Keeping Water Out Of Your Dogs Ears While Bathing
Bathing your dog doesn’t have to mean water in their ears – learn more!
Its time for a bath! Whether you choose to bathe your dog at home or take your dog to the groomer, the same issue arises. Keeping water out of your dogs ears is difficult. Afterwards, you watch your dog try to shake that water out of their ears for days! Water in your dogs ears turns into something bad for your dog and for you.
How Is Swimmer’s Ear Treated
Treatment depends on the severity of the infection and how painful it is. A health care provider might prescribe ear drops that contain antibiotics to fight the infection, possibly mixed with a steroid to reduce swelling of the ear canal. Ear drops are usually given several times a day for 7 to 10 days.
If swelling of the ear canal makes it hard to put in the drops, the doctor may insert a wick into the canal to help carry the medicine inside the ear. In some cases, the doctor may need to remove pus and other buildup from the ear with gentle cleaning or suction. This lets the ear drops work better.
For more severe infections, oral antibiotics might be prescribed, and the health care provider might want to run tests on discharge from the ear to find which bacteria or fungi are causing the problem.
Over-the-counter pain relievers often can manage ear pain, but a prescription pain medicine may be needed if it’s severe. Once treatment starts, your child will start to feel better in a day or two. Swimmer’s ear is usually cured within 7 to 10 days of starting treatment.
How Often Should You Bathe A French Bulldog
Unless your Frenchie is regularly frolicking in the mud, a monthly bath should be more than enough.
Use common sense if your French Bulldog has been suffering from stomach upset and smells bad, increase the bathing frequency.
Preventing infections is a primary motivation for bathing your French Bulldog. Consider protecting your dogs ears with some cotton balls. This can help to prevent water and soap from entering his ear canals which could lead to inflammation.
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Hydrogen Peroxide To Dry And Clean The Ear Canal
If youve never used hydrogen peroxide before, you are in for a treat. Placing a couple drops into the canal , you will soon hear a slight fizzing and cackling sound in your ear, which can understandably be disconcerting the first time around.
After about thirty seconds tilt your head back so that the ear canal is facing downward and allow the solution to run out. Place a towel on your pillow to catch the run-off.
Why Getting Bath Water In Your Childs Ear Is Bad
While it doesnt seem that dangerous when it happens to us and its more the inconvenience of water sloshing around in your ear, in reality, swimmers ear is a real nuisance.
If it gets stuck in the ear canals, itll wear down the pH balance of the area and make it more likely for your kiddo to get an ear infection, paving the way for all sorts of fungus to take root inside which might lead to unnecessary complications.
Theres also the problem of your child having a lot less patience than you might have.
That odd feeling of having water stuck in his ear might lead to him throwing a tantrum and then youll have a very fussy baby on your hands.
On a side note, the chance of getting water stuck sloshing around inside your babys head, or rather, his ear, is far less likely with showers unless either you or the baby does something to increase the likelihood of that happening.
The main factor that dramatically increases these chances are the tubes kids get put in their eardrums if they have frequent middle ear infections.
These tubes allow the fluid to drain from the ear, but also make it much easier for water and other fluids to make their way into the ear.
This, in turn, erodes that protective lining that exists in the ears and makes infections even more likely, a real double-edged sword.
Another risk factor in this whole process is the frequent use of cotton swabs, better known as Q-tips, to help remove earwax buildup.
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Perform The Valsalva Maneuver
This method can also help open closed eustachian tubes. Be careful not to blow too hard. This can damage your ear drum.
Donts For Getting Water Out Of Your Ears
Using the wrong methods for getting water out of your ears can scratch your ear canal or impact earwax in the canal. Donât use these methods for drying out your ears, or you will be more — not less — likely to get an infection.
- Avoid cotton swabs. They can pack earwax and dirt down in your ear canal, remove the wax that protects your ear, disrupt the natural bacteria in the ear canal, or irritate the thin skin of the ear canal.
- Donât stick your finger or fingernails in your ears. You can scratch the delicate skin of the ear canal.
- Donât use hydrogen peroxide or drying drops if you or your child has ear tubes or if you have a ruptured eardrum.
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What Type Of Ear Plugs Should I Use For Noise Protection
Ear plugs and ear muffs can be used for noise protection. Exposure to loud noise damages hearing and is completely preventable. Resources to help you choose the right equipment can be found at VIC Worksafe and QLD Worksafe.
Ear plugs that are designed to reduce noise are not effective to use for water protection.
