Swimmer’s ear or acute diffuse otitis externa is a common issue happening in swimmers , wherein there is infection of the outer part of the ear from the pinna to the ear canal that goes inside and it can even spread into the eardrum. The common symptoms would be it starts with some itching in the ear canal and it progresses to pain, redness and swelling around the area and in some people we can even see some watery or pus kind of discharge and sometimes scaling and sometimes when there is swelling in the ear canal there can be narrowing, maybe some hearing loss also. The pain if it is not dealt with and if it is worsening an can cause issues in eating food, the infection in susceptible individuals can spread from the ear to the under sides of the skull or to the sides or the lymph nodes. So there can be lymph node swelling if there is a significant long standing symptom, the pain, itching and swelling, redness has not reduced with the conventional household remedies, then you should seek a doctor’s help and diagnose the problems. The most important factor is to prevent swimmer’s ear. To prevent such things, we should prevent moisture coming into the ear, water while taking bath it should not be allowed to get into the inner part of the ear or moisture. Oil or drops without consultation should not be used indiscriminately. Neither do we have to use ear buds or any such instruments to clean the wax. Wax is there in the ear for a reason. Even if it is removed the body is going to keep producing wax. It is a protection. If you have a big lump of wax it will not harm you other than it can cause ear block, which can be managed otherwise. Any pain, itching, pus formation is not caused by a normal wax. Please do not try to clean the wax yourself. If there is a lot of wax formation, go to a doctor and get it cleaned as frequently as required. While swimming we can use ear plugs or cotton soaked in Vaseline and pack the ear and prevent water from going inside. Once the ear infection has happened, the treatment will include antibiotic, pain relief and topical medications in the form or ear drops and antiseptic creams. Pain killers can be used as required. Applying a bit of warmth around the ear can be helpful. If there are scales forming, you should not try to pluck them or peel them. So apply the drops or oil on top and gently clean the discharge or scales with dilute salvon. With the appropriate treatment it is expected to resolve in 4 to 5 days.

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