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At 02:41 AM 2/23/99 +0100, Hans Petter Roverud wrote:

>I've had a lot of problems with recurrent otitis externa.

[SNIP]

>My advice would go along the lines of :
>1) Keep ears dry (medical advice we may not be able to comply with)
>2) Dry out your ears as soon as possible after surfacing
>3) Use ear drops prophylacticly after a dive (diluted vinegar may work)
>4) Whatever you do, no Q tips! Picking your itching ears breaks the 
>external ear lining and leaves the ears more vulnerable to infection
>
>WKPP or others spending long hours underwater -- how do you fight external 
>ear infections?

I used to have trouble with Otitis until I started
prophylactically treating it.  The general consensus is to
use 50/50 mix of alcohol and vinegar.  I've tried this, and
it works, but it makes you smell like a fresh tossed salad.
I've recently switched to an off-the-shelf product (Pharmex's
Swimmer's Ear Solution) and have had good luck with it.  It's
90% alcohol, 2% boric acid, and 1% Salicylic acid.  Most any
commercial product will probably work just as well.  I use it
before and after each dive.

There's some good additional info available at:

http://www.diverlink.com/japanese/swimmersear.htm

Good luck!

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