Google is not helpful.
Why are you using vinegar in your ears? That’s not typical.
Outer ear infection, I think it is a relatively common treatment?
Ffs go see a doctor. If this is truly what your doctor is recommending then find a better doctor.
If OP is in the US, I wouldn’t assume that he has access to healthcare he can afford.
There’s no research showing that it is an effective treatment.
Using white vinegar and rubbing alcohol is a common homeopathic remedy for swimmer’s ear
I’m conflicted. On one hand, that’s no homeopathy in any shape or form. On the other hand, in no shape or form does homeopathy work. So I guess the bullshits cancel each other out?
Yeah you’re right, I guess I thought homeopathic just meant non medicinal. But it’s absolutely effective at both sterilizing and drying the ear.
I think your brain probably wanted to say “home remedy”.
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But it’s absolutely effective at both sterilizing and drying the ear.
Ok, but does that help in your case?
Homeopathy definitely works. Vaccines are an example of a homeopathic remedy that has shown enormous success.
In what world are vaccines homeopathic?
Shhh, the doctor told us to go along with it.
Vaccines treat disease using the disease itself. That’s the definition of homeopathic medicine.
Vinegar is acetic acid 5%, if you look up acetic acid and ear infections you find plenty of research https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12070-014-0815-2
Irrigation with buffered acetic acid is not the same thing as putting drops of vinegar in your ear.
I’m looking at the full text, can’t find the word buffer anywhere on the page, all I can find is they used 2% acetic acid rather than 5%. Did you mean diluted?
people really trust a rando lemmy comment over the research that is directly in their face, and are ignoring the fact that this was recommended by your doctor lol
ROFL what doctor would recommend putting vinegar in your ears vs a controlled prescription medication? Get a better doctor
Before the days when docs would write out pharma candy scripps and send you on your way, they actually had remedies for things.
An old doc or a rural doc will probably recommend it. Simmer down. It’s okay to use a remedy that’s not pharma candy.
Ah yea let me take medical advice from a rando on the internet. Such a smart idea!! Thanks armchair doc!
Years ago I used to get frequent ear infections and my doctor recommended a 50 percent solution of alcohol and white vinegar. She also mentioned I could buy this same solution at the pharmacy premixed as a treatment for swimmers ear, at a much higher cost. I have been mixing my own and using it ever since at the first suggestion of an earache and haven’t had a true ear infection since.
The whole point of going to a doctor is that they are educated to help us with these types of problems. You want one that just flings a random expensive prescription at you? Fine, look for a doctor that does that. I’ll keep my doctor who understands that not all of us want to throw away money though.
People assume this is the first thing I’ve tried but this is over three appointments across multiple months in combo with several other medications (including antibiotic drops which didn’t seem to do anything). Besides sudafed for managing symptoms, it’s the first thing that has made a noticeable difference (in only three days!). I would have been better off with the homeopath they think I went to!
Doctors don’t know everything and there isn’t money in researching home remedies so obviously there won’t be studies
Which is why you should stick to what doctors actually know and study instead of jamming some shit in your ears because someone on the net said it would be a neat idea.
That’s an old rural treatment – peroxide and vinegar. They used that combo for everything
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Tilt your head sideways, it will just run out.
Are you taking antibiotics? If so and your eay is bothering you, just use peroxid.
👍
Thank you for your input.
Why are you using it as ear drops? Is that safe?
Fizzing with acids usually means they are reacting with a base. Not sure what base would be in your ear though.
Outer ear infection, I guess most ear drops for this are acetic acid? Dr. recommended it to help improve the ph or something.
If this was a Dr. recommendation and they specifically said it was to balance out the PH, then yes, the fizzling makes sense.
When an acid (vinegar) reacts with a base (I assume somehow related to the infection you mentioned) the chemical reactions tend to produce gasses. Baking soda + vinegar is a classic example. You have the equivalent of baking soda in your ear.
