Yes, it is a theme these days, but I’ve actually figured out what’s wrong with me. Somehow, I got a raging ear infection. I don’t know why but I get these very often — more often than my kids did, when they were babies. So, I’m sleeping rather a lot more than I normally do and not much writing — or anything — is getting done.
I’ll get antibiotics from doctor Monday morning. Meanwhile, I shall make with anti-inflammatories. So pardon me while I snooze.
According To Hoyt 
Oh my word, do you have my sympathies! I don’t remember when I last had an ear infection, so it was probably 40 years ago at least. But I can STILL remember the excruciating pain, perhaps the worst I’ve ever felt — and I’ve had a broken collarbone and a knee bent backwards.
Get well! We can wait.
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Try a few drops of warm olive oil. One of our pediatricians had me try that when I gave him a frantic call on a Sunday night. Adding a warm moist towel or heating pad helps too. Repeat as necessary or every 4 hours.
Seriously, it helps keep the tissue soft. It hurts less then.
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I got something like this at the beginning of the year. A virus for 3 days followed by an opportunistic bacterial infection.
Get well soon.
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If you’re having repeated ones, you may have some scarring of your eustachian tubes.
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Charlie,
I do have repeated ones. Actually I wonder if I have shortened ear canals because of being so premature (at birth. Wags withhold comments.) I can’t use ear buds with any degree of comfort, so, I don’t know?
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Would it be excessively picky to note that the ear buds (should) be on the opposite side of the ear drum (colloquial term, technically we’re talking tympanic membrane, separating the external and middle ear, here) from the ear canal and the two conditions deriving from the same condition is improbable?
Repeated occurrences suggest a condition indicating heightened caution and awareness of conditions prone to contribute to and exacerbate the problem. /pomposity
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I actually have no idea. I just wondered if there was some malformation. I was born very premature and I know some stuff persists.
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I know of only one likely home therapy for this condition, a therapy which actually was originally employed as a cure for hiccoughs (your spell checker says hiccups, but I don’t take orders from spell checkers) by a friend in college: smoke some hashish. It probably won’t do anything for your ear canals but it will alleviate anxiety and discomfort.
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Wine seems to have the same effect!
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Wine has the advantages of being legal (i.e., easier and cheaper to buy and ingest) and, IIRC, MUCH better tasting. I rely on memory because I haven’t been able to drink red wine in decades (the tannins cause a histamine assault that takes me straight to hangover without even visiting buzzed, much less drunk) and never could abide the white stuff.
I can’t speak on Vitamin C, but an alternative to humidifying is to purchase a small plastic nasal spray bottle of saline solution. This increases humidity in the afflicted area while being hostile to infection. It is also very inexpensive, so if it doesn’t help you are only out a dollar or two.
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I believe you are referring to a Neti Pot. I’ve used one for years. I’ve found keeping the nasal passages moist seems to cut down on sinusitis and infections. Alas it is not particularly effective for the eustachian tube, and it doesn’t get fluid down that far unless you swallow it. The saline solution that matches my ph is a bit too salty to swallow. Might come back up that way.
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Ich – I had to Wiki Neti Pot and it strikes me as … unappealing. Most any drug store, Walmart, Target — heck, groceries — carry non-medicinal sinus spray bottles of mild saltwater (e.g., saline solution) suitable for spritzing up the nose. AVOID over-the-counter sinus medicines. If affected by persistent clogged sinuses you can use hot compresses — take a clean washcloth, wet it and squeeze out excess, put it in the microwave until hot and apply to eyes & supraorbital area. Repeat for no more than twenty minutes and discontinue if excessive reddening of the nose, eyes and forehead occurs; the idea is NOT to parboil your face.
This is mostly useful as a preventative and will not do much to fight an infection once established. Soothing oils and herbs (e.g., eucalyptis) can be added and application of facial moisturizers are at the inclination of the sufferer.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_irrigation
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I will admit a neti pot looks unappealing (my wife will still not touch one), but they are effective. I use distilled water and regular non-ionized table salt. Much cheaper than a saline solution. It took me a while to find the right amount of salt and temperature. get either wrong and it can sting a bit. But it does a hecka job cleaning out the sinuses.
