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Hi Guys,
I need a little assistance. I am stumped, for my last three trips in a row to mainly ginnie springs, i come home with a incredible ear infection. this last time is the worst as it traveled into my jaw and i could not talk or eat.
does anyone out there have any idea what is going on.:smt102 i never get ear infections. i dive in lakes and oceans for as long as i do when i cave dive (so in water time about 6hrs a day) without issues.
help and thanks
mel
Mel, one word Motrin. Hit me last night too, every time I rolled on my right side the pain in my ear woke me up.
P.S. Where's your intro Noob?:smt081
Do you use "ear beer"?
Make up a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and .90% isopropyl alcohol. Some people put a little glycerin in it. After a dive, put a couple of drops in each ear. At the end of the day (we do it at bedtime) lie on your side and put a few drops in each ear, letting it sit in there for 5 minutes per ear.
Used to get ear infections from diving - haven't had one in years since doing this.
Mike
You need to rinse your ears out after every dive, FL or anywhere else. Clean water helps, but "ear beer" is better. It is half vinegar, and half alcohol.
When you do get an infection, go immediately to a doctor, and get real ear medicine, not pain killer. Cortisporin Otic is what is generally prescribed. The longer you wait, the worse the infection gets. I have had several friends that ended up with holes in their eardrum from waiting too long to see a doctor. Some can't dive anymore :(
Yep. Ear Beer is the solution. I had a couple bad ear infections about 6-7 years ago and ever since then have been doing the 50/50 alcohol/vinegar and no problem since. I even use it after a swim in the pool.
I also had my Dr. give me some antibiotic/steroid ear drops just in case but don't recall needing them in a long time. Not a bad idea for the save-a-dive kit.
Scott
Ear Beer..... If I don't use it one weekend, I'll get an ear infection.... I normally use it once at the end of each day. Sometimes after nasty dives (you know hot summer brown basin).
i got a bad outer ear infection from my last FL trip....funny thing was it was only 3 days of diving so I didn't think ear drops were necessary (my first mistake).....took almost a month and two doctor visits to finally heal completely.
Just would like to add, that the "ear beer" must be left in for 5 minutes. The below is from the DAN site.
"The head is tilted to one side and the external ear canal gently filled with the solution, which must remain in the canal for five minutes. The head is then tilted to the other side, the solution allowed to run out, and the procedure repeated for the other ear. The five-minute duration must be timed with a watch. If the solution does not remain in the ear a full five minutes, the effectiveness of the procedure is greatly reduced.
- From the U.S. Navy Diving Manual"
One thing to note about ear beer -- don't leave it on the dash board of your car. I once left my ear solution in my car and it got quite hot. I did not notice until I put it into my ear... OUCH!
Cheers,
Jeff
the time I failed to put the drops in I got an infection..... I always use it rigt after every dive, I don't wait till the end of the day, is better to kill those bugs right away
If I do not rinse my ears with "ear beer" after every dive I get the same infections. Feels like a golf ball shoved into my ear.Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
I use a 50/50 solution of isopropyl alcohol & white vinegar - it works. When I run out or "forget" I usually get the golf ball syndrome.
i get one EVERY TIME I don't use ear beer after a dive
I just use the off the shelf swimmers ear stuff tho. I'm too lazy to brew up a batch of the homemade stuff :P
Come on it's easier than whipping up a gin and tonic.... I use the vinegar I have around... sometimes it's rice vinegar, sometimes red wine... I haven't tried with balsamic yet ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by LiteHedded
Unfortunately for me, I have a bit of a allergic type reaction to strong vinegary things.. Not anaphylactic, but the strong smell causes some G.I. issues.Quote:
Originally Posted by MORGAN
I use Alcohol, but also Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) instead of vinegar, in separate applications (5 min. of each, in each ear), usually at end-of-day.
My Dr. - a diver told me not to use Hydrogen Peroxide in ear beer. I don't recall the reasoning....Quote:
Originally Posted by mag3
Hey Mel,
While this water may look like look clear, perfect and maybe the Fountain of Youth. In every watershed feeding these systems there is a cow, chicken or human taking a dump in the water that does not get filtered out by the time it gets to your ears.
This happens to me all the time as well. EAR BEER!!! You are a pharmacist, give yourself a good drug to kill everything in your ears :)
Cheers!!
Kevin
PS why didn't I get a phone call while you were in town???
