Without modern medical treatment...

I have an outer ear infection at the moment. Ow. So I went to the Doc and he gave me antibiotic ear drops and no doubt all will be well shortly.

But this got me to thinking.

What would have happened prior to antibiotics? Were there other effective treatments?

What would have happened without treatment at all? Would it just have got better of its own accord but slower? Would I have ended up deaf in one ear? Would the infection slowly have spread, resulting in a slow agonizing death (OK, probably not)?

I suppose what underlies my thinking is the question: just how small and (at least these days) innocuous an infection (not resulting from severe illness or a wound) would have killed a person before modern medicine?

Most likely, prior to modern medicine, you would have gotten better on your own. After weeks of discomfort or pain.

You may have suffered some hearing loss.

In some cases, such an infection would have spread (become systemic) and killed the person, although that was rare. But it did happen.

Treatment could be hot or cold compresses, various oils/herbs, alcohol (worked for the pain, if nothing else), and sacrificing to God(s).

Most infections would get better with time and discomfort.

Some outer ear infections would spread to the mastoid air cells, a potentially life threatening complication (although usually the pus drains through the ear instead).

Many inner ear infections would burst the eardrum, which could cause some hearing loss and much pain. Some of these infections would also become systemic.

The other posters have pretty much summed it up, but since you asked this:

"just how small and (at least these days) innocuous an infection "

I thought I would kick in what they taught us in POW training back in my army days.

Oral hygene is the most important thing to concentrate on. We were told that many, many prisoners die of simple toothaches that run out of control. Skin infections like pimples, boils and complications from scrapes and cuts can easily become life threatening without basic medical attention. Pretty petty stuff by modern standards.

Granted this is assuming unsanitary conditions, poor diet and almost no medical attention at all. I’m sure there was some “scare the shit out of em” factor added in to make us take it seriously as well.

Still one can not help shudder at the thought that more soldiers died of disease than combat in WWI.

Don’t know, maybe, maybe (my uncle did) maybe, and maybe. To elaborate a bit, one of my uncles is deaf in one ear because he had an ear infection before antibiotics. I’ve lost some hearing because as a child, I hated going to the doctor and I hated getting my ears treated. Back in those days, ear drops were commonly prescribed for ear infections as well as antibiotics. THESE days, I am very careful to take my antibiotics as prescribed, unless I suspect that I’m having a reaction to the drug, in which case I stop taking the drug and inform my doctor ASAP.

Incidentally, you really, really don’t want to experience an eardrum rupture. Not fun at all.