Why Swimmers Ear Hurts, and What Causes Ear Pain, Symptoms, and Treatment
Ear Pain Symptoms and Treatment
So you've had a great time swimming only to wake up the next day with a horrible pain starting in your ear and radiating down the side of your head. What happens is water gets trapped in your ear after swimming and it creates a moist environment.
This sort of moist environment is a breeding ground for bacteria. Swimmer's ear is actually an infected ear canal and it is very painful. Another thing that causes swimmer's ear is by putting your finger in your ear and accidentally scraping the ear lining. This causes your ear to be susceptible to infection.
There are three different phases of swimmer's ear. If you take care of it right away it shouldn't progress to the moderate or advanced stages. The symptoms include: Clear, odorless draining from your ear, reddness inside the ear, pain if you pull on your ear, and itchiness inside your ear. In the first stage "Mild" it's not to bad, but if you ignore these symptoms they will get really bad.
Swimmer's Ear Treatment
Luckily, swimmer's ear is treated very easily. You can purchase ear drops over the counter at any pharmacy. If your symptoms include fever and extreme pain in the ear or head area, you need to go the emergency room right away.
If swmmer's ear isn't taken care of it can lead to infection in other areas of the body, including the head and nervous system.