Soudns like a good way to clean the wax out at the same time :)Quote:
Originally Posted by icestac
My recipe for ear beer:
50% Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
25% White vinegar
25% Water
Isopropyl alcohol provides drying effect, vinegar drops the pH so bacteria and other bugs who like warm and moist do not proliferate.
Hydrogen peroxide is not a good idea, tends to remove the top layer of protective cells in your ear canal, leaving your ear exposed and ready for an infection, irritating too....
Dive safe,
Celia
PS reference:
Was told the same thing about the hydrogen peroxide .... becasue it strips the protective coating of the ear canal....
Also was told the reason the problem is only fresh water is because the bacteria cannot survive in the saltwater environment but breeds in the freshwater even spring fed waters whether warm or cold......
Have gotten the infection from 38F waters of the Dutch Springs in PA as well as the warm FLA springs so I dont argue....just use the ear beer.....
I don't know if I'm just lucky or immune but I never use drops in my ears and I have never (to my knowledge) had an ear infection from swimming/diving in salt or fresh water. (I also pretty much never use a hood.)
Also, I almost always drink a little bit of the water I'm swimming in. Not out near the surface but in the cave in a spring with current.
And again, to my knowledge no issues with doing that.
Is it that some people's ears are shaped differently and thus some are more prone to infection while others are not?
Red wine would work. I always have red wine around :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by chimie007
Hmmm, not so sure. I got the worst ear infection I have ever had, diving in the FL Keys.Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyJersey
Many years living and diving in Hawaii, Grand Cayman & the Keys, on an almost daily basis & never an ear infection that I can recall. Probably a total of 15 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
Different Beers for different ears!!
Then I'll have to go back to my ENT and ask what might work otherwise, because I absolutely can't do vinegar in that case.Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyJersey
Never got it at Dutch.Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyJersey
I use Acetic Acid Otic Solution Usp 2% You need a prescription for it. There was a write up in DAN a few years ago. Not as stinky as Ear Beer.
Acetic acid is vinegar. Your 2% is just a lower % solution than the 1:1 alcohol vinegar mix. There might also be glycerin which is common in "swimmer ear" solution for comfort. Grocery store regular vinegar (white non pickling kind) is usually 5% so that makes it about 2.5% once mixed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Oister
Shoot...I love smelling like a salad!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Oister
i call it 'dive juice'. i offer it around after dives. hail, caesar (salad)!
I was getting an infection once a year after diving warm fresh water lakes. Three trips to the ENT doc. The third was a different doc, he was amazed at some of the things that the first had done/not done. Anyway, he said it was from the moisture staying in the ear canal. I told him that the alcohol drops irtiated my ear.
I as him about those ear dryers. He thought they were a logical idea, but thought they were expensive. I checked around and found one for $50 at WalMart or Walgreens (It is a Mack's.) I started using it after ever dive (four years ago) and haven't been back to the ENT since.
I get a lot of looks using such a gadety looking thing in my ear, but it works for me. I use it after fresh water, saltwater, and cave dives. Normally will use it on a long surface interval, too.
Holy crap! I just looked on line and they want a hundred bucks! Couldn't I use a hairdrier (on low) or a fan, and aim it into a cone or piece of tubing that I direct at the opening to my ear??????
Quote:
Originally Posted by scububa
I will secondQuote:
Originally Posted by Oister
I have gotten some severe ear infections in the past. Ever since I have been using these filling the ear canal and soaking for 5 minutes after a day of diving no more problems.
Acetic Acid 2%
in Aqueous Aluminum
Acetate Otic Solution
Costs under 10.00 with a script
Its the fancy ear beer.
Gabe
Or just find some cutie to blow in it ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirrel Girl
:smt079
I like your style, girl!Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
:smt081
This is exactly DAN's recommendation. Since I started ear beer after fresh water dives almost no problems.Quote:
Originally Posted by MORGAN
Five minutes may be nice and a few drops may work too, but I don't do either. I irrigate. Use one of those baby nose syringe bulbs (from pharmacy) and fill it with the ear beer (I use 50% white distilled vinegar and 50% of the 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol, but 90% works too). Then irrigate each ear by squeezing the bulb as hard as you can to get a full steady stream just shooting into your ear. The baby syringe is designed so you can't really hurt yourself no matter how hard you try. do it over a sink though cause it will come pouring out your ear and carry any loose ear wax gunk with it. I don't lay down on the bed, I don't turn my head to hold it in for soaking. sometimes I use two full bulbs in each ear.
i had a history of ear infections all my life, in or out of the water and have not had one infection since I started this. I even do it about 3 times a week when not diving at the suggestion of my ENT. I wondered about too little ear wax, but ENT said I had plenty - unusally high producer. So if you are normal or have too little you may want to back off on the number of times you use it...