I used to get sinus infections that would cause a steady post nasal drip which in turn would irritate my stomach. The drip was small enough that my doctor thought they were irrelevant. After many tests and lots of cash spent (and my stomach still burning), I started treating it like a sinus infection. The neti pot works perfectly in this regard, and is a lot less harmful to your body than a course of antibiotics.
You are correct it is better as a preventative. I find I can tell now when an infection is starting, and can beat it back to nothing if I consistently use my neti pot 2x a day for 4-6 days. But if I miss that narrow window of “first starting” then its not so easy to get rid of.
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You might consider upping your vitamin C intake. I have used massive doses (over 40 grams a day for a really bad infection) for years. Now a days I pay attention to my levels (farting a LOT is the only serious side effect of too much) and rarely get bad infections.
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I’ve been pushing vitamin c. I think — sigh — I might need a better humidifier. Colorado in Winter can have its own issues.
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I used to get these regularly. I found that if I gargle with salt water (mouthwash would probably work) whenever I get a sore throat especially one in conjuncation with a runny nose, it prevents the infection from moving to the ears. I hate gargling, but not as much as ear infections.
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Scott,
I don’t gargle with salt water for a cold but start to crave tomato juice which is close to the same thing if it is not salt free. This last cold took a whole bottle, antibiotics and steriods. It does not help that envrionmental asthma triggers are present. Tomato juice is one of my least favorite drinks, but when I have any time of respiratory infection I drink it and hot lemon tea.with a touch of sea salt. Dehydration?
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I gather some people find Tomato Juice more tolerable if flavored with a splash of Tobasco, maybe a little Worcestershire … and because some folk consider Tomato Juice overly thick they occasionally dilute it with a mild medicinal anti-microbial agent, such as Vodka. I gather Stephen Green might be able to recommend proportions prone to please palates, so check his blog or drop him a line.
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I never had ear infections as a child. I think I was in late teens the first time. Then I had several a year – if I had even a mild cold I’d get an ear infection – for over a decade.
And after than, none. It’s, of course, entirely possible the two things have nothing to do with each other, but the ear infections stopped at the same time it was found I’m lactose intolerant (or whatever the proper term is now) and I quit drinking milk. I still do use milk, I refuse to have my coffee without either cream or whole milk and have big weakness for both ice cream and yogurt, but I use a lot less than I used to. The stuff I use now is either low lactose, non lactose or raw. I seem to tolerate raw milk a lot better than I do any of the treated varieties, but then I don’t use that much either, less than a liter per week.
So I suppose it’s possible you might have some sort of oversensitivity, to something. Might be worth testing. Of course if it’s oversensitivity and not an actual allergy the only way to do that is with an elimination diet, which can be bit of hassle, especially with a family.
By the way, I know have unusually narrow ear canals, or so I was told back then when a couple of doctors tried to figure out the reason for those recurring infections.
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Marja
My respiratory system is a mess, in general. And I think living in an EXTREMELY dry climate worsens things. I have recently visited two far more humid climates and both the eczema and sinus/ear problems that were starting stopped cold. So, is there a move in my future? I don’t know. I still love Denver. In an ideal world my indie stuff would catch fire (not literally, and yes, I’m aware I need to put up novels for THAT) and I’d be able to afford a home somewhere more humid during winter. Since air-conditioning involves humidifying I’m usually fine in summer in CO.
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I’m sure you’ve probably thought of this, but have you considered a humidifier for the winter? We use on in our room at night, and just that much seems to make a difference.
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Before buying a humidifier try an atomizer of the sort used to spritz house plants. A dozen or so (your mileage may vary according to ambient humidity … or rather, lack thereof) squirts (set nozzle to as fine a mist as it will produce) into the air in your room should provide notable relief without soaking everything in the room. For bedrooms slightly heavier applications that leave blanketing slightly damp to the touch will quickly dry out (further adding to room humidity) without noticeable harm to furnishings.
If this alleviates symptoms then purchase of a humidifier is probably worthwhile. When purchasing a humidifier you will, of course, need to take presence of household animals into consideration, as well as convenience of electrical outlets and suitable surfaces for placement of humidifier.
Of course, some people find household plants an effective means of adding to room humidity. Their pots are effective weighting against household pets while their leaves (fronds, tendrils, tentacles) promote aspiration of moisture — and provide excellent surfaces for misting and evaporation.
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