Help! Need to rid Ear of fluid, possible infection! Fast!

[TSandM]

It is definitely true that some of our modern medicines came from herbs or barks that were used in folk medicine. (Digitalis, aspirin, and quinine come to mind.) It is also true that there are some fairly decent studies of some other herbal preparations, such as echinacea, which fail to demonstrate any benefit. Vitamin C is another one where clinical efficacy for anything other than scurvy has been difficult to prove.

The majority of herbal preparations are at least harmless, but some are not. The ephedra contained in a number of herbal diet preparations causes arrhythmias. Valerian in higher doses or over time can be significantly toxic to the liver.

I don't have any problems with people augmenting traditional medical care with herbal medicine or other alternatives, so long as they have done their homework about what's in what they are taking, and what the risks and benefits are (and this information, today, is fairly easily available) and so long as they don't abandon evidence-based treatment modalities in favor of things for which the data are not nearly as solid.

 

[deco_martini]

Again your logic is flawed.

Actually, its quite flawless. You say it is, but can't reveal how.

For a medication to continue throughout many millenia there has to be some merit to them.

Demonstrably false. Bloodletting was practiced for several millenia and had no merit. Not only was it meritless, but it actually hurt people. The bloodletter's logic sort of resembled yours. "I think lots of other people are doing it, so it must be okay".

when all my family members and friends are laid out because of flu and I'm fine... that's all the proof I need.

Sell your magic flu remedy. I'm not sure if you noticed, but a cure for influenza would fetch a hefty sum about now. Again, what you offer isn't proof. Even if it were, the implications for modern society would be astounding.

I didn't get the flu this past year but I did eat pizza every Friday. That is all the proof I need that my magic pizza cure works. The rest of the world has people dying from influenza because.... they must hate pepperoni or something.

You too should not be so quick to judge that which is unknown to you.

Its not unknown at all. Studies have been done. Those remedies don't work. Sorry to pop your balloon. The only thing that seems unknown is the existence of these studies to the people who practice these forms of medicine. They seem to be under the delusion that there is a conclusive body of evidence that shows that they do work.



Next time you are in the water, enjoying the sport made possible by other people's understanding Boyle's law, I at least know that you enjoy the fruits of actual proven things even if you don't understand the concept yourself. Dive safe. Leave the ju ju bag off your BC.

 

[tboxcar]

I'm pretty careful about what I put in my ears these days, and believe me I have had my share of ear problems. Back in the early 90's while swimming in the fresh water of Kakadu in the Northern Territory of Australia, my guide recommended using a small mixture of alcohol and vinegar, this all worked quite well. Until one year I let the vinegar go bad and did not change the mixture from the year before, and inadvertently put about 3 drops into each ear. In about 2 or 3 days time, I had the worst ear infection you could frickin imagine. This was all in the Philippines at the time and ended up going to a doctor in Dumaguete, Negros. Long story short, he gave me anti-eardrops and within a few days I was better.

Once you have a problem, don't fool around with holistic or hippie medicine or whatever, see a specialist and get it treated right. You only have two ears, and once they are injured that is it, there is no help. I already have severe 'high frequency' losses on both ears (from an unrelated diving problem, guns and heavy equipment) and its not worth taking a chance, believe me.

I wish you luck,

 

[DocVikingo]

I don't have any problems with people augmenting traditional medical care with herbal medicine or other alternatives, so long as they have done their homework about what's in what they are taking, and what the risks and benefits are (and this information, today, is fairly easily available) and so long as they don't abandon evidence-based treatment modalities in favor of things for which the data are not nearly as solid.

I heartily concur.

A good place to begin one's homework is:

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] - nccam.nih.gov Home Page

Here's echinacea

Echinacea [NCCAM Herbs at a Glance]

Helpful?

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[deco_martini]

I heartily concur.

A good place to begin one's homework is:

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] - nccam.nih.gov Home Page

No, not really.

Quackwatch: Why the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Should Be Defunded

A government funded bureacracy funded to find merit in cam will... probably find merit in cam. You don't find nearly as many negative results as you do from independent scientists. NCCAM is a joke.

Telling people "its okay to buy snake oil as long as you see a real doctor too" is patronizing to say the least.

