Acetic Acid (Vinegar) Ear Irrigations

1. Obtain a small bulb syringe. This can be purchased at a pharmacy.
2. Obtain 1-2 bottles of distilled water. You can also make your own purified water by boiling the water and keeping it in a clean container.
3. Obtain 1 bottle of white (clear) vinegar. Please make sure that this is not cloudy or has any color to it.
4. Now make a mixture of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 distilled water. You can use about 1/2 cup of each. Put this in a clean glass and microwave it to the point where it is tepid. You will need to trial and error this but it should take about 10-15 seconds to make the mixture tepid. Please note that you do not want this to be too warm or too cold as it will cause your child to get dizzy when you do the irrigation.
5. If you are doing one irrigation a day, this will best be done in the bathtub. The irrigation is done by drawing up a small amount of the mixture into the syringe and using it to flush the ear out. When flushing the ear you want to aim the bulb syringe down the ear canal and with gentle pressure squirt a stream of fluid into the ear. When you irrigate you should notice some of the drainage coming out of the ear. This will usually by 1-2 bulb syringes full of the vinegar and water. If necessary now irrigate the other ear in the same way.
6. Now give the ears a chance to dry. This will usually take 5-10 minutes. You should now do the ear drops as prescribed.

To schedule an appointment with an Ear Nose and Throat doctor at ExcelENT of Alabama, call (205) 208-8341.