View Full Version : are ear infections common on the at?
Just wondering. I got one twice, recently, out west, both times after hiking in wet weather. Since you AT guys are hiking in the rain all the time, I'm wondering how common this is out there...
Thanks!
No. My 10 years on the trail and more than that in hiking web pages like this have never once even heard about ear infections. On the Navy ships I was on we found that those people who frequently cleaned their ears with a q-tip had MORE infections than those who did not.
Spirit Walker
03-18-2018, 11:27
I've never heard about anyone getting an ear infection on any of the trails, except for you. Your infection was probably started before you hit the trail.
ok, thanks guys... just thinking, cause it's a fungus infection, so, I'm out hiking in the woods, where the mushrooms are growing, so seems like the conditions might be right out there....
but, if that's the case, I shouldn't be the only one this is happening too...
I've never heard about anyone getting an ear infection on any of the trails, except for you. Your infection was probably started before you hit the trail.
Bingo! We have a winner. I said the same thing. Several times.
Wayne
I've never heard about anyone getting an ear infection on any of the trails, except for you. Your infection was probably started before you hit the trail.
Bingo! We have a winner. I said the same thing. Several times.
Wayne
Hey W, don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, ok? :)
Spirit says it was PROBABLY started before I hit the trail - which COULD be true. Or not.
Hmm. I'm thinking blaming mushrooms growing in the woods on my athletes feet. ;)
Hey W, don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, ok? :)
Spirit says it was PROBABLY started before I hit the trail - which COULD be true. Or not.
Right on.
Definitely the rain did it.
Wayne
BuckeyeBill
03-21-2018, 03:20
Hmm. I'm thinking blaming mushrooms growing in the woods on my athletes feet. ;)
Only if you were eating them.:D
I hiked with a fellow who thought he had an ear infection. He tried treating it with over the counter meds but it kept bothering him. He finally went to a clinic in PA an found out he had a massive buildup of ear wax.
I hiked with a fellow who thought he had an ear infection. He tried treating it with over the counter meds but it kept bothering him. He finally went to a clinic in PA an found out he had a massive buildup of ear wax.
Ok. Mine's an ear infection, tho. Doctor verified.
Hmm. I'm thinking blaming mushrooms growing in the woods on my athletes feet. ;)
Only if you were eating them.:D
Well, I'm thinkin, mushrooms are a fungus, and if conditions are right for mushrooms to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of funguses, (more properly known as fungi), and I have a fungus infection, then - I mean ergo - it was likely walking around in those conditions what did it! RIGHT???
nsherry61
03-21-2018, 18:07
Well, I'm thinkin, mushrooms are a fungus, and if conditions are right for mushrooms to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of funguses, (more properly known as fungi), and I have a fungus infection, then - I mean ergo - it was likely walking around in those conditions what did it! RIGHT???
Err, well, not really.
That's kinda like saying, "Well, I'm thinkin, trees are a plant, and if conditions are right for plants to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of plants, (more properly known as vegitation), and I have a tree growing, then - I mean ergo - it was likely I was walking around in those conditions what did it!"
You're ear fungus and your favorite forest floor fungus are not even as related as trees are to other plants and the conditions they grow in are obviously very different also unless you've been shoveling dirt and tree roots into your ears. Fun and interesting thought until you appreciate the diversity of fungi, which is pretty amazing.
Well, I'm thinkin, mushrooms are a fungus, and if conditions are right for mushrooms to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of funguses, (more properly known as fungi), and I have a fungus infection, then - I mean ergo - it was likely walking around in those conditions what did it! RIGHT???
Err, well, not really.
That's kinda like saying, "Well, I'm thinkin, trees are a plant, and if conditions are right for plants to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of plants, (more properly known as vegitation), and I have a tree growing, then - I mean ergo - it was likely I was walking around in those conditions what did it!"
You're ear fungus and your favorite forest floor fungus are not even as related as trees are to other plants and the conditions they grow in are obviously very different also unless you've been shoveling dirt and tree roots into your ears. Fun and interesting thought until you appreciate the diversity of fungi, which is pretty amazing.
Yeah. And canaries are way different than people. Still, they both need certain similar conditions in order to thrive. For example, oh, oxygen. I hear miners used to take canaries into the mines, and if the canary died, the miner knew to get out!
And on a forest floor, there will be diverse plant life. You might have, I don't know, a Georgia Pine over here and a blackberry bush over there. They are WAY different. Still, they will share the need for certain common conditions - temperatures, soil, rainfall....