 

[TSandM]

I don't think it's patronizing. It's allowing people to make adult, reasonable choices. As someone who works in traditional medicine, I'm acutely aware of the limitations of what we can diagnose and treat. For example, I make use of chiropractic care on a regular basis, for problems that, if I came to ME for help, I would have no remedy other than antiinflammatories and pain meds. Chiropractic treatment keeps me comfortable and off medication. These are not life-threatening problems, and I know the traditional medicine literature VERY well, so I know I am not failing to avail myself of well-proven therapies. Is it a placebo effect? Possibly, but if so, it's a good placebo, because the end result is I'm more comfortable, which is what I wanted.

There is no traditional medical therapy that even shortens the duration or decreases the severity of a cold. If people want to use Echinacea in an attempt to do that, or Vitamin C, there is no harm to it, although there is likely little or no benefit, either.

I try very hard not to be judgmental or close-minded about alternative options. I actually prefer patients who are trying to help themselves, even if what they are doing isn't solidly proven, to people who show up in my ER with a complaint about which they have tried to do nothing.

 

[deco_martini]

There is no traditional medical therapy that even shortens the duration or decreases the severity of a cold. If people want to use Echinacea in an attempt to do that, or Vitamin C, there is no harm to it, although there is likely little or no benefit, either.

Yes. There are negative consequences to people using placebos. The companies that market and label these items are making money off items they know from studies do nothing. This is called fraud. The people who buy the items are called "victims". They lose money that could otherwise be spent.

The other issue is that people delay seeking help for real medical conditions while they see if the placebos work.

Saying that people are making rational and informed decisions about taking placebos contradicts itself. If they understood what they were doing, they would not be doing it. Most of these remedies are sold as dietary supplements to avoid FDA regulation. Most of them have never had a clinical trial to prove their safety.

I think it is negligent to point someone towards untested remedies from shady companies when you know that at best what they are buying is a placebo. We live in a world where everyone wants to get along and doesn't want to be judgmental. Your physical health is not an area where we want to sugarcoat the truth for people. Sort of like diving/DCS.

Edited to Add: Many chiropractors have made a transition towards sports medicine and physical therapy from traditional chiropractic. I wouldn't be surprised if you got relief from going to one. However, I always recommend that friends see a licensed physical therapist with a diploma from a real school instead of a chiropractor with a diploma from a chiro-diploma mill. Someone actually educated in a real school knows when to send you to the real doctor to get a cortisone shot, and probably actually knows how to read an xray correctly.

 

[TSandM]

Well, you will have to grant that I said that I had no problem with people AUGMENTING their care, so long as they were not avoiding evidence-based treatments.

We could argue all day about overmarketing, wildly overstated claims of benefit, and the like. There is no question that some advertising is misleading to the point of fraud. But on the other hand, we indulge in any number of traditional medical practices that have poor support. MRIs, for example, have not been shown to have ANY effect in better choosing candidates for back surgery. Cortisone injections into backs don't heal back pain, and at best are a temporizing measure. Arthroscopic cleanouts of arthritic knees not only turn out not to help, but may actually result in earlier knee replacements.

I think the bottom line is that people a) ought to educate themselves as much as they can about their condition and their treatment options, and b) should be permitted to make adult decisions and bear the responsibility for the outcomes of those decisions, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE WRONG. (I feel that way about diving, too.)

 

[MarineResearch]

No, you aren't. The only thing that vitamin C does in large doses in large trials is produce digestive irritation including diarrhea...

A clean colon is a happy colon, but it doesn't do anything to relieve ear problems.

 

[FrankPro1]

My primary doctor was out on vacation so I went with another physician at her practice. As I was sitting in the examination room I scanned the walls and saw various DAN and Hyperbaric medicine accreditation's. Turns out the doc is an active diver who also is well versed in diving medicine. Guess who's switching primary care physicians?

I told him my symptoms and before he even looked into my ears he knew what it was "since he's treated it many times on himself and his patients". I don't have an ear infection, but its something involving my Eustachian tubes "forgot technical diagnosis". He prescribed three separate meds. MethylPrednisolone tablets, Nasacort and Allegra "24 hour formula". I went to the pharmacy and it turns out even with insurance the Allegra was going to cost 140bucks! and the Nasacort 110! I'm a starving college student, so money is not plentiful to say the least. Luckily, I was able to switch the Allegra over to the generic version and Nasacort over to Fluticasone Propionate. That only cost me 60 bucks out the door. Hopefully everything works out and I'll be ready to dive this coming Monday. Luckily no need for "snake oil" treatment this time.