Swimmer’s Ear Vs Ear Infection
There are many types of ear infections, and swimmer’s ear can be one type of ear infection caused by bacteria or fungus that gets trapped in the ear canal. Swimmer’s ear can also refer to just inflammation and pain in the ear that occurs after water gets trapped in the ear canal. The most common bacteria responsible for swimmer’s ear infections are Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In fewer than 10% of cases, a fungus causes swimmer’s ear
Early symptoms and signs of swimmer’s ear
- The most common symptom of swimmer’s ear is ear pain or earache. The pain gradually begins over a day or two. The ear pain almost always involves only one ear. The pain is especially intense when the ear is touched or pulled, or when chewing.
- The ear canal may itch.
- The outer ear may be red.
- In severe cases, the ear canal may be swollen shut.
- The ear may drain fluid or pus. This drainage may be clear, white, yellow, or sometimes bloody and foul-smelling. Some fluid may crust at the opening of the ear canal.
- With severe swelling or drainage, the person may have trouble hearing.
- Ringing in the ear and dizziness or spinning sensation may also be present.
- Fever is generally not present. If there is a fever, it is not usually high.
Other signs and symptoms of swimmer’s ear include the following:
- A feeling of fullness in the ear.
- In severe cases, pain extends to the side of the face or neck.
The barrier can become broken and lead to an infection in the following ways:
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How To Keep Water Out
Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. To stop moisture from building up in your ears to begin with, try these tips.
- Remove earbuds if youâre sweaty.
- Coat a cotton ball with petroleum jelly and slip it into your outer ears during a bath.
- Block your ears with cotton balls when you use hair spray or hair dye.
- Use earplugs and a swim cap when you go into the water.
- Have your doctor remove earwax if you think you have a problem with wax buildup. Yes, it protects your ears, but too much can trap water in the canal. Always check with your doctor. Never try to get it out yourself.
- Use hydrogen peroxide with your doctorâs approval. If you have wax buildup, they may suggest you clean your ears with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. But you canât do this if you have tubes in your ears. Put about half of an ear dropper full in your ear. Let it bubble up. Then turn your head to the side, gently pull on the top of your ear, and let it drain.
Gently Dry Ears With A Hairdryer Post
Does your pool have a hand dryer in the locker room? It likely does. Put that bad boy to use by turning it on and putting your ear about a foot away from the dryer.
Set the heat to low if possible and keep a safe distance when doing thisthe goal isnt to scald the sensitive insides of your ear canal. Think warm breeze, not hot blast.
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What Home Remedies Treat Ear Pain And Other Symptoms
Home care for swimmer’s ear can be used to control pain temporarily. However, because OTC ear drops are not strong enough to cure the infection, a visit to a health-care professional for specific medications is needed. Swimmer’s ear is usually not an emergency situation in most cases, so call your doctor for an appointment and use a home remedy to relieve symptoms in the meantime.
Types Of Dog Ear Plugs
Now a days, there are two different types of dog ear plugscommercially available,which are either placed outside the ear over the head or area plug which is kept deep in the dog ears.
Research has shown that dog ear plugswhichare placed outside the ear over the head are safe and can be adjustedeasily, without causing any threat to the inner parts of the ear. One popular brand of over the head dog ear plugsare MuttMuffs Hearing Protection for Dogs.
There are several behavioral issues related with this the in earmethodof earprotection,even though rubber or metallic canine ear plugs canhelp in theprevention ofproblems. If these are used repeatedly and for a long period oftime, the alertnessand active nature of a dog can be badly affected, which surely degradesthe healthand energy status of a dog.
Inear plugs are not recommended as they put the sensitive inner parts ofa dog’s ear at risk if inserted to far or improperly. It is for thisreason that these types of plus are not commercially available. Veterinarians will use this type of plug in the office when aveterinary approach demands their use and when another approach is notavailable.
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Just Keep Swimming: Research Update On Ear Tubes And Water Exposure
As summer comes into full swing, the activities associated with summer fun peak our excitement for pool days, slip-n-slides, and water parks. However, for the ear infection-plagued children of the world, water fun can quickly turn into excruciating ear pain and two weeks of antibiotic eardrops. As ear infections run rampant in children, common procedures are becoming even more ordinary for medical professionals.
One of the most common pediatric outpatient procedures today is a tympanostomy tube insertion used to drain fluid from the middle ear. Commonly associated with reduction of repeat ear infections, the tiny tubes also help decrease the risk of hearingloss. After an ear infection, children normally retain fluid in the ear that usually goes away on its own, but guidelines currently surrounding ear tubes suggest if this fluid lasts for more than three months, a child should be considered for ear tubes. Nevertheless, despite the knowledge circulating around ear tubes and implantation, little awareness surrounds the discussion of tympanostomy tubes and swimming.
