar/rubbing alcohol mix (I can't recall the brand name, it's an Australian brand). I've used it to both prevent ear infections and releave them (though that is contrary to the instructions and warnings).

 

A word of caution though, a friend of mine, during our diver training in Fiji, got worse with the same vinegar/rubbing alcohol that I now use. (He went from mere pain to profuse bleeding.)