Vinegar and Water Fight Swimmers Ear

Newspaper Columns, Herb & Home Remedy Q&A August 14, 2007

Q. Many years ago, I used vinegar and water to treat my son's swimmers ear. I cannot remember the correct vinegar and water ratio and I hope you can help.

A. Doctors sometimes recommend using ear drops made of one part white vinegar to four parts water after swimming. Another approach is to use a few drops of half white vinegar and half alcohol. That helps dry the ear out and makes it more acidic and less vulnerable to infection.

Reader Comments

The question was: Swimmers Ear and Vinegar with water...."The Ratio" ???

I use a formula similiar to this...but it is a little different...

Mix a solution of 1/2 isopropyl alchol and 1/2 vinegar...You can drop it in the ear canal with a dropper...let stand for a little while, and then empty the ear canal or use swabs...

The alcohol dries the water, and the vinegar leaves an acidic base for the ear canal...so fungus won't grow...

Water in the ear canal is not good...but let's be practal and have our fun in the water and keep the condition of our ear canals healthy...

I have been using this solution for years...but bear in mind not to use this too often, to prevent dry skin in the ear canal...

Posted by: Dave S. | August 17, 2007 5:39 PM

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Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.

The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

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