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Showing posts from January, 2020

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After your Epley manoeuvre — patient information leaflet

  What this leaflet tells you This leaflet explains what to expect after the Epley (canalith repositioning) manoeuvre for posterior-canal BPPV, what you should and shouldn’t do, and when to seek help.   1. Quick summary — what the Epley did The manoeuvre moves tiny particles (otoconia) out of the balance canal of your inner ear and back into a place where they don’t cause spinning (vertigo). Most people feel much better after one or a few treatments. However BPPV can come back (recurrence is common).   2. How you may feel immediately afterwards You may feel dizzy or off-balance for a few minutes to a few hours; nausea is possible.   Some people feel better straightaway; others get gradual improvement over days.   Rarely ,you may have brief recurrences of vertigo — this does not always mean the manoeuvre failed.   3. Activity and posture — what the evidence says Good news: High-quality studies and recent guidelines show that strict he...

Boil in the Ear canal can be very painful...

How do I know I have boil in the ear canal? The ear canal is lined by skin up to the eardrum. Skin in the outer third of the ear canal has hair follicles. Hair follicles can get infected with bacteria and can form boil or furunculosis. It is challenging to look in our own ear canal. You can only feel a bump in the ear canal entrance which is tender to touch. Why is so painful when we have boil in the ear? Ear canal skin is very tightly attached to underlying cartilage. So any swelling in the skin stretches it and makes it very sore to touch. How do we get boil in the ear canal?  Most common causes of boil in the canal is dryness of the skin and trauma. Dry skin leads to cracks and these cracks can get infected. People who use dry earbuds, fingers, towel edges or pens and traumatise ear canal skin, which can get infected with bacteria. How do I release the temptation of using earbuds? Some people can get very dry skin due to sensitivity to soup, shampoo o...

Do you suffer with tonsillitis?

What are tonsils? Tonsils are a part of the immune system which help the body to fight infections. In some cases, these tonsils itself can get infected and cause tonsillitis. Depending on how frequently the tonsils are getting infected,  it can be referred to as recurrent tonsillitis or chronic tonsillitis. One episode of severe throat pain with foul breath, difficulty in swallowing and in some cases, enlarged lymph nodes, is called acute tonsillitis. In individuals, this acute tonsillitis can progress to the collection of pus around tonsils to form a peritonsillar abscess or Quinsy. What are the causes of acute tonsillitis? Acute tonsillitis, in most cases, can be due to viral infection or bacterial infection. In infectious mononucleosis it can because by Ebstein bar virus and is known as glandular fever. In glandular fever, along with the lymph nodes, your spleen may become enlarged. It is essential to avoid any contact sport during recovery for 4 to 6 wee...