Can you get otitis media when swimming with water in your ears? What should I do if I get water in my ears?

If there is no otitis media, water entering the ear canal during swimming will cause infectious inflammation. If there are patients with chronic otitis media while swimming, water in the ear will lead to the recurrence of otitis media. In order to prevent infectious inflammation caused by swimming, it is best to go to the hospital to check the eardrum, and pay attention not to dig the ear canal in daily life, which will easily destroy the periosteum and lead to the recurrence of otitis media. Not only will water enter the ear when swimming, but if there is water in the swimming pool, it will infect the middle ear cavity from the eustachian tube, which may lead to otitis media.

Otitis media refers to unclean water, that is, unclean water becomes soft and swollen enough after entering the external auditory canal. However, bacteria in sewage are stuck in the ear canal due to blockage, which increases the chance of serious infection. In summer, the weather is hot, people sweat a lot, and the environment is humid, which brings favorable conditions for the reproduction of bacteria.

When swimming water enters the ear, the ear is in a closed state, and the middle ear cavity is connected with the nasopharynx through the throat, that is, at the back end of the nose and the uppermost end of the throat. The eustachian tube will open at the nasopharynx. If water enters the ear at this time, it will infect the middle ear cavity from the eustachian tube, leading to otitis media, and the patient will have earache and even headache. But otitis media caused by swimming is not absolute, because swimming ears are easy to get water. If the water is clean, the periosteum will be blocked. Water will naturally flow out. If the water quality is not clean and there is earwax in the ear canal, bacteria will breed, leading to perforation of tympanic membrane and otitis media.

So, when the water enters the ear, you can let yourself handle it. You can jump on one leg and let the water flow out. You can also wear earplugs to prevent water from entering your ears during daily swimming. And try not to dig your ears after swimming, which is easy to damage the periosteum. If otitis media patients have water in their ears, they can gently wipe them with cotton swabs. Observing the situation in the ear canal at the same time will lead to local pain in otitis media. In terms of treatment, doctors can clean the external auditory canal, or they can clean it with normal saline or hydrogen peroxide to observe the periosteum and mucosa of the ear canal. Use drugs if necessary. Or go to the rehabilitation physiotherapy center for baking electrotherapy.