ear solution to keep from getting infection?

[ASA400]

Thanks to all who replied. To those who are using alcohol, is it the kind you buy at the drug store?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

yes just rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) and white vinegar.. $3 worth will last you a decade of diving.. I generally use the drops BEFORE diving as well, if doing a few days in a row. Good to acidify the ear before the nasty water gets in it.

 

[Rich Keller]

Thanks to all who replied. To those who are using alcohol, is it the kind you buy at the drug store?

No you want the type that you drink 190 proof. It will kill anything and dries leaving next to nothing behind. Use it with nothing else added.

 

[kwinter]

No you want the type that you drink 190 proof. It will kill anything and dries leaving next to nothing behind. Use it with nothing else added.

Ignore this. There's no reason to go wasting good booze. Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol is fine. Just don't drink it. There are various "purities" sold at your corner drug store. Usually starting at 70%. I buy the 91% version or higher.

There is no difference in the antiseptic value of ethanol over isopropyl alcohol. And the vinegar makes the environment acidic and helps as well. I use the 50/50 mixture in my ears. I also use it to flush my pee valve.


iPhone. iTypo. iApologize.

 

[Rich Keller]

Ignore this. There's no reason to go wasting good booze. Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol is fine. Just don't drink it. There are various "purities" sold at your corner drug store. Usually starting at 70%. I buy the 91% version or higher.

There is no difference in the antiseptic value of ethanol over isopropyl alcohol. And the vinegar makes the environment acidic and helps as well. I use the 50/50 mixture in my ears. I also use it to flush my pee valve.


iPhone. iTypo. iApologize.

Ignore this^^^^^

70% rubbing alcohol is only 140 proof. 190 proof will dry faster leaving almost nothing behind and if it doesn't work you can drink it to kill the pain. The vinegar will do nothing that the alcohol can't do much better. The key is to leave as little behind from the solution you use so you are not trading one problem for another.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I used to work in a laboratory setting with pure ethanol. It is nasty. It will burn the crap out of your finger tips with repeated (even infrequent) exposure. It is a very strong dessicant (too good I think). I do not think it is wise to douse your ear canal with pure ethanol for this reason.

Incidentally, if you want the best roach spray in the world.. use ethanol, one hit from a squirt bottle and the roach goes about 10 steps and is dead, the the residual ethanol helps you clean up the mess.

 

[lowviz]

I love this thread.

I'm gonna start another one. "Has anybody used an ear solution that Doesn't work?"

Search on "Tektite", I think that they have the longest running data. Correct me if I'm wrong. *Please*

 

[doctormike]

Ignore this^^^^^

70% rubbing alcohol is only 140 proof. 190 proof will dry faster leaving almost nothing behind and if it doesn't work you can drink it to kill the pain. The vinegar will do nothing that the alcohol can't do much better. The key is to leave as little behind from the solution you use so you are not trading one problem for another.

The vinegar drops the pH and that effect lasts a while. Low pH is helpful since pseudomonas bacteria (the most common outer ear species, and the one most commonly involved in swimmer's ear that isn't fungal in nature) don't grow well in acidic environments. On the other hand, while alcohol will kill many types of bacteria on the surface that it contacts, it will not necessarily kill bacteria living in protected areas (i.e. within collections of skin debris, earwax, etc..), and since it dries quickly, its effect is over rapidly.

Vinegar is an aqueous (water) solution, while high proof alcohol has very little water in it. So a good compromise is a mixture with more alcohol than vinegar, so you minimize the water that keeps the canal wet, while at the same time dropping the pH. Glycerine helps from overdrying.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Is glycerin soluble in water or alcohol? Also where can it be bought?

 

[lowviz]

Soluble in either, any drugstore.

Amazing stuff. Totally nontoxic, even in California.