I have had several times that I have thought I have had ear infections, going to my primary he has stated that my ear canals are dry and looking a bit cracked. I have asked him what can I put in them to moisturize them. He is not sure. When I call my rheumatologist she says I need to ask my primary doctor.. ::) I can't get into a ENT until after the first of the year. Any suggestions?
Go to the health food store and ask for help. There are quite a few soothing ear drops.
Mine are dry and itchy.. My doctor told me to rub some hydrocortisone cream inside my ear.. It really helped a lot..
I use vitamin e oil (not all the way in the ear) it really helps :)
Yes i agree with the hydrocortizone in the ear. I had leftover steroid eyedrops that i don't use anymore and used it in my ear. What a difference it made!
I suffered from the dry ears for many, many years prior to diagnosis. I would use the hydrocortisone cream 1% that is OTC and rub a little around the outer ear canal and in the canal as far as I could go with my finger. I have recently been dropping some of the OTC wax remover oil that contains some peroxide into my ear and putting a cotton ball in my ear for a few hours.
This has the oil to moisten and the peroxide to sort of disinfect. This helps a lot and it also helps that dry wax to move around. The last time I had my ears checked the doc removed a big long piece of wax that had formed a ball and was lying up against my ear drum. That is probably why I could not hear very well. These dry ears also form very dry wax.
There was one time that I had a huge piece of dry wax removed that had conformed to the shape inside my ear. Just because we are dry we can still make wax, but it is not normal, oily wax. Irish
I wouldn't use hydrocortisone cream inside my ears - even if it might help first, its downside is that it thins the skin and thus makes the problem worse in time.
Just yesterday a doc told me my ear canals are dry (and yes, they've been itching) and she recommended I'd use Ceridal Lipolotion oil in them. They sell it in spray bottles, too, so it's easy to apply. It's also found to reduce the risk of ear wax plugs.
Irish:
Is it OK to use drops of mineral oil in the ears?
Using the OTC cortisone cream on occasion is not going to cause a big problem. Thinning of the skin is a long known side effect of steroid use. I have had tubes in my ears about 5 times and had a serious ear surgery plus infections. My doctor ordered antibiotic/prednisone ear drops for several weeks at a time.
My feeling is that the ear drops had a whole lot more steroids in them than using occasional OTC cream around my ear canal---not way into the canal.
As far as the mineral oil goes, all I know is that I bought a bottle of olive oil from the drug store. It was in the department where the ear drops were displayed. I use this when my ears start to get dry and sore and then plac a cotton ball in my outer ear for a coupl of hours. Seems to do the job for me. It says on the bottle that it is for use in the ears. Irish
I rub Bag Balm in the outside of mine.
Sharon
I use olive oil and it's wonderful!
Yes I too have the dry ears, and I think I am losing some of my hearing do to this. I don't get much wax in my ears so I know it is not that.
I have some ear drops that are oily, and that helps them for a few days then I just use some more.
susanep :)
Health food store .. just sayin'! ;D
I use either olive oil or Miracell Ear Drops for my itchy ears. I got my bottle from my audiologist, but you can order them on-line too. Here is the link to the Miracell site: miracell.com/.
I have read a lot about olive oil safe to use in your ear canal.
Miracell is also very good. Sharon