As a mother of seven-year-old-twins, Kathleen was used to her share of sleepless nights. But recently, her son David awoke with a complaint he’d never made before: pain and itchiness in his ear. “David had been swimming all day and he didn’t have a fever. I’m not a doctor, but I know when David has ear pain after swimming and he’s not burning up, it’s a case of Swimmer’s ear taking hold.”

Kathleen is not alone; a recent poll done by XXX revealed that nearly one fifth of Canadian parents say their child has experienced Swimmer’s ear, and three quarters say their child described it as painful.

Swimmer’s ear (otitis externa) is an infection of the outer ear that commonly occurs in children and young adults whose ears are exposed to water when swimming, bathing, or playing in water. It is not the same as the typical middle ear infection (otitis media) that often accompanies a cold.

So, how do you determine if your child has swimmer’s ear? And once you do, how do you make the pain and discomfort go away?

How it works

The ear canal has a unique acidic lining that protects the ear against bacterial infection so long as it is not diluted by excessive moisture. Once that lining is disturbed, bacteria can penetrate this delicate environment causing infection and inflammation.

“The two most common signs of swimmer’s ear are itchiness and pain,” says Dr. Greenwald, family doctor and mother of three young children. She suggests an easy way to check for Swimmer’s ear is to pull gently on the outer ear or press lightly on the tragus, that little bump in front of the child’s ear. “If even the slightest touch around the ear area causes your child to wince, that is a telltale sign your child likely has swimmer’s ear,” she says.

Other symptoms of swimmer’s ear include stuffiness or decreased hearing. In severe cases, children may experience pain in their neck, face, or the affected side of their head. Their outer ear may also become red or flaky.

Time to end this ear-y experience

You’ve identified that your child has Swimmer’s ear. Now what? The good news is that most cases of swimmer’s ear can be easily treated with antibiotic ear drops. “Polysporin antibiotic ear drops have been used by parents for more than 30 years,” says Dr. Greenwald. “Now there’s a special formulation, Polysporin Plus Pain Relief Ear Drops to help relieve the pain caused by Swimmer’s ear and treat the infection.

Parents should administer three to four drops, four times daily. Dr. Greenwald stresses the importance of continuing treatment for the full five to seven days, warning that “often people stop treating once their symptoms disappear, but stopping too soon can result in a recurrence.” If symptoms are not improving within 2 days or are getting worse, Dr. Greenwald recommends a visit to the doctor to prevent additional complications.

Are you ready to deal with swimmer’s ear?

There are ways to prevent Swimmer’s ear. First, try drying your child’s hair with a towel after swimming (or even dry their ears with a hair dryer); have them wear earplugs when swimming; or even apply acidifying eardrops a few times a week to inhibit bacterial growth and to help maintain the ear’s sensitive environment.

The easiest thing to do is to prepare yourself for when it strikes – while nearly one fifth of parents have admitted that their kids suffer from Swimmer’s ear, only 16% of them have antibiotic ear drops on hand to deal with the issue. Dr. Greenwald suggests adding some to your beach bag and medicine cabinet so that you can treat any infection early before it becomes full-blown.

The independent survey was commissioned by POLYSPORIN^® and conducted by Decima Research in the winter/spring of 2007. This national sample of 1,000 Canadians 18 years or older is accurate within +/- 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.