Hydrogen peroxide for otitis media is a popular remedy that many people use at home to relieve unpleasant symptoms. But before using it for medicinal purposes, you need to learn more about the disease itself and the properties of the drug.
Properties of peroxide
Peroxide (also called peroxide) is a powerful antiseptic that began to be actively used in medicine in the early 18th century. From the point of view of chemistry, it is an oxidizing form of oxygen, and its formula looks like this: H2O2. Peroxide has a lot of useful properties:
- easily reacts with other components when atomic oxygen or free radicals are released;
- oxygen is aggressively active, its highest ability to enter into an oxidation reaction can cause serious harm to any he althy cell;
- it easily destroys the cell membrane and accelerates aging.
But despite these menacing properties, peroxide still brings great benefits:
- used to disinfect wounds;
- helps whiten teeth;
- with its use, doctors perform antiseptic washings;
- used in the form of drops for otitis and other problems with ENT organs.
Active oxygen and makes peroxide the best antiseptic. But it must be remembered that too high a concentration of the drug and its prolonged effect on the body can provoke the destruction of he althy tissues and slow down the regeneration of damaged skin. In severe cases, due to the fact that the renewed cells are destroyed at the site of damage, keloid scars are actively formed.
Peroxide for otitis media: can it be used or not?
Can I drip hydrogen peroxide into my ears? This is of interest to many people, especially those who often complain of pain in the hearing organs. Otolaryngologists advise using the drug as a last resort and with extreme caution. It is allowed to be used for processing the outer shell of the ear and the ear canal.
To do this, you need to take a 3% aqueous solution, which you need to slightly warm in your hands to a temperature of 37 degrees. The solution is allowed to be instilled into the ears, but it should be remembered that there are contraindications. Peroxide is used to clean the ear passages from accumulations of sulfur and remove plugs. It effectively helps with:
- hearing loss;
- scratches and small wounds;
- otomycosis;
- chronic forms of hearing pathologies;
- injuries.
But before using the remedy, it is better to consult with your doctor.
Otitis: what kind of pathology?
Otitis media is the general name for inflammation in a person's ears. The ear is the most complex organ, a fragile system that is constantly attacked by microorganisms and injured.
There are several types of pathology: diffuse and limited otitis media. The limited one is characterized by a slight inflammation, for example, a boil, but with a diffuse large focus of inflammation, it is accompanied by severe pain, swelling, high fever, ear and nose congestion. Also, otitis media can be external or internal, or it can affect the middle ear.
There can be many reasons for the development of inflammation:
- infections;
- fungal infection;
- low immunity;
- inflammatory process in the nasopharynx;
- hypothermia;
- barotrauma;
- mechanical damage to the ear.
Therefore, there is an opinion among patients that hydrogen peroxide in otitis media helps to quickly get rid of unpleasant symptoms. But a doctor's consultation is needed.
Effectiveness of peroxide in otitis media
Before answering the question of whether it is possible to drip hydrogen peroxide into the ears, you need to understand the scope of its application. Peroxide is a disinfectant, hemostatic and wound healing agent. A transparent liquid perfectly copes with any microorganisms, which is why it is actively used in the treatment of skin diseases, treatment of wounds, and for the disinfection of medical instruments.
Hydrogen peroxide for otitis was first usedProfessor Neumyvakin. It was he who was able to prove that the remedy is the strongest oxidant, which, splitting, has excellent activity against infections. The tool is absolutely safe and has a lot of advantages:
- cleanses the skin and mucous membranes from any microorganisms and contaminants;
- reduces the appearance of skin rashes and boils;
- helps pustules mature and their contents come out;
- dissolves wax plugs in the ears.
How to use the drug for otitis?
Instillation of hydrogen peroxide into the ear with otitis is carried out because it has a disinfecting property, albeit low. Such drops help to disinfect wounds and cracks, protecting the ear from the development of a purulent process. An important condition is that the solution is warm. You can simply hold the bottle in your hand or add warm water. And you need to bury the drug like this:
- The patient should lie on their side.
- Drip solution into ear.
- Massage the auricle, after 10 minutes tilt your head in the opposite direction. Let the rest of the solution come out.
How much to drip hydrogen peroxide in the ear? 2-3 drops, no more. If otitis occurs with perforation, then in this case peroxide cannot be used, otherwise pain may appear or mastoiditis may develop.
Treatment of otitis media with turunda solution
Hydrogen peroxideused not only in the form of drops for otitis media, but also as a compress. To apply this method, you will need gauze or a bandage, but in no case cotton wool, cotton pads. Vata leaves behind fibers that are not always visible to the naked eye, and with otitis media and the accumulation of pus, they can lead to serious complications.
For the procedure, you will need gauze and 3% hydrogen peroxide, previously slightly warmed up to 37 degrees. If at home there is only pure peroxide, then it is diluted with warm water 1: 3.
Before starting the procedure, you need to wash the auricle using a soapy solution or cream soap. Twist the turunda from gauze, soak it in hydrogen peroxide and squeeze it out, removing excess liquid. Insert the turunda into the ear canal. If otitis media is purulent, then after absorbing the pus, you need to replace the turunda with a new one. Keep the compress for more than 10 minutes should not be, otherwise he althy cells may suffer.
