Steam Vs Nebulization

How should I take steam?

Steam can be taken by either the convenient Steamer or from the boiling water on a heater. The second option is dangerous especially with kids.

It's not necessary to keep the face too close to container. Even a chair close to the steamer is enough. You can leave the steamer on and do your table work.

Should I put something into boiling water like vicks or karvol?

Steam is a pure form of water. Water evaporates after boiling and when it condenses into air passage, then it leaves moisture there. This moisture helps moving dried up small hairs which ultimately moves the mucus. Putting these things may increase the pleasant experience like smell but as such they do not have an additional function and may not be necessary to use.

Can I take Nebulizer instead of steam?

Nebulizer is no substitute of steam. It has different function which can not be done by steam either.
Nebulizer is for lungs whereas steam is both for lungs and nose. Nebulizer is way of delivering drungs for local action in lungs while steam delivers moisture both to lungs and nose.

Some viruses like Rhinovirus which causes common cold are susceptible to heat. So taking steam helps in eliminating such viruses.

Care of the discharging ears

   1. Avoid moisture in ear :  Plug ear with Vaseline smeared cotton plug during shampoo, head wash, shower or bathing. Remove these after drying hair with towel.
   2. Avoid oil in ear :  It causes fungal infection by preventing evaporation of moisture.
   3. Avoid colored ear drops : It makes subsequent examination and evaluation difficult.
   4. Avoid Scratching ears with ear buds, hair –pin, finger nail, crochet, knitting needle, pencil, pin, toothpick, match stick etc.
   5. Avoid feeding the baby or young child in lying down position. Prop him up. The feeds may enter the ear via Eustachian tube (ventilation tube of the ear). Thus bottle feeding should also be avoided in children having discharging ears.
   6. If you catch a cold, take prompt treatment. Do not blow the nose during a cold – nasal discharge must not be forced up to the ear Avoid contact with people having cold.
   7. Avoid swimming – do not bathe in a river, lake, sea or swimming pool.
   8. Avoid air travel during episode of cold.

Care of discharging ears

The care of a discharging ear is extremely important. Few principles are

1. Dry Mopping: Let the discharge come out of ear. for that the inside of pinna should be kept dry by mopping up with a dry cotton without using a stick or earbud. just mop with cotton and throw the cotton.
2. Prevent water from entering into ear especially while taking bath. for that use good quality silicone ear plugs or use a cotton ball smeared with vaseline or some medicated ointment like neosporin and then after bath, through the cotton immediately.
3. Never ever indulge in using earbud or matchstick to clean the ear.
4. Put some antibiotic steroids ear drops by keeping the discharging ear up for 10 minutes. Do not use cotton plug to stop drop coming out. These cotton balls may itself contain infection or leave some cotton fibers to cause infections. Do not worry if drop comes out of ear after 10 minutes.
5. If your ear is not responding, then a culture may be required especially for a fresh infection. do not resort to self medications.
6. Most of the ear problems are initially due to associated nasal problems so this is important to take care of nasal problems also otherwise ear will keep discharging.
7. Since Ear is made up of bony septa like a honeycomb, so an ear discharge may take 4-6 weeks to get dry. It's more fruitful to wait then to operate a wet ear. So be patient with the doctor. Few ears do not respond even to this, then they require to be operated in wet state only.

Please leave your query in the comment column or any other suggestion you would like to give.

Regards,

Dr. Ajay Jain

ENT Care

SOME USEFUL TIPS

1.Do not put oil, matchstick, hairpin or Ear buds into ears. They are harmful and can injure your eardrum.

2.Do not put just any ear or nose drops without medical consultation. They can be harmful.

3.Some ENT Diseases like ear discharge and Sinusitis takes time to cure. So have a good follow up with the Doctor and don’t discontinue the medicine on your own.

4. Maintain a file of your medical records date wise and always bring your previous consultation paper

Why people keep scratching Ear?

1. Why People keep scratching ears or use ear buds frequently?

Most of the my outdoor patients complain of itching in the ear. On examination, I find often no abnormality in ear except for broken hairs, bald canal skin or scratch marks. The problem is really not in the ear but in the mind. the Indian mindset is set from childhood that ear is a dust bean full of dirt and it should be cleaned regularly. but the truth is else. There are two Myths

1. That the ear contains dirty substance or Wax
2. So Ear should be cleaned regularly.

I tell you the Wax is natural gift of the God to man. its a substance secreted by modified sweat glands and it contains lysozymes which inhibit the growth of bacteria. it's being a sticky substance catches all dust, foreign particles etc and does not let go towards the eardrum. it also acts as a physical barrier.
But then still wax become the center of all ear problems why?
Most of physician, paediatrician or Non ENT medical Personnel have just three things to blame for all ENT Problems these are WAX, TONSIL and SINUS.
Sometimes wax becomes dry or hard then it may cause discomfort but if you put some wax softening drops, then most of the people even will not have this discomfort. and rarely Wax is the cause of ear problems unless water enters into ears when it swells up or catches fungal infection.
Ear has a natural mechanism of cleaning the wax in form of migratory epithelium and hair which push the wax out.
Problem comes when people starts using earbuds thinking by promotional advts that these are the right instruments for cleaning ear. but they are not Why?

1. Can you take out ice-cream from ice-cream pot with an instrument like ear bud. NO, in fact you require scoop. but even with scoop would you like to take out ice-cream with your eyes closed. Never, but most of people do this to ear while cleaning the ear. their this very act injures the skin and delicate hairs resulting in bruises, infection, eczema skin, stenosed ear canal and much more
2. It's a PSYCHOLOGICAL problem. a kind of obsessive compulsive disorder. Ear is a special sense organ. any sub-threshold stimulus here is perceived as pleasant to brain and brain signals hand to scratch ear again. this is vicious cycle and in this process Ear gets the injury.
3. Ear share it's nerve supply with Tonsil, Teeth, Throat, Larynx and Stomach. A simple acidity can cause low grade itching in ear. So Why should you scratch the ear when gulping few antacids can solve your problem.

The best way to solve your problem is first to consult a ENT specialist to rule out other causes of itching and then if this is the cause (indeed this is the cause in most of the cases), forget the ear.
I quote like this
IF YOU FORGET THE EAR, THE EAR PROBLEMS WILL FOGET YOU :-)
Dr. Ajay Jain, MS (PGI, Chandigarh), DNB
Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery


Phone: 9871467637
Hospital: Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Sec 1 Vaishali
Yashoda Superspeciality hospital, Kaushambhi
Max Balaji Hospital, IP Extension.