Blocked ear..

[ummmm]

My son has been complaining of having a blocked ear. No real pain, just says it's really annoying. He feels a bit deaf in that ear and feels like it needs to pop.

Are there any over the counter remedies I could get?

He doesn't want to go to the doctor because he doesn't want to ruin his 100% school attendance record...teenagers!!!

[Ankou]

sudafed if its fluid behind the ear.

warm olive oil if its wax.

[Sqad]

Almost certainly wax.

Go to the chemist and buy some cerumol drops OR hydrogen peroxide and that inserted into the affected ear MIGHT do the trick.

[ummmm]

Thank you :-)

And if it doesn't do the trick?

[Sqad]

.......the doctors.........

[ummmm]

Okay....x

[EvianBaby]

Actually Ummm, it might be a good idea to see if you can get an after school appointment in around two weeks time (would prob take that long to get one anyway) and book him in to have them syringed.

Until then use some olive oil in the ear to soften the wax. If he doesn't have the problem any more after that then just cancel the appointment,.

[jno]

a teenager who wants to go to school every day? Tsk, the problems some parents do have...

[ummmm]

I know jno....he's an awful child :-)

Evian - our doctors do same day appointments.

[RATTER15]

a couple drops of olive oil in the ears twice a day, if it hasnt cleared in two weeks you can then have it syringed. this is the advice I get from all the GP's regularly when im dealing with this common problem at work. It is very effective.

[Ankou]

i get it all the time as well. those drops from the chemist are crap.

sometimes the nurse looks into me ears and says take some sudafed, and sometimes she suggests some warm olive oil in the ear. depending on what the problem is at the time.

[ummmm]

I'll try the olive oil first :-)

[pdust]

ummmm if you try sqads idea will you let us know if it works? i get something like this every so often and its dead annoying :(

[pdust]

oh flipping heck...i could only see sqads answer and thought that was the only one!! this best answer thingy is daft!

just a thought... in my case its not earwax as my ears dont produce it.... so it could maybe be something else ummmm

[ummmm]

Will let you know pdust x

[bookbinder]

Tesco sell Olive Oil eardrops, in a 10ml bottle, with a dropper in the lid. The bottle has the brand name "Care +". You could try that. It might help, and it won't do any harm.

[Ankou]

pdust, every now and again i have to take some sudafed tablets as its not wax causing the problem but fuid behind the ears. one packet normally does the trick for me but the nurse usually suggests 1 - 2 weeks.

[owdhamer]

olive oil.

[RATTER15]

This stuff from the chemist is a total waste of money, as my GP has told me many times, no better than Olive Oil.

[sherrardk]

Put some Vicks (or anything similar) on his pyjamas/bedding to make sure his airways are clear as they can be (four of mine suff with glue ear to varying extents).

[ummmm]

I've done the olive oil.

How many times a day should I do it?