Outer Ear infection prevention?

[Blue Sparkle]

Hi DocVikingo,

I'm glad you chimed in, as I didn't want to be too "Internet doctory" when I'm not one at all.

That first link is the one I was looking for. Thank you! Funny, as I got to jaoa.org, but I guess didn't dig down far enough to find that .pdf

I take it that since you didn't "disrecommend" the GT, that it may help, or at the very least be neutral and not harmful (?)

Blue Sparkle

PS: And to reiterate, this sub-topic was addressed to the thread poster who seemed to be having middle-ear problems, not to the OP who was asking about the outer ear canal.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi DocVikingo, you didn't "disrecommend" the GT, that it may help, or at the very least be neutral and not harmful (?)

Hey Blue Sparkle,

To be honest, I don't know anymore about it than you do--probably less ; ) It seems largely to be the province of osteopathic/chiropractic medicine, although it isn't limited to it.

It seems to me to have little potential for harm to a patient and may do some good in some cases. The most recent study I could locate suggests that evidence for the effectiveness the technique is inconclusive --> http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1746-1340-18-3.pdf

Perhaps our resident ENT doctormike will chime in.

Regards,

DocV

 

[jupitermermaid]

Hi jupitermermaid,

Per the manufacturer, Ciprodex is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that should be used to treat only bacterial ear infections.

While most cases of otitis externa are caused by a bacterial pathogen, about 15% are the result of a fungal pathogen, typically a Candida sp or Aspergillus sp. Ciprodex actually can cause an overgrowth of these fungi and make the condition much worse.

One needs to know what they are treating before recommending/using any medication.

You are so right, Doc V. I should have stopped at see an ENT. LOL