posted
Ok, so I ask because I'm 27 and I can't remember the last ear infection I had. My ear hurts, but I don't have a fever or even really feel bad otherwise. I know adults can get ear infections, though it is more likely for children. Are there home remedies that work or should I just head in to the doctor's office tomorrow? WebMD was just confusing.
And yes, I know, if I have to ask I should go to a doctor. I just really don't feel sick, except for the hurting ear.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
When I get an ear infection it hurts so bad I wish I could jam a pair of tweezers into my ear and pull the whole burning, stinging mess out of my ear.
You know those things they put in Neo's belly button in the Matrix? Like that only covered with some kind of... that green crap that leaks out under bad gold plating.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Nathan says that it feels as if your ear is clogged and anytime you go to unclog it (like you would to make your ears pop on an airplain), it feels like it exploded inside.
I've never had an ear infection, so I asked him.
If you feel like you shoudl see the doc, go see the doc.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
I also ask because I try to avoid antibiotics whenever possible. I'm allergic to many penicillin, sulfa and cechlor to name a few, and I don't want to develop resistance to the few that I can take.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
It isn't you that develops a resistance to an antibiotic--it's the bacteria that you're trying to kill that do so. As long as you are responsible and take the full dosage given to you, ensuring that you actually eliminate the population entirely, no harm done.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
You can have an earache without having an ear infection.
My mom's home rememdy, (which got laughed at by a doctor I told about it) seems hoky, but I've always thought it helped.
Take a cotton ball and pull it apart so you've got like a little nest. Put just enough olive oil on it to saturate the cotton. A little dab'll do ya. Then put pepper in the little nest and fold up the the cotton so there is no visible pepper. Stick this in your ear and leave it there over night. The pepper causes heat and the oil transfers it. It's like a heat pack for your ear. Also, a full cotton ball is too big, so only use part of it.
If that seems stupid, there's always tylenol.
I'm gonna guess that if you wouldn't describe the pain as excruciating, it's probably not an infection. Also, the fact that you are having no other symptoms would seem a clue that it is not.
Posts: 293 | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
Depending on the ear infection, it sometimes feels like my ear has water inside it and needs to pop, but I can't make it do so. When I get inner ear infections, I get really, really dizzy, especially when I'm lying down. It kind of feels like you're lying down and on a roller coaster that never goes upside down, but is all up and down and twisty-turny.
posted
Otitis Media causes pressure and inflamation inside the ear, which causes muffled sound and eventually pain (if you let it progress), caused by fluid buildup inside the ear.
Aso, there's loss of balance or equilibrium, caused by an infection affecting the inner ear. Could be because of Otitis Media or because of other reasons. It is possible to lose all sense of balance without feeling anything else - no pain, no ear symptoms - to the extent that you'd be unable to lift your head.
For the record, I'm 40% deaf in my left ear because of an inner ear infection I had as a child that did not go properly treated. To this day it still affects me now and then, primarily with loss of equilibrium and dizziness. I am also ultra-sensitive to certain range of sounds; I can hear sounds most people cannot, and some other sound ranges could cause me pain or further dizziness.
And, for what it's worth, I'm 35.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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1) Take a decongestant, maybe it's allergies or leftover cold-something.
2) Get a bulb/ syringe thing or an ear candle or go to the doctor and get the wax cleared out.
Also, people generally do not develop allergies to antibiotics with use. However, if you are ALREADY allergic to an anitbiotic, which is usually genetic, repeated exposure can cause a more severe reaction.
The biggest mistake people make with antibiotics is failing to take the ENTIRE course. This creates drug-resistant strains - there are already some types staph, strep, and TB that can kill quickly and are untreatable. So I understand the wish to avoid antibiotics if possible, but if they're ever prescribed to you, do finish them all. Unless you have an allergic reaction. Posts: 471 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Ear infections can range from virtually painless to horribly painful. The pain comes from the stretch of the tympanic membrane, not the infection. (This is counter-intuitive, but it is true. An eardrum that ruptures suddenly goes from painful to painless, since the pressure on the TM is relieved.) You can have fluid buildup behind the ear with or without infection, and the TM can be can pressed out, "sucked" inwards, or not affected at all.
Most problematic sequelae in kids result from the persisting fluid, not from infection. If it persists (even if non-infected), it can interfere with hearing and thus language acquisition.
posted
It is controversial in the literature -- the studies were done comparing suboptimal treatment (low-dose antibiotics) versus no antibiotics. Optimal treatment may have shown a difference, but we don't know either way just yet. Regardless, standard of care in Great Britain is watchful management, unlike the US, although that may be changing.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
When I went to camp as a kid, they used to put eardrops in our ears before we went swimming to keep us from getting ear infections. I think there was vinegar involved.
quote:Originally posted by pH: When I went to camp as a kid, they used to put eardrops in our ears before we went swimming to keep us from getting ear infections. I think there was vinegar involved.
-pH
That was almost certainly to prevent "otitis externa," or "swimmer's ear," which is an infection of the external ear canal. Most little-kid ear infections are "otitis media," or infections interior to the tympanic membrane barrier (where the vinegar wouldn't go unless you had, e.g., ear tubes to make a persistant hole in the TM). Not always clear which type of ear infection people are referring to.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
When I get an ear infection, I feel a tickle in my throat. High up, like behind and even a little above my tongue. I often get that sensation a day or two before I feel anything at all in my ear. It's generally on the side of my throat closest to the ear that's infected (makes sense, I guess).
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
So, I'll be going to the doctor tomorrow. It still hurts and attempts to use those ear cleaning things at the CVS has not helps which indicates to me that it is not a wax buildup or something else. I just seems like I should have a fever or something if I'm sick.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I thought I had an ear infection last week, and went to the doctor. She didn't find any sign of infection, and gave me a steroid nasal spray to lessen the sinus swelling. I also kept taking decongestants, and the pain went away after a week.
Very frustrating week of painful ears and no immediate treatment though. Hope yours clears up quick.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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