OP should try to make pastries with ear wax
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mmmm
OP’s mom did this. That’s where hoecakes come from.
Gotcha. Just making sure this is all Dr. approved. Vinegar can be more hazardous than some people realize. It is an acid after all.
Another user suggested it might be reacting with soap residue in your ear. This seems the most likely explanation to me.
A medical doctor or a fake doctor like naturopath, homeopath, etc?
they got an MD at Loyola in chicago and work at/for Kaiser as a regular family Dr.— I specifically picked someone younger cause I figured they would be more up on the science straight out of med school but idk people seem very worked up
It sounds really weird, to be sure. There’s a difference in a food grade compound and pharmaceutical grade of the same compound. Though I guess since it will not interact with a mucosa or internal anatomy it’s OK? Idk, I’m not a health professional. But it smelled more of folk remedy than medicine.
Aspirin comes from willow bark, which we used to drink in tea. Home remedies aren’t necessarily opposed to science, they’re often a part of it.
That’s neat, I remember reading about that lady who won the Nobel for a Malaria drug made out of wormwood they discovered after combing ancient healer books awhile back.
They start like panacea until their actual beneficial uses are confirmed / denied by rigorous study. While they’re in their unconfirmed, protocol-less phase, I’d rather not use.
Willow bark was generally used for headaches and body aches, similarly to how it is today. The same could be said for tons of other medications. It’s perfectly fine to choose not to use them, but a home remedy is not inherently unscientific or dangerous.
You’re generalizing a specific phenomenon, and incorrect. Acid-base reactions only very rarely produce gases. The reactions produce heat and water, only in the case of bicarbonate being a base is a gas produced. This is because carbonic acid forms, which spontaneously decays into carbon dioxide. This is not a universal acid-base phenomenon. Soaps should not cause fizzing with vinegar.
Soap maybe?
This seems likely. Soap is a base and if you don’t rinse it all out there could be residue in there.
Yes! Earwax is slightly acidic (~6.1 pH) while acetic acid is more acidic (5% vinegar is ~2.5 pH) so the earwax acts as a base in this reaction.
ETA: there may be other things it is reacting with as well, like leftover soap, but this is how acid base reactions work. A chemical does not need to be above pH of 7 to act as a base. The more acidic compound will give its extra hydrogen to the less acidic compound.
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Something being less acidic does not mean that it acts like a base
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Bubbling occurs as a result of the production of a gas not as a result of an acid/base reaction in of itself. Baking soda and vinegar react to form CO2 (a gas) water and Sodium Acetate. The CO2 that is produced in that reaction is what causes bubbles NOT the acid/base reaction. eg. if you reacted Sodium Hydroxide and vinegar you will not observe bubbling because there is no gas being produced.
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Ear wax should not contain anything that should bubble as a result of the introduction of an acid.
Either what OP is observing isnt actually bubbling or there is something in their ear that shouldnt be.
“There’s something in the ear that shouldn’t be”
I would suggest that that something is vinegar.
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In an acid base reaction, yes it does. An acid donates a proton, a base accepts a proton. The less acidic compound will accept the proton, making it the base. Acting as a base does not make it alkaline.
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Correct, the acid base reaction itself does not cause bubbling. However, baking soda and vinegar are not the only compounds that react to form CO2 (or another gas) in an acid base reaction.
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Looking at the components of ear wax reveal it’s composed of a wide variety of different compounds. It’s been a while since I took o chem, so I’m not up to the task of determining which of these components are or are not capable of producing CO2 (or any other gas) in an acid base reaction with acetic acid. Do you have a source detailing these possible chemical reactions?
ETA: The people in this thread are so eager to shut down misinformation that they are actively spreading misinformation that would be rapidly disproven in any gen chem college course. I’ve learned my lesson on trying to share cool chemistry facts with internet strangers.
