HOME & LIVING
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — B3
Dealing with post-swimming ear issues
other, more serious issues.
Typically, you can treat
swimmer’s ear with ear
drops. Recurrent infections
may require additional
treatment.
Common signs of
swimmer’s ear are what
you described: redness
and mild discomfort that
worsens when the ear is
pulled or pushed. Occasion-
ally, people have itching
in the ear canal as well as
some drainage of clear,
odorless fl uid. Swimmer’s
ear symptoms are usually
mild at fi rst, but they can
worsen if the infection isn’t
treated or spreads.
It is important to be
aware if you begin to expe-
rience a feeling of fullness
in your ears, increased pain
or more intense itching, or
begin to have hearing com-
plications. The infection
may be progressing. How-
ever, temporary hearing
loss could occur until the
infection clears.
Follow these tips to avoid
swimmer’s ear:
• Keep ears dry. After
swimming or bathing, dry
your ears by wiping the
outer portion gently with
a soft towel or cloth. Tip
your head to the side to
help water drain from the
ear canal. You also can use
a hair dryer on the lowest
setting, holding it at least a
foot away from the ear.
• Use a preventive treat-
ment. As long as you do
not have punctured ear-
drums, you can use home-
made preventive eardrops
before and after swimming
to help reduce the risk for
swimmer’s ear. A mixture
of one-part white vinegar
to one part rubbing alcohol
can promote drying and
prevent the growth of bac-
teria and fungi that can
cause swimmer’s ear. Pour
1 teaspoon of the solu-
tion into each ear and let
it drain back out. Similar
over-the-counter solutions
might be available at your
drugstore. Additionally,
consider wearing earplugs
while swimming.
• Avoid putting foreign
objects in the ear. Cotton
swabs can pack material
deeper into the ear canal,
irritate the thin skin inside
the ear or break the skin. If
you are trying to clean the
ear and remove wax, do so
without using cotton swabs
or other instruments.
• Protect ears from irri-
tants. Putting cotton balls
in the ears while applying
products such as hair
sprays and hair dyes can
reduce risk of bacteria get-
ting into the ear canal.
Since you have not been
diagnosed with swimmer’s
ear, it would be helpful
to talk with your primary
health care professional
to confi rm the condition
and provide the proper
treatment. You should not
have to give up swim-
ming for exercise, but you
may need to take a tempo-
rary break from the pool
for a few days. Your health
care team can off er guid-
ance on when to return to
the water.
— Compiled by Mayo
Clinic staff
the internet, and don’t
have the cash to stock up
even if they fi nd what they
need, said Veronica Briggs-
Francis, a certifi ed lacta-
tion consultant and owner
of Balance Lactation in
Philadelphia.
“That was me,” Briggs-
Francis recalled. She strug-
gled to breastfeed her baby
(who is now 13 years old)
and when she called the
hospital for help, they sug-
gested formula. “The stress
and fi nancial hardship — I
can’t imagine going through
that now, not even being
able to fi nd the formula.”
Formula for a newborn
who eats an average of 21
ounces a day costs between
$340 and $730 a month,
depending on the brand. By
six months, the cost could
be upwards of $1,100.
Briggs-Francis is among
the medical professionals
who worry that these fam-
ilies will resort to dan-
gerous work-arounds —
such as diluting formula,
which can cause seizures
and other emergency med-
ical problems.
“No one wants to do
those things, but you feel
you’re in a position where
you don’t have options,”
Briggs-Francis said. “In
desperate times, you’re
not thinking about the
long-term eff ects. You’re
thinking about the now.”
Dietitians are urging
families in dire need of for-
mula to contact their pedia-
trician, try a generic brand
or consider a milk bank,
where donated breast milk
is pasteurized for donation.
Even in tough times, buying
from individuals online or
accepting formula from
someone you don’t know
can be dangerous, said Jes-
sica Libove, a lactation pro-
gram manager at Philadel-
phia Department of Health’s
division of maternal, child
and family health.
If you are going to
acquire formula from unof-
fi cial retailers or individ-
uals, Libove said, make sure
the formula is unopened,
unexpired and not subject to
the Abbott recall, which you
can confi rm by looking up
the lot number on Abbott’s
website. When possible buy
from someone you know or
who lives locally and can
meet in person for pick-up,
she said. Neighborhood for-
mula exchanges are one
way for families help each
other safely, Libove said.
That’s the kind of con-
nection Briggs-Francis
is helping families make.
She and another Philadel-
phia group, Magpi Mid-
wifery, paired up to play
matchmaker between their
clients. They track which
families need formula,
which can use breast milk,
which have formula or milk
they can donate or trade.
Often, Briggs-Francis
handles the pick-up and
drop-off herself.
