A home remedy (and Giveaway reminder!!)

If your children are anything like my boys, they love a trip to the pool. We are deep in the heart of swimming season here, and my boys practically beg me each day to take them somewhere to be in the water.

Unfortunately, trips to the pool have confirmed that my boys seem to be prone to swimmer's ear.

Blech and phooey.

I had swimmer's ear a few times growing up, and I remember it being one of the most painful things I have ever experienced! It has proven true with my boys, as well--even touching the outside of their ear will send them into tears.

However, the score at our house currently is: Home Remedy--3; Swimmer's Ear--0.

When Cam came down (in both ears) just a couple of weeks ago, it was Friday night around 6 p.m. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get him in to our doc for a couple of days, so I Googled "home remedy for swimmer's ear". I came up with some doozies (everything from "stand on one foot and bounce until the water comes out" to "blow smoke in the ear" to "go to the doctor because nothing else works"). I got a 'recipe' that has worked wonders for us, so I wanted to share in case anyone else struggles with this problem with their littles!

Mix:
~1 tsp. white vinegar
and
~1 tsp. rubbing alcohol into a small bowl.
{You can use more or less of this solution, but you need to mix fresh each time and it needs to be exactly 1/2 and 1/2. The alcohol will evaporate, so the solution does not keep. This mix is enough to do all three of my boys, both ears.}
~Microwave for about 4-5 seconds (mix is very cold when going into the ear--poor Cam found that out the hard way).
~Drop solution into child's ear (I used a straw to deliver) and let it sit for a few seconds. I had my boys lay on their sides and stay that way for a couple of minutes, to make sure.
~Repeat a few times a day until pain in gone--for us, it took about three days of consistent drops.

Apparently, the vinegar kills whatever infection may be beginning to form in the ear, and the alcohol dries up the water that is trapped. I also have begun using a few drops of alcohol in each ear every time we come home from swimming, simply as a preventative measure.

I hope it works for you as well as it has worked for us!


***Remember that giveaway that I talked about a couple of weeks ago? Yeah....I'm still working on that! It's going to be soon, and it's a good one--a $60 gift card to a site which hosts over 300 online stores. I am so excited--stay tuned for this one!***