So - back to my theory. Yes, ear fungus is way different than forest mushrooms. (DUH). But - they are both fungi, and if conditions are ripe for one to be able to grow, it still might mean - diverse though they may be- conditions would be ripe for the other.
So, that was my theory. And I figure those conditions are likely pretty prevalent on the AT. So, I was thinking that if I was correct, then you guys would be saying, "yeah, we get these infections a lot out here" - but that doesn't seem to be the case. So that tells me my theory has a fly in the ointment!
(hmm... I just remembered something from my youthful days. I think they told me cow dung was a good place to find certain types of mushrooms)...hmm...
rocketsocks
03-21-2018, 18:56
Remember what the door mouse said
Remember what the door mouse said
Now you're bringing back memries! And Makin me smile:)
Well, I'm thinkin, mushrooms are a fungus, and if conditions are right for mushrooms to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of funguses, (more properly known as fungi), and I have a fungus infection, then - I mean ergo - it was likely walking around in those conditions what did it! RIGHT???
\
Ahh, no. Different genus, species, and somewhat environmental growing conditions. Then again do your ears have a forest of hair growing in them? :D
Do you need some manscaping?:D
Well, I'm thinkin, mushrooms are a fungus, and if conditions are right for mushrooms to grow, ergo conditions are right for other types of funguses, (more properly known as fungi), and I have a fungus infection, then - I mean ergo - it was likely walking around in those conditions what did it! RIGHT???
\
Ahh, no. Different genus, species, and somewhat environmental growing conditions. Then again do your ears have a forest of hair growing in them? :D
Well, I don't know about genus and species. There were 4 boys and 20 girls in my biology class, and it was junior high. I was distracted! :)
And Dog - stop being gross! :mad:
BuckeyeBill
03-21-2018, 20:50
Jefals
I wasn't and did not mean to make light of your ear problem, but many times in this forum people come in asking for medical advice. I have yet to meet a medical doctor in here or see one post answer. I do have my MBA but that don't mean di*k squat on the trail.
I making light of what DW was saying about mushrooms. Sorry if you thought is was directed towards yourself.
nsherry61
03-21-2018, 20:53
. . .There were 4 boys and 20 girls in my biology class, and it was junior high. I was distracted! :). . .
I recommend graduate classes in biology where there are still girls that are both smart and of age, AND the classes are smaller and thus more intimate in nature. I remember studying many long hours with a very lovely girl for tests in a mycology class. She helped me learn that there are some fungi that have 16 different sexes!! Biologically, we humans only have two. How boring is that?!
Are you employed in one of the biological sciences...microbiologist, pathologist...?
. . .There were 4 boys and 20 girls in my biology class, and it was junior high. I was distracted! :). . .
I recommend graduate classes in biology where there are still girls that are both smart and of age, AND the classes are smaller and thus more intimate in nature. I remember studying many long hours with a very lovely girl for tests in a mycology class. She helped me learn that there are some fungi that have 16 different sexes!! Biologically, we humans only have two. How boring is that?!
Well, at my age, anybody that I would refer to as a "girl" would probably refer to me as a creepy old geezer! They would likely think I had enrolled as a pretext to be near to them, and have doubts about my genuine interest in the sex life of fungi! :p
Jefals
I wasn't and did not mean to make light of your ear problem, but many times in this forum people come in asking for medical advice. I have yet to meet a medical doctor in here or see one post answer. I do have my MBA but that don't mean di*k squat on the trail.
I making light of what DW was saying about mushrooms. Sorry if you thought is was directed towards yourself.
Thanks. I didn't mind your comment - don't give it another thought. Just curious, tho; does my question sound like I'm asking for medical advice? I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I'm asking how common ear infections are on the AT. (Apparently, not very)
BuckeyeBill
03-21-2018, 21:52
Thanks. I didn't mind your comment - don't give it another thought. Just curious, tho; does my question sound like I'm asking for medical advice? I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I'm asking how common ear infections are on the AT. (Apparently, not very)
Lets just say the coin landed on its edge. When something is wrong with me, which could be one or two of many things, I don't look for answers on the internet. I go see one of the various doctors I have in my collection. Even something as mundane as an ear problem or infection could be serious. Glad to hear you went to the doctor to get it checked though and hope it has cleared up.
nsherry61
03-22-2018, 09:01
. . . I don't look for answers on the internet. I go see one of the various doctors I have in my collection. . .
I actually do both. And, more often than not, my doctors ask me what I've found on the internet and/or direct me to look into whatever my condition is on the internet, sometimes with specific recommended links and sometime just general. There is no doubt that backpacking forums are not a robust medical information source, BUT, there is lots of good material on the internet and a carefully sourced combination of both doctors and internet/library is often by far and away the best strategy to a good medical outcome.