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pH is a measure of the [H+] aqueous concentration. pH = -log10[H+]. Vinegar has a pH of 2 to 3. concentrated HCl can have a negative pH. That DOES NOT mean that the acetic acid in vinegar is a base that reacts with HCl. And what you are claiming would imply that a more dilute solution of vinegar would react with a stronger solution of vinegar which you should understand is absurd. (While acetic acid can be protonated, it requires a strong acid to result in anything other than a very minor/inconsequential equilibrium i.e the hammett acidity function of protonated acetic acid is -6.1) Bases are substances that accept protons. That is not the same thing as having a higher relative pH than something else. i.e acetic acid vs HCl or concentrated Acetic acid vs dilute Acetic acid.
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The purpose of my comment has not to list every single example of gas producing reactions. Carbonates, bicarbonates, sulfides and sulfites are the major bases that result in a gas being produced on reaction with a suitable acid. The gen chem courses that Ive taught have a lab that was designed to teach students among other things, that carbonates and bicarbonates react with acids to produce a gas. (CO2) Sulfides and sulfites are not as suitable for that lab due to the production of H2S and SO2 respectively.
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The paper you linked to (which you should actually read) discusses the contents of ear wax as being primarily fatty wax like compounds not the carbonates, bicarbonates, sulfides and sulfites that react with acids to form gases.
I am a chemist (and biochemist). You are not sharing “cool chemistry facts” you are sharing misinformation due to your lack of knowledge of the subject you are talking about. You would do well to revist a lot of the topics discussed in gen chem. Chemistry libretext articles on bronsted-lowry and arrhenius bases would be my recommendation.
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More acidic means lower pH/higher concentration. What you’re thinking regarding acid base reaction is stronger acid which is related to chemical composition of the acid and not related at all with concentration.
Having a stronger acid is a necessary condition for the reaction to occur but not sufficient.
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TIL! Thank you.
Please unlearn this. This is wrong.
As my doc was wont to say, “let’s compare who’s got more medical degrees.”
Listen to a doc until another fucking doc says otherwise.
For sure, I don’t think the Dr. would risk their degree bullshitting, was just curious if the fizzing was normal and didn’t want to pay $15 to ask them!
Maybe earwax is basic? Why tf you putting vinegar in your ears?
Yes it’s normal, I sometimes use that to disinfect my ears after diving and it sizzles a bit.
Is it good for an itchy ear?
About peroxide: This substance is used only when removing earwax; for this cleaning, rinsing is recommended, in which liquid is poured into the ear (it can also be injected with a clean syringe and slowly dripped into the ear canal). During this procedure, the patient should lie with his head turned on the side of the healthy ear.
The solution reacts until the peroxide begins to bubble. The remaining content flows out and is wiped off. In otitis media, peroxide should not be used without the knowledge of a doctor — if the inflammation is in the outer ear, it can be transmitted deep into it, leading to a more serious infection or even a life-threatening condition such as a brain abscess. Drip 3% hydrogen peroxide into the affected ear. It will painlessly dissolve impurities in the ear canal. When the liquid stops bubbling, the ear canal is wiped with a cotton swab, the patient is placed on the side of the washed ear, and the rest of the contents flows onto the cotton swab.
Don’t do this. If you have earwax build up go see an ENT. You’re just risking your ear health and the possibility of giving your self permanent tinnitus or something worse.
Why are you talking about peroxide?
Probably because it’s part of OP’s original question.
As an alternative, I would say.
Is it normal to use white vinegar as ear drops?
My dad used vinegar as ear drops to treat eczema based on doctors orders. It worked very well.
No. No it is not.
Yes…if you’re a vampire.
Why didn’t you stick with 3% peroxide to clean it, out of curiosity? Just none available, or am I the only crazy person who does this from time to time?
You’re not the only one. Peroxide works great to clear up a swimmer’s ear infection when used early at onset.
I would imagine peroxide is good just for that—from time to time. If you’re treating an ongoing infection, it may be more wise to use something a bit gentler. The acidic vinegar will still do some work, but without the risk of shedding your flesh off if you were to use peroxide many days in a row.