Offi cial milk banks,
such as those run through
hospitals or the Human
Milk Banking Associ-
ation of North America
(HMBANA), require
donors to complete health
screening and, sometimes,
drug testing to be sure their
milk is safe. Donations are
pasteurized and sterilized
before being distributed.
But these organizations are
typically designed to help
medically fragile babies
who are in the greatest
need, Briggs-Francis said.
Informal milk
exchanges, like she’s coor-
dinated, can be a resource
for families whose babies
can tolerate breast milk —
if they can get it. Briggs-
Francis recommends
working with a lactation
consultant or pediatric dieti-
tian, who can help coor-
dinate exchanges between
families they work with.
Through Briggs-Francis,
Kylie Bigler has donated
700 ounces of breast milk
to fi ve Philadelphia-area
families since her daughter
was born almost a year ago.
Bigler, 31, started donating
before the shortage, when
her supply became more
than her child needed.
Now 11 months old,
Bigler’s daughter will be
transitioning away from
breast milk soon. But Bigler
is considering keeping up
her supply anyway, to help
families who need it.
Pumping is physically
and emotionally draining,
but she wants to support
other parents and caregivers
who — like her — are
doing their best to provide
for their children.
“Motherhood can be
so isolating and so chal-
lenging, and something as
easy as feeding your baby
shouldn’t be a stressor,”
Bigler said.
Breastfeeding wasn’t an
option for Weiser, whose
son’s allergies make him
intolerant of breast milk. So
far, she’s never completely
run out of formula, but the
thought that it could happen
is terrifying.
The community she’s
help build has lightened the
load, just a little. Within
three days Delco Formula
Finders amassed close to
300 members. Some follow
Weiser’s example, posting
photos of store shelves, to
alert others what brands are
available at various stores.
Others post desperate
pleas for the brand they are
looking for. Within min-
utes of a new mom asking
people to be on the lookout
for her daughter’s Enfamil
formula, four others had
posted leads on where it
was in stock. One even
off ered to give her a couple
cans, free.
By CYNTHIA WEISS
Mayo Clinic News Network
DEAR MAYO CLINIC:
I swim for exercise and
relaxation. I try to get in
the pool about three times
a week. Recently, I have
begun to have episodes
where it feels like water is
still in my ear. Then my ear
becomes red and painful.
A friend suggested I might
have swimmer’s ear. Is this
something that is easy to
treat? Do I need to stop
swimming?
ANSWER: Swimmer’s
ear is an infection in the
outer ear canal, which runs
from your eardrum to the
outside of your head. It’s
often brought on by water
that remains in your ear,
creating a moist environ-
ment that aids the growth of
bacteria.
Swimmer’s ear also is
known as otitis externa,
and it can aff ect people of
any age. And it can aff ect
those who do not spend
time in the water, since it
occurs because of bacteria
invading the skin inside
the ear canal. Excess mois-
ture in the ear from heavy
perspiration or prolonged
humid weather also can be
a culprit.
Scratches or abrasions
in the ear canal increase
the risk of developing
otitis externa. Putting fi n-
gers, cotton swabs or other
objects in the ears, such as
earbuds or hearing aids,
also can lead to this infec-
tion by damaging the thin
layer of skin lining the ear
canal. Any small breaks in
the skin can allow bacteria
to grow.
Being aware of the
risk for the condition and
prompt treatment can pre-
vent complications and
FORMULA
Continued from Page B1
But when Amelia was
born in April the shortage
had gotten worse. Combing
through a Facebook group
for people buying and
selling formula, Brown
found a woman in Ohio
selling six cans of the
Costco-brand formula she
needed for $200 — $60
more than it would have
cost in the store, if she’d
been able to get it there.
“I absolutely needed it.
I said, ‘OK, fi ne, I guess
I’m going to have to pay
it so my kid can eat,”
Brown said.
Brown said she’s
grateful such groups have
cropped up and said most
people she’s met through
them have good intentions.
She does worry, though,
that people who want to
make a profi t off desperate
parents will make the
shortage worse by buying
up what little supply is
available in stores.
“When I walk into
Walmart, Target and the
grocery stores and see the
shelves empty, it breaks
my heart,” she said. “It is
so scary not being able to
buy formula.”
When she can’t fi nd
formula in stores, she has
turned to baby pantries
in her area. She tries to
bring other donations in
exchange for a can of the
formula she needs.
The shortage has been
hardest on families that
can’t aff ord marked-up
prices, don’t have time to
scour the stores or cruise
Suzanne Tucker/Dreamstime-TNS
Swimmer’s ear is an infection in the outer ear canal, which runs from your eardrum to the outside of your head.
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