If I forget to use it after diving or just blow it off, and later feel the beginning of a problem, I dose myself and have actually headed off ear infections that way.
by the way, I also irrigate both ears every shower by just holding my head into the spray so the ears fill with water. keeps em clean.
-skip
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScubaAl
My ENT said the same thing, and because it cleans out the ear wax too much which is needed for ear health. no wax = infections too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Wyatt
-skip
my wife calls it "skip's cologne."Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Wyatt
-skip
You want warm dry air, not hot wet breath :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
You are no fun..... ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
Dive safe,
Celia
It all depends on who is doin' the blowing, I'd wager. Any guy who'd go whoooaahhhhhhhhhhh into an ear, I wouldn't want near mine! But a guy who pursed his lips and gently and provocatively blew... awww, heck, this is a threadjack.Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
:rollguy
Back to ear beer--yep, I've got little bottles of it scattered in my truck, in my travel kit, in my dive kit, on my night stand, better to have it close by and not have to search.
I don't always use it, but I should. I had a badddddd case of swimmers ear back in college. I went to the medical school and a doctor-to-be with a lousy bedside manner vacuum cleaned out my ears. He used suction to rip patches of stuff off the insides of my ears, and I was an unhappy camper. Hah! Now that's the OPPOSITE of having a cutie blow in my ear!!!!!!!!!
I found I'm more likely to get ear issues after diving a cave where there are a lot of swimmers than a remote, out of the way sink hole...
You're paying $3 for a small container of rubbing alcohol when you could pay 90 cents for a large container that makes several batches!Quote:
Originally Posted by LiteHedded
Springs and rivers are a laboratory for bacteria from all of the swimmers, divers, and run-off. I always use it. I buy a pint size bottle of alcohol and dump half out. I fill it back up with vinegar. I have a few nasal saline bottles that I bought and dumped out. I fill those, pull the label off and mark it ear beer. It is also good for washing your p-valve and chamber.
I'm with Gene. I never use ear-beer and never get ear infections. Being raised in the tropics must give my immune system some added kick. Or the fact that I could swim before I could walk might have something to do with it.
Im another fan of homemade, dirtcheap and very effective earbeer. And havent had an infection in many years. I put some in before a dive too. I read somewhere that it helps but cant remember why.
after every dive i use swim ear, no brewing concoctions, no infections...
mehQuote:
Originally Posted by RN
big spender I guess. :D the stuff lasts so long it doesn't really matter
I think swimmers ear is only alcohol and glycerine and lacks the acetic acid of the vinegar which I feel is important for restoring the PH. Then for the $4.oo they charge for the bottle I can mix near half a gallon.
I used to get ear infections all the time, but I quit getting them about 10 years ago.. but I still use straight up peroxide after most dives in 'nasty' waters... just in case...
I wonder if that dead armadillo floating in Orange Grove today will promote more ear infections there.... :smt102 I couldn't fish it out... its a biggum... oh, and 'ripe'... I don't envy Ranger Rick's job of getting it out...
On a good note about Orange Grove, the vis is much better in the basin and the duck weed is coming back!
My algorithm:
Go to Mexico and cavedive there. (does anyone else find it funny that the spell checker on cavediver.net barfs at the word "cavedive"?) While in Mexico, pick up a pack of 100 or so amoxycillin tablets from one of the many pharmacies on the waterfront at Playa del Carmen (you have now spent ca. $20). Use only if an ear infection has actually started - otherwise stick to just ear beer, you don't want to be one of the many culprits who reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics by overusing them and encouraging the germs to resist. Ear beer is your first line of defence. Replace the pack when it's been out of date for a year or so - of course you never get through all the tablets. With ear beer, hopefully you never need them, but if ear beer fails, having antibiotics IMMEDIATELY available will save you hours of agony. I don't bother with 10 minute ear beer sessions myself, too much out of your life. The antibiotics are ALSO useful when a cold blocks up your ear just like the water does when diving - and a secondary bacterial infection develops there. Once again, only use the pills when an infection has happened - they're no use against the cold virus itself.
Cheers,
Charles.
You took the words out of my mouth.Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
Cave diving in N. Florida is the only place I ever get ear infections. I suspect that the water has much nastier bacteria there than in many places around the world for whatever reason. Could be all the cows and sceptic tanks! I use ear beer every night while on a cave diving trip. I've found that a minimum of 5 mins. on each side is necessary for me or it doesn't work. I really don't think that it is the moisture left in my ears as much as the bacteria, since I don't seem to get infections anywhere else.
