How To Avoid Ear Infections

I've been a swimmer since I was a senior in high school. I still swim fairly regularly, and this is what I do to prevent ear infections:

First and foremost: Always be sure to let the ears dry out completely after a swim or shower. Use a hair dryer on low to make sure there's no moisture in there. Make sure wet hair isn't covering your ears if you hop out of the pool after a swim and let your hair dry naturally.

If you feel like you might have an ear infection coming on, put a little tiny bead of neosporin in your palm and roll the head of a clean cotton swab in it, so that all of the neosporin is in the swab. There should be no blobs of ointment on the swab. Roll this around in the outer ear canal only, after ears are dry.

Also, if you feel one coming on or feel dizzy, take a decongestant for a day or two. (None of this is scientifically tested, but it works for me.)

And as a last resort, if you have trouble drying out your ears on a regular basis, try a solution of 50% vinegar and 50% rubbing alcohol. Put a few drops in each ear after swimming, then tip your head from side to side to get it back out. (I think this feels icky, so I avoid it, but it was recommended by a doctor to eliminate both moisture and bacteria, for people who are especially prone to ear infections. I suppose you could put this on the cotton swab, too. I find that the alcohol stings and sometimes dries the skin of my ears out too much.)

Note: I am not a doctor or a medical professional. If you have an ear infection and it hurts, get off the internet and go see a doctor for heavens sake. Don't try any of this (except the hair dryer) on children (with supervision). Also, the cotton swab box says not to put the darn thing in your ear canal, so don't blame me if you do it anyway.

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The other quick note I wanted to make was about my IT band issue. I saw a terrific therapist (Jacky at Saint Helena Physical Therapy), who filmed my running gait, and found that my left knee bounced in and out a little too dramatically, causing extra stress on the ITB.

After a couple of tries, she was able to find a fairly simple solution. As it turns out, my left foot was over-supinating, so she placed a couple of thin dense foam "wedges" or strips, inside the left rear of my shoe. The next few runs, I experienced a dramatic improvement. This, in combination with a set of new stretches and exercises to strengthen the lateral muscles, has pretty much eliminated the problem.

If you are experiencing pain from running of any kind, I strongly urge you to seek out a physical therapist who has experience with runner's issues so that you can run as safely and as long as possible. My insurance has a provision for "self referral"-- maybe yours does too.

(The orthopedist I saw before the therapist had said to me flatly, "You can't run three miles a day anymore, you're 42, not 22." He gave me a printout of some stretches, which included worst-case scenarios for IT band syndrome, and that was it. The first thing Jacky said when I told her was, "I don't think that's true at all. Let's take a look and see what's happening." And here I am, comfortably continuing my running routine again.)