Commonly, children with ear tubes are advised to use the following items to prevent water from entering the ear canal and possible disrupting the tube:
- Earplugs
- Water resistant headbands
- Complete water abstinence
For links to more recent research on tympanostomy tubes and swimming visit:
Dont Leave Your Kids Unattended In A Body Of Water
Regardless of tub size, you should never, under any circumstance, leave your child without adult supervision while hes in a bath, even if its only filled up with a few inches of water.
Sure, many of these products flag themselves as safe options, but that safety only helps minimize the risks not completely eliminate them.
Kids can end up drowning even in two inches of water, thats why, when you have to leave the bathroom for whatever reason, make sure to take your child with you.
Pause the bath if need be, its just a little bit of dirt, you can always start over.
Whatever the other emergency might be, it can wait until you get your child ready.
Baths can tip over from your kids fidgeting or the soapy suds might make them flip over face-first into the water and they might not be able to get themselves back up, so take those risks out of the equation and be there for your baby, give him your full attention.
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Avoid The Urge To Jam Cotton/fingers/tissues In Your Ear
So, youve taken precautions, like wearing earplugs, and some water still got in there. Awesome, right? Not really. The urge to ring out your ear canal with the tip of your finger will be oh-so tempting, especially when it feels like if you justrub ita littleit will go away.
Stuffing foreign objects into the ear canal means you are likely to scratch something, introduce more bacteria, and simply stuff wav and water that is trying to come out back inside.
Although it might feel satisfying to get ear wax out of the ear canal, it actually protects your ear canal from infection.
Should I Be Concerned If There Is Drainage From The Ear
Drainage from the ear is not unusual after surgery. The drainage can sometimes be pink tinged or yellow. This can happen if there was fluid or an infection at the time of surgery. Please make sure that you give your child eardrops . Please call the office if drainage continues for 2-3 days. This is not an emergency and is best discussed with the office during office hours.
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Wear Earplugs While Swimming
Wearing earplugs that keep water out of the ears while swimming or bathing can help prevent swimmer’s ear. Pliable earplugs can be purchased at some healthcare provider’s offices or at many stores. Just make sure you get earplugs that fit properly and are intended to keep water out of the ear, .
Wear Swimmers Ear Plugs
Ear plugs designed for swimmingmore specifically, the silicone putty oneshave been a life-saver for me in the water.
As a lifelong competitive swimmer and earache enthusiast Ive experimented with just about every type of ear plug under the sun. From expensive, customized ear plugs to the ear plugs that every popular swim gear manufacturer puts out, Ive worn them all.
The one that has worked me the longest are Macks Silicone Soft Putty ear plugs.
They are soft, moldable ear plugs that shape to the unique shape of your ear.
Pro tip:
Best ear plugs for swimmers: Macks Silicone Putty ear plugs have been my go-to for nearly three decades now. Ive tried others, but always come back to these.
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Ignoring The Value Of Quality Time During Bath Sessions
Given that the norm for maternity leave is a meager 12 weeks, moms who work full-time jobs dont often get to spend time with their kids which can create a bit of a divide, but there are periods where you two are still alone.
One such example is the time you spend bathing your baby.
Sure it might not be the ideal movie vision of sitting in an armchair cradling your little one by the fireplace, but its still a rare opportunity to bond with your precious little bundle of joy.
Spend bath time talking to him.
Ask him about his day while you run the warm water down his body, poke his little hands with your finger to keep him busy and entertained while you apply baby shampoo to his lovely little tuft of hair.
Make the baby bath time experience one thatll help you make up for the time that you spend at work, away from your baby, even if its just to gently caress your babys skin when giving him a sponge bath.
Dont forget about baby-safe bath toys that will help your baby enjoy bath time even more!
Complete Treatment To Avoid Recurrence
The best way to avoid getting another case of swimmer’s ear is to finish your entire course of antibiotics.
Stopping antibiotics, like Xtoro , too soon can result in drug-resistant superbugs. Your infection might not just come back, but could be even harder to treat.
Once you have finished treatment and been cleared by your healthcare provider, follow the tips listed above to prevent swimmer’s ear in the future.
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Dos For Getting Water Out Of Your Ears
If you have water in your ears, take these steps to get it out safely.
- Dry your outer ear with a soft towel or cloth. Donât stick the cloth into the canal.
- Tip your head to one side to help water drain. Gently pull on your earlobe. This will straighten your ear canal and help the water flow.
- Turn your blow dryer on the lowest setting and blow it toward your ear. Hold it at least a foot away.
- Try over-the-counter drying drops.
- To make drying drops at home, mix 1 part white vinegar to 1 part rubbing alcohol. Pour 1 teaspoon of the solution into each ear tilt your head and let it drain out.