I get em everywhere. Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, just about every Quarry I've been to.. I finally went to a Cipro HCI drop to battle the infection. Works every time.
I've had my share, and generally try to use some ear beer right after.
I've also had some middle ear infections though that really sucked. I suspect that it's pretty easy to get water from the reg inhaled back up into the eustachian tubes. This may be more likely sidemounting since we'll be changing regs more regularly.
I bought a nasal irrigator a while back to try and do something about that. It really seems to help, also when the allergies kick in it helps to clear it all out.
Thanks for all the help guys!!! i NEVER EVER except in north florida get ear infections and i dive lake michigan, lake superior the ocean etc. i even dive in our local lake washington which is BLACK and i know they pump poop in there :toimonster:!!! still no ear infections!! interesting that the seemingly clean springs are septic pools!!! ear Beer for me from now on. still in pain!!!:smt013Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Thornton
its coming along.
mel
ps kevin you were ment to call me!!! sorry :(
I wouldnt call them septic pools but there is some bacteria in all bodies of water. Some are more prone to infections than others at different times and proper earcare is the key.
Charles, antibiotics won't do a thing for an outer ear infection. They are for middle ear infections.Quote:
Originally Posted by solocavediver
A quick way to tell the difference is to tug on your earlobe. It it hurts, it is most likely an outer ear infection, and Cortisporin Otic is what you need. If it doesn't hurt, it might be a middle ear infection, and those are very dangerous, so you should see a doctor immediately.
Wow, cool, I never thought about getting the bacteria in from the "other" side of the ear. That is definitely something to think about.Quote:
Originally Posted by Webmaster
Actually, systemic antibiotics WILL work for an outer ear infection, if they are the correct ones. We generally do not use them simply because the drops work and do not give a dose to the entire body, thus avoiding gastrointestinal side effects such as diarrhea or colitis.Quote:
Charles, antibiotics won't do a thing for an outer ear infection. They are for middle ear infections.
The typical organism for otitis externa is a pseudomonas species, and they are rarely, if ever, sensitive to amoxacillin. They are sensitive to neosporin (which is the cortisporin solution often prescribed) and to fluoroquinolones like Cipro.
It is highly unlikely to get bacteria into the middle ear via the Eustachian tube, unless you are doing some extremely forcible equalization. More likely is to get some barotrauma and create a rich culture medium which is seeded by normal bacterial flora, or via the bloodstream.
I have never had otitis externa, but I noted that when I came home from this last Florida trip, I had the foulest smelling earwax for about two weeks. There is SOMETHING nasty in that water!
LOL, yeah, there is....cave divers! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by LCF
LOL - Some nastier than others!Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
Mike
What LCF said!Quote:
Originally Posted by LCF
I'd also add - the high humidity in Fl. contributes to external ear infections significantly, as the ears don't readily dry out. People will get external otitis down here by just doing yardwork, or showering, and not getting the water out of the external ear canal. Use ear beer, as many have said, or the commercial equivalent SwimEar. And don't clean your ear canals with Qtips, bobby pins, or paper clips! Denuding the ear canal of protective wax and abrading the very thin skin of the external ear canal are major contributors to "swimmers ear".
Or car keys! :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by divindoc
Didn't the Eagles sing a song about this? "Warm smell of colitis rising up through the air..."Quote:
Originally Posted by LCF
EEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!! Russell, that is nasty!!! :-0Quote:
Originally Posted by Slüdge
Dive safe,
Celia
Am I the only one who doesn't smell their ear wax???:smt086Quote:
Originally Posted by LCF
I think it's like wine tasting you either get it or you don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Me
No! Definitely not! It's not in the 5 basic rules....I ain't doing it! :smt081Quote:
Originally Posted by Me
ROFL! Spewed my tea!Quote:
Originally Posted by Slüdge
Sludge - are you sure you've never worked in an ER?
There are some smells that are almost diagnostic on their own - like a GI bleed. As a colleague of mine once commented about a patient, in rhyme: "He's smellin' a melena."
Mike
and that prostaglandin poop...
Maybe I'm just doing forcibly. I've been accused of having oddly shaped eustachian tubes. The theory being that instead of draining right back out, if anything is introduced, it gives the beasties a place to linger.Quote:
Originally Posted by LCF
I don't get ear infections other than diving, and most of mine have been middle ear infections. I've never had one diving in the ocean, even when doing several dives in a day.
