PREVENTION OF OTITIS IN THE SWIMMER

Abstract

IT HAS been my endeavor for some time to find an efficient method for prevention of the otitis resulting from swimming or bathing, with particular emphasis on those problems caused by water entering the external ear canal alone, or entering the external ear canal and the middle ear via a perforation in the eardrum membrane. Interest in this study was stimulated primarily by two types of cases: first, that of the patient with a perforation of the eardrum membrane, which the otologist is attempting to close by repeated treatments, who, in the midst of treatment, goes swimming or gets water into the middle ear during a shower bath, with ensuing infection and delay in the treatment; second, that of the patient with external otitis whose complaint was apparently initiated or is aggravated by water entering the ear canal. That water may also enter the middle ear via the Eustachian tube