On another tangent, for what it's worth, several years ago, the internet saved my child's life when I was given a combination of incomplete information and an overly aggressive treatment from our doctor for my son's diabetes when he was newly diagnosed. The pendulum swings both ways and I wise person will critically evaluate and use all the resources available.
I've never had a doctor ask me what I found on the internet.
I guess - it depends. I didn't consider my question - is ear fungus common among you at hikers - to be "medical advice ". But at least some of you do. I have no problem asking that kind of medical advice on the internet. I would NOT ask you guys how to treat an ear infection, tho.
On the other hand, I would feel comfortable looking up treatment options on an internet site like Web Md. Or if places like Mayo Clinic have websites with treatment or diagnosis information, I might look there. Depending on whatever the malady is, I may still go to the doctor.
~~~
Great news about your son, Nsherry. Too bad about the diabetes.
BuckeyeBill
03-22-2018, 14:55
I think the only time I use the internet for health problems was when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and that was only because my wife and I had never heard of it. I used the knowledge I reaped when meeting a new gastroenterologist. If they told me they were going to "cure me". Well they don't know what causes it and there is no cure. I now have the best gastro doctor I have ever been to.
Traveler
03-24-2018, 06:01
Medical advice on the internet is worth what it costs.
nsherry61
03-24-2018, 07:32
Major thread drift, but what the heck, it seems somewhat constructive still.
Couple thoughts:
1) I don't think the OP was necessarily asking for medical advice, but as with many if not most threads, there was a medical component connected to the question and thus all tangents and tangents of those tangent seem to become fair game, including this one. . .
2) I find it interesting how caustic some people seem to be toward others shared prospective diagnoses and/or solutions to medical problems that have worked for them in an internet forum.
3) The internet is a vast and powerful tool, especially for medical insight and education. Like ALL internet advice and insights, medical advice on the internet should be questioned and evaluated for its voracity as much of it is rumor, quackery, or just plain stupidity. BUT, it also provides a portal to vast amounts of knowledge that can help direct further research and questions.
4) As for doctors bringing internet research into their patient relationships, I think it is a fairly new thing. I think it is part of encouraging patients to become full participants in their medical care and decision making instead of passive consumers. And, for what it's worth, given that the three doctors that have directly questioned and encouraged my use of the internet during examinations in the last month are my GP and two of the most highly regarded specialists in their fields, one at Tufts Medical Center and the other at Brigham and Women's I'd expect that doctors bringing internet research into their patient conversations is not so much an anomaly as the future of medicine.
Nsherry -
advive: Guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future actions....
I just asked you guys if you get ear infections walking the AT.
So yes, Nsherry is right, I was not asking for advice - medical or otherwise.
~~~
As to one of your points: Medical research online. Sounds ok to me.
HOWEVER: I wouldn't go to a Mayo Clinic forum and ask, seriously, for help finding a good tarp, ya know?
Although, I can imagine this scenario could play out there....
DOC-1: "I had a patient with an ear infection. Says he got it while out hiking the AT"
DOC-2: "Oh yeah? I'm a hiker too! Did he say what kind of tent he was using"?
DOC-1: "I dunno. Said it was a Henry Spires or Shires or somethin. Said they make dang good tents"!
DOC-2: "Really? Wow! I think I'll buy one. Thanks"!
Yeah. that could happen. Still, while you might sometimes get good backpacking advice on a medical site - and you might sometimes get good medical advice on a backpacking site - it's just good sense to consider the source of any advice you get.
Alligator
03-24-2018, 10:38
There are medical conditions correlated to environmental conditions, so wondering if there might be some correlation there is not unusual.
Regarding internet investigation of medical issues. I had atrial fibrillation (afib). My doctors and I decided on pulmonary vein ablation. This was unsuccessful the first time. My cardiologist recommended a pacemaker. My doctor was the head of electrocardiology at a top ten hospital for cardiology. I searched the internet read everything I could on afib and outcomes for ablation patients. I went to the number one heart hospital in the U.S., armed with what I learned and discussed my case. The doctor took my case, the doctor agreed with me that perhaps one of the veins wasn't fully ablated, he switched ablation methods, and I came out with my afib corrected and without a pacemaker. YMMV.
TexasBob
03-24-2018, 11:11
.................HOWEVER: I wouldn't go to a Mayo Clinic forum and ask, seriously, for help finding a good tarp, ya know? .................
That's good. My laugh for the day.