Interesting. I have gotten complacent and not used "ear beer" in a long time...even a couple of summers ago when Peacock 1 was a warm cesspool of crud. I didn't have problems. HOWEVER, I did get an ear infection after a recent trip to the Millpond. I had forgotten how painful an ear infection was. My infection kinda cleared up after 7 days of drops, but I started getting a "full" feeling in my ear and a roaring sound. Went to the ear doctor, and he cleaned out (It felt like an ice pick probing my tympanic membrane) the residue left from the MEDICINE. I will now use alcohol in my ears after every dive. I have also found that alcohol applied internally (usually in the form of an import beer) helps immensely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
Ditto. Dove two days in the Keys this summer and got the worst ear infection I ever had. It would have been a lot less painful to put the money I shelled out in the BBQ and lit it on fire.
Hi scubagrunt,
Well dude,This is not the big problem of ear infection.Due to diving ,it may happened that pressure difference occurs which is result into ear infection.Use Ear beeps for that safety and fit.
Thanks
yeh.....gotta love those ear beeps.Quote:
Originally Posted by martinpaul12
Mel,
Thank you for making the original post. I searched through the forum this evening with the same question in mind... After several straight weekends of cave diving I have tender ears as well which is extremely odd for me. I have been actively diving for years, teaching / diving on an almost daily basis in the Caribbean for some time, and now I live in Florida and only dive on the weekends.
The ear aches are new and I appreciate all of the feedback given. Hello, "ear beer..."
As littlekieren has shown it is always good to resurrect a good thread from time to time and the Ear Beer one fits the bill. I quoted this particular post because it has a special note of caution. I had the exact same thing. Little ear discomfort that I treated with drops. Afterward a persistent full feeling and roaring. Went to the General Practitioner AKA witch doctor, and he said your ear drum looks weird I think it is perforated. Well imagine my chagrin, my Insurance was going bye bye in 10 days and I am looking at ENT visits. I frantically called around and found an ENT on University in Winter Park that could see me two days later. Good news, same thing, there was dead skin and crap stuck to the ear drum, it did feel like a tornado and an ice pick but OH what a relief it is. The moral of the story, When I asked the ENT why the GP could not properly identify a minor issue he said. "Do you See a Blood Pressure Cuff in here" If you have an ear problem and your insurance allows, go directly to the ENT do pass the GP and you will collect your $200.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Bailey
There is no evidence that anything in the water is responsible for ear infections. The wealth of evidence is the water, heated by your own body and trapped in the auditory canal, provides the ideal growth medium for the natural bacteria that are always there. So why can you dive for years in one place, move to another and suddenly suffer ear infections? Or even stay in same place and never have ear infections, then start getting them. Your immune system. All the stresses of moving, a new environment, getting a bit older (yes even 20 to 27), diet, alcohol consumption, and the thousand other things that change over time all contribute to the reduction in the immune system. As for the nasty brown water, in most of those, the access is also nastier, more difficult, more tiring, etc., so dives of the same duration are now more stressful and reduce immune system.
Also, once you have an infection and you get ENT and meds, and it all clears up - it might not be! I went to ENT every April for 3-4 years with ear infection and he finally traced it to a long-term low-level upper sinus infection i didn't even know I had! Why April? Springtime in Tennessee! I took shots every week for three weeks, then 60 days of oral antibiotics to clear it up. he said the usual round of 2 weeks to a month of canal drops and oral antibiotics usually given for ear infections was not long enough to get at the sinus infection. It took an MRI to find the sinus scarring from long-term infection.
ENT told me to use the Nasal Rinse for sinus's - three or four times a week, or daily, whether diving or not, and gave me a lifetime prescription for a steroid nasal spray, and said to use the ear beer (alc and vin only, 50/50) every day as well! I was concerned that the daily irrigation with ear beer would wash all ear wax away, but he said I had small canals and an overproductive ear wax factory (in other words, not to worry).
It's now been four years and I have not had an ear infection (and I've gotten lax about the daily part of the regimen too).
skip
I used to pay my ENT a visit ever 2-3 months with moderate to severe ear infections. What he did was flush/vacuum the ears and provide antibiotics. And of course that would fix it, for a maximum of 2-3 months.Quote:
Originally Posted by skip
Ear beer solved all this for me, I've been ENT-free for almost one year now. I flush after every dive and if I feel twitching sensations in the ear a couple of days after, I flush more. It works for me and as skip experienced, my ear overcompensates with ear wax if needed also.
