# Severe ear pain & swelling, possible infection (again), what to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310 "2012-08-22T21:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310/21 "2012-08-27T01:23:17Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > This is fantastic, thank you. It won’t be here until Tuesday. 🙂 And I’ve got a bottle of olive oil just waiting to be a diluent. Looking at some more websites, it appears that the vapor works just as well as topical application for most bacterial infections. You might consider putting a few drops into a bowl of steaming water and sticking your head over it, using a towel to “tent” the vapors in. Just a thought. It would make the dilution a non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310/22 "2012-08-27T03:49:26Z")
I second do not even taste the oregano oil that you purchased. It will burn you. That is why I just boil oregano from the store instead of buying oil. I can get a pound of organic oregano for $8.10 and am far safer with it than with the oil. ALSO, do not let it out where a child or dog could get at it and accidentally get it on them or (heaven forbid!) in their eyes. But, I also wanted to recommend that you put some of the oil into a pot of steaming water (enough oil to smell it - or if you bought oregano, I put 1/4 cup of leaves), then inhale that through your nose for a little while because people harbor a lot of germs in their nose. Usually, the germs don’t cause problems there, but since it is a warm/moist place they also don’t die (and they’re not subject to the systemic effects of your anti-biotic). Later (after you quit taking anti-biotics) you end up re-infecting yourself because you touched your nose then touched an open wound, ear or what ever. (IMHO, not dis-infecting the nose may be responsible for all those bounce-back infections in kids) I tried, but I can’t find the study that I read about this issue. But staph infections are notorious for hiding out in noses. When I bought oregano oil, I tried just putting a dab under my nose… I can warn you to not do that. You really need to treat that stuff like a tiny bottle of really cruel acid. Watch that you don’t get it on your fingers and accidentally get it on your face or near your eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310/23 "2012-08-27T03:52:30Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Looking at some more websites, it appears that the vapor works just as well as topical application for most bacterial infections. You might consider putting a few drops into a bowl of steaming water and sticking your head over it, using a towel to “tent” the vapors in. Just a thought. It would make the dilution a non-issue. This is why I use the onion/water compress. It’s steamy and squishy without putting anything in my ear. I have terrible luck with any sort of ear drops (alcohol, oils) other than water. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310/24 "2012-08-27T04:39:21Z")
Cool! I’ll boil it and inhale the fumes, that sounds easier than messing with dilution. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310/25 "2012-08-28T14:09:23Z")
Earbuds: sounds like you’ve already dealt with this but for future reference: if you do have nicer earbuds, using those foam covers might be useful - you can toss and replace them fairly frequently. Re the other ear: since everything’s connected inside via the nasal passages, maybe some germies migrated from one to the other via that route. Blech. I wonder if a saltwater gargle or even using a neti pot would help . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-ear-pain-swelling-possible-infection-again-what-to-do/632310.md?page=1)