 Swimmer's Ear
One of the common infections Dr. McAllister sees in the summer time is otitis externa. This infection occurs when the skin lining the ear canal gets irritated and then bacteria infiltrate the skin and cause an infection. Several things can irritate the ear canal including trauma (cleaning the ear with a q-tip), exposure to chemicals (chlorine from a swimming pool) or prolonged exposure to water. Children (and adults) who swim a lot are prone to this infection, giving it its more common name of "swimmer's ear".
Because swimmer's ear is an infection of the outer ear (on the outside of the eardrum) and not the middle ear (on the inside of the eardrum) it can be treated with topical antibiotic eardrops and usually clears up pretty quickly. You can prevent swimmer's ear by never putting anything in the ear canal, removing water from the ear after swimming (you may look silly but the best way to remove water is to hop up and down on one foot with your head tilted so one ear is down and tugging on that ear lobe, then repeat with the other ear) or putting a few drops of a 1:1 mixture of alcohol and vinegar in the ear after swimming.
Ear plugs are controversial in preventing swimmer's ear. On the one hand they do limit the water getting in, but they can irritate the canal making it easier for bacteria to infiltrate. Dr. McAllister generally does not recommend ear plugs as he feels they cause more problems than they solve.
If you think your child has swimmer's ear give Dr. McAllister a call right away so that we can get treatment started. |
 New Insurance Plan
Dr. McAllister and Performance Pediatrics are now an in-network provider for the MultiPlan Network.
We are working on becoming a participating provider with many of our community's most popular health plans. Please contact us if you'd like to see your plan on this list.
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 MDA Charity Lock-Up
Come see our administrator director, Leann, "behind bars" at the MDA Charity Lock-Up!
WHERE: Uno's, 10 Shops at 5 Way, Plymouth
WHEN: Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 11 am - noon
Together we're providing help and hope to kids and adults served by MDA in our community.
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