Ear lavage

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tdonline - 08 Jan 2008 18:20 GMT

I got a cold over 3 weeks ago and while I was fine after 4 or 5 days,
I did continue to get an abundance of mucus for about two weeks. I
upped my nasal irrigation from once daily to twice daily. It took
awhile to get rid of the green/yellow stuff, but it did gradually
quiet down. I'm still getting a tiny bit of the thick sticky mucus
but very little discoloration.

With this improvement in the mucus situation, I was shocked by how
much ear pain I got when I flew this weekend. It was PAINFUL. I
thought I had gotten the better of the cold and the mucus situation
but I must have still been stuffed up. Drank hot tea, chewed gum,
took some decongestants and tried to hold/blow my nose while in flight
and at a layover. Helped but did not completely eradicate the pain
and irritation.

Aside from a slight and occasional itch, my ears are fine now. Should
I leave well enough alone? This has happened before and I wonder if I
got a buildup of stuff in my ears? I do nasal lavage for maintenance,
should I consider ear lavage? I think that there is still residual
stuff and it may be pretty foul and I want to clear it out. Since I'm
not in pain currently, is this something that warrants a doctor's
visit?

Thanks.

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neil0502@yahoo.com - 08 Jan 2008 22:49 GMT

> I got a cold over 3 weeks ago and while I was fine after 4 or 5 days,
> I did continue to get an abundance of mucus for about two weeks. I
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Thanks.

Just sounds to me like a plain old, garden-variety sinus infection.
It's quite common for somebody with sinus blockage/inflammation/
infection to feel pain when flying, particularly on descent. What you
described ("va salva maneuver") doesn't always help.

You may need to be seen to determine whether antibiotics are warranted.

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Steven L. - 09 Jan 2008 00:14 GMT

> I got a cold over 3 weeks ago and while I was fine after 4 or 5 days,
> I did continue to get an abundance of mucus for about two weeks. I
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> got a buildup of stuff in my ears? I do nasal lavage for maintenance,
> should I consider ear lavage?

It won't help. The lavage fluid won't get past the eardrum into the
inner ear where the inflammation is. All you're going to do is flush
earwax out of your ear canal.

Of course, I've had a few ear aches that were due just to earwax
blocking the eardrum too. In which case, lavage is just the thing. But
it doesn't sound like earwax is causing your ear ache. Generally you
can feel it, and your hearing on that side is impaired, when it's earwax.

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tdonline - 09 Jan 2008 01:53 GMT

> > I got a cold over 3 weeks ago and while I was fine after 4 or 5 days,
> > I did continue to get an abundance of mucus for about two weeks. I
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> > I leave well enough alone? This has happened before and I wonder if I
> > got a buildup of stuff in my ears? I do nasal lavage for maintenance,

I googled my condition and you're right. I think I just got mucus and/
or liquids in my Eustachian tubes. That would cause the pain once I
was in the air. Any suggestions to help drain the tubes? I'm not in
pain, but my inner ears just feel itchy or slightly irritated. I want
to jam my fingers in there and scrape away, but I can't reach. Wonder
if I'm on the verge of an infection. I use the Neilmed bottle to
irrigate and get water out of my nose and mouth. Would that be
exercebating the problem?

I do not think I had/have a sinus infection as I did not have the
usual symptoms. Just felt like a nasty cold. I didn't feel crappy or
nauseous for weeks, but rather was sick for a few days and felt better
soon after. The only annoying thing is the lingering mucus over-
production. And today I couldn't stop coughing.

> should I consider ear lavage?
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Email: sdlit...@earthlinkNOSPAM.net
> Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me.

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Steven L. - 09 Jan 2008 14:57 GMT

> I googled my condition and you're right. I think I just got mucus and/
> or liquids in my Eustachian tubes. That would cause the pain once I
> was in the air. Any suggestions to help drain the tubes?

Decongestants.
Warm compresses applied to the ear.
Standing in a hot shower to heat up your head.

Have a friend look inside your ear with a flashlight. If there's pus
coming out of the eardrum, you need to see a doctor for antibiotics.

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