How to Treat an Ear Canal Infection

Ear canal infections are one of the most common maladies one can experience. Symptoms are generally defined as intense pain in one or both ears. Luckily, ear canal infections are easily to treat through oral and topical medications.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Washcloth
• Warm Water
• Pain relief medicine
• Vegetable oil
• Dropper
• Prescription medication

Treat an Ear Canal Infection

1. Soak the washcloth in warm water. Test it against your skin to make sure it's not too hot.

2. Apply the warm compress to the ear. This is the easiest way to comfort someone who has an ear infection. The warm washcloth is especially effective for masking the pain of a child's ear infection enough so that they can fall asleep at night.

3. Take an over the counter pain medicine. These medicines are typically used to treat muscle pain or headaches, but they will also relieve pain in the ear. The adult recommended dosage is usually 1 to 2 tablets. Children should have 1/2 to 1 full tablet.

4. Warm up some vegetable oil. Fill the dropper with it and put several drops into the afflicted ears.

5. Take prescription medication as directed by your doctor. The most common type of prescription medication to treat ear infections is Amoxicillin. It is generally easy for children to take because it doesn't taste terrible. Usually it is taken 3 times per day for about 1 week, but your dosing may be different, depending on the severity of your ear infection.

Tips & Warnings

• Ear canal infections are not contagious. The cold that causes the infections is highly contagious, although mostly people grow to be immune to most of the bacteria that causes ear infections.
• In the best case scenario, your body will naturally fight off the ear infection within 1 to 2 weeks.
• In the worst case scenario, an untreated ear infection will spread to the bones of the ear and possibly the brain. Antibiotics can help stop this spread.
• Never insert any liquid into an ear if there are secretions coming out of it.
• Amoxicillin has a variety of side effects including dizziness, abdominal pain and nausea. Stop taking the medication if you experience any side effects and notify your doctor.
• Children require smaller doses of pain medicine than adults. Be sure you are using the proper dosage and medication.
• Left untreated, ear canal infections are much more likely to grow into a bigger problem for young children. Be sure that children are properly treated to minimize the chances of long term ear damage.

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