Ear washing with hydrogen peroxide
Otitis is a severe inflammation, in which purulent discharge from the ear is often observed. They have a viscous consistency and cannot come out completely on their own, so the residues can be removed by washing with a solution. How to rinse the ear with hydrogen peroxide for otitis media correctly so as not to harm?
This will require a 2 ml syringe, water and medication. Dilute the solution with water 1:1. Sit on a chair and keep your head straight, draw liquid into the syringe and pour it under pressure into the ear, substituting a wide container under it. Hydrogen peroxide for otitis mediawill help not only relieve inflammation and swelling, but also wash out pus, the remnants of which can lead to complications if they are not removed in time.
Ear instillation for children
Many parents ask an important question for them: is it possible and how to treat otitis media at home in children? The answer of doctors is unequivocal. Hydrogen peroxide for the treatment of otitis in children under one year is strictly forbidden to use. At an older age, the concentration of the substance must be reduced several times. And this is explained by the fact that the skin of a child is much softer than that of an adult, coarsening has not yet occurred, and there are many young cells on the surface that can die under the influence of an antiseptic. This, in turn, can enlarge the affected area, creating a burn-like lesion.
Hydrogen peroxide for otitis in children is used in rare cases, but if the doctor decided to use it in treatment, then no more than 1 drop should be instilled into the ear. The duration of the procedure is reduced to 5 minutes, after which the ear canal is cleaned with gauze turunda. You can also do a compress, but its duration should not exceed 5 minutes.
But no matter how useful properties peroxide has, you need to remember that this is a drug that has its own contraindications for use.
Contraindications for use
It is impossible to instill hydrogen peroxide in otitis in the ear of an adult or use it to wash the canal in several cases:
- if the eardrum is damaged;
- if auditory is affectedchannels with pus from the facial sinuses, for example, when the patient has sinusitis;
- if the middle ear is inflamed;
- in cases where the disease is chronic and often relapses after treatment.
The use of peroxide in patients with minor anatomy disorders of the tympanic membrane is in some cases allowed, but only if the otolaryngologist reports this and personally controls the treatment process. A solution is used in case of severe formation of pus and overlapping of the ear canal. Simply put, the benefits of using the product are obvious, and peroxide is simply necessary in these cases to use.
The ban on the use of the solution for damage to the eardrum is due to the fact that the liquid can penetrate the membrane, which means that the mucous membrane and nerve endings can get a serious burn. Such exposure can deafen the patient and damage the eardrum, which can be accompanied by severe pain and require serious and long-term treatment. Otitis with hydrogen peroxide also cannot be treated for children under three years of age. Babies are allowed to put compresses with a 1% solution for three minutes. During the procedure, the child must be carefully monitored, not giving him the opportunity to turn his head strongly and not allowing him to grab the turunda with his hands, lie down on his side.
It can be very difficult to keep track of a child in this situation, which is why doctors do not allow children under three years of age to use peroxide.
Pregnancy and lactation are not contraindications for useperoxide in the form of a compress, washing or instillation into the ear. On the contrary, doctors even recommend that expectant and nursing mothers use the drug for hygienic manipulations as a prophylaxis of the inflammatory process and for disinfection.
Rules for use in otitis media
There are several rules that help to properly use peroxide in the treatment of otitis media:
- It is forbidden to independently prescribe therapy with this drug. Be sure to consult a doctor and establish the provoking factor of the disease, after which it will be possible to start using peroxide. It is important to adhere to the dosage, a saturated solution can harm the patient.
- If burning, itching or discomfort is observed during the treatment, then the procedure should be stopped, as peroxide can irritate the skin affected by inflammation and slow down recovery.
- You do not need to clean your ears completely, removing all the wax. It must remain in the auricle in a certain amount, and all because it performs the protective function of the ear canal from infection and harmful microorganisms.
- Never use concentrated peroxide! Many patients believe that only they can speed up the recovery process, but, as practice has shown, everything is completely different, the patient's condition may worsen.
- Dilute hydrogen peroxide only with plain water, for example from a bottle. Tap water must first be cleaned, and after it still needs to be boiled. If you takelow-quality liquid, it can lead to infection.
- When a patient has a constant formation of traffic jams, you need to seek the advice of a doctor and find out what is the reason. You cannot self-diagnose and prescribe treatment.
- If the peroxide procedure did not bring any results, then you need to tell the doctor about it so that he can choose another remedy.
Many doctors believe that hydrogen peroxide during the treatment of otitis media is simply irreplaceable. It helps to quickly eliminate the inflammatory process and relieve swelling, rid the ear canal of pus and any kind of pollution. But you should definitely consult a doctor and do not exceed the allowable dosage, so as not to aggravate your already difficult situation. Using the drug in a higher concentration will not speed up recovery, but will only harm.
Hydrogen peroxide in the ear with otitis media: reviews
For centuries, peroxide has been used in medicine. Numerous patient reviews say that the remedy is an excellent antiseptic. Mothers with small children keep it in their first aid kits to treat wounds to fidgets and clean their ears when plugs collect in them. Otolaryngologists also often recommend that their patients always have the drug at hand, besides, there are no difficulties with its purchase, it is sold in any pharmacy, and its cost is affordable for everyone.
Proper application of peroxide will bring rapid relief and speedy recovery to the otitis patient.