Could you use lemon juice? Bottled lemon juice substituted for the vinegar should do the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by mag3
Quote:
Originally Posted by mag3
I ended up using Boric Acid powder. I just add it to a bottle of 70% Isopropyl alcohol until the pH is right. Shake well. :-D I have to make a new batch every year, though. But it's worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tracydr
Seems it would achieve the same thing PH is only .2 differentQuote:
Originally Posted by Tracydr
pH is on a logarithmic scale, so 0.2 is greater than it might seem.Quote:
Originally Posted by curtschu
I think the pH varies sample by sample. The difference might be a little more, or a little less.
Lemon juice certainly smells a lot nicer than vinegar, but I also think of it as "sticky." Would I rather have a spill of one or the other on my skin w/o washing off? Probably vinegar. Hmmm, I smell an experiment in the offing.
I generally am not as rigorous in my use of ear beer as I ought to be. Wait until evening--yeah, sometimes. Leave my head turned sideways for the recommended 5 mins? Nah. That's 10 minutes both sides. I suspect that following protocol would be way more useful in preventing ear infections than lemon juice vs. vinegar.
FWIW, I did get a mild ear infection on my last trip to FL. Sadly I didn't do as much diving as I wanted, and it wasn't a problem and healed up after a few days.
The Nasal Rinse (irrigator) is the best!Quote:
Originally Posted by Webmaster
Water from the reg into middle ear? hmmm. I'm thinking that it's the equalizing that does it. I seem to get water in my mouth fairly often, sometimes on purpose to clear cotton mouth! But when the air space compresses and you equalize by sending air from mouth into middle ear, airborne bacteria, water, saliva, etc., is also sent into the eustachian tube, which is just not "natural."
skip
It's not the florida cave water. It's your own bodily bacteria. So what is different in florida if it's not the water? The air! It's especially difficult for you northern guys. I dive lake michigan, pacific northwest, etc., and when I travel to those places my sinus's clear up nicely. I return to Tennessee and they clog and get inflamed again. I go to florida, and omg....my sinus's become a quagmire. The more plant life and animal life, the more small gunk floating in the air (even mosquito's have to poop). And all those flower trees and shrubs? As my ENT said, doesn't matter where you used to live, move south and you will suffer allergies sooner or later.Quote:
Originally Posted by scubagrunt
So it's the florida air, full of gunk, pollen, dead skin, alligator detritus, microscopic bird feathers, etc., more than any other state (except maybe southern georgia, south carolina, parts of alabama, mississippi....
I avoid spring, summer, and fall in Central Florida.
skip
That's right it takes a real man to breath Florida Air
I avoid anything north of I-20 from January through December...Quote:
Originally Posted by skip
LOL , ya you are better off, your kind is not understood in them thar parts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slüdge
Another thing that occurred to me is that cave diving may involve more equalizing than open water diving. The ups and downs of cave diving differ from the more square-like profiles of open water. The more the poor ears are subjected to pressure changes may be partly responsible too; the stress on the tympanic membrane (both sides) may lead to ear infections. I suspect that those trips to florida may also involve more dives as visitors try to cram in as much diving in as many different places as possible during their stay. Even if you do "as much" or more diving in home waters up north (and elsewhere), you probably don't do as much in as short a time. And another factor!..... Florida is humid. I can't even get my towel to dry hanging on a line - sometimes I think it gets wetter! Ears don't dry out in Florida like they do in less humid places. So anything you put in them that helps them to dry out is a good thing.
skip
I have a whole bunch of dives in north Florida caves and (knock on wood) I have never had an ear infection of any type.
I don't use ear beer or any other product.
I do pinch and blow to pop my ears repeatedly before diving and after diving for several hours/days. Actually I do it almost every day whether I am diving or not.
Maybe some people are just more susceptible than others.
Oh crap! That explains all this hair on my chest! I was thinking it was the hot sauce!Quote:
Originally Posted by curtschu
You are not supposed to blow that hard skip..... ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by skip
Dive safe,
Celia
I practice clearing my ears al the time. When diving now I rarely have to equalize my ears. It usually does it naturally. People laugh at me all the time when I do it, but I feel it helps.Quote:
Originally Posted by hunabku
Um. Wow. Damn. Just damn.Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
I get plenty of practice clearing my ears just living where I do. My ears pop once or twice just driving from my house down to the village.Quote:
Originally Posted by hunabku