Best Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Self Remedies!

Including over the counter medications

Access to an ENT specialist is not always easy. In some countries, even at the best of times it is difficult, and one may have to wait weeks to see an ENT specialist. In Singapore, one is fortunate to have access to good ENT surgeons in public and private hospitals. Most insurers will allow you to see the best ENT surgeons in the land without a referral from a GP.

That said, during these unusual times of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, getting to see your ENT may be difficult. So here are some simple home remedies for common ENT symptoms! Needless to say, none of this constitutes medical advice and nothing replaces a visit to your family doctor or ENT!

The blocked nose!

So the blocked nose is probably the most common complaint we see. It affects sleep, and the lack of rest makes you feel groggy and irritable all day. Your sense of smell may be poor and food will taste bland. Sometimes a dull throbbing headache ensues. Your voice becomes ‘nasal’

There are several ways of easing the blocked nose. Over the counter, nasal sprays or drops which contain oxymetazoline such as Iliadin or Afrin work brilliantly. However, these drops should not be used longer than 3-5 days. They risk causing a condition called rhinitis medicamentosa where the nose gets more blocked when the initial effects of these decongestants wear off. Saltwater or saline nasal sprays help ease nasal congestion as does steam inhalations. Hypertonic saline sprays work well in the severely blocked nose but they do sometimes sting following application. Nasal strips (breathe right strips produced by Johnson and Johnson) are a simple way to relieve nasal blockage. You can use these at night to open up the airway and ensure a good night’s rest.

The sore throat

Sore throats are most often due to a viral infection. Gargling with salt water or an antiseptic solution often gives good relief. My personal favourite gargle or throat spray is a Povidone-Iodine preparation. This is sold under the tradename Betadine and is available as a 1% gargle or 0.45% throat spray. The other popular brand is Difflam and this is available as a gargle, spray and lozenge. Difflam is Benzydamine Hydrochloride which is an anti-inflammatory. It is also available as a compounded mixture with an anti-septic – Chlorhexidine – and sold as Difflam-C. Strepsils is an all time favourite and I must say I do like the honey lemon / blackcurrent taste and the soothing feeling. It is advertised to contain two anti-bacterials i.e. Dichlorobenzyl alcohol and Amylmetacresol – and my only issue with this is that most sore throats are viral in nature!

Earache

So this is a tricky one as there are a lot of suggested home remedies from garlic oil to vinegar! My own experience is that most earache needs the attention of a doctor. The mildly itchy ear may respond to some olive oil, baby oil or coconut oil but any hint of pain really warrants a doctor’s visit. At The ENT Clinic, a painful ear was good enough reason for us to see patients during a lockdown. The sooner we see you the quicker we can sort it out. The image below a picture of the skin at the entrance of the ear canal. This is a furuncle and presents as intense ear pain. It can be easily missed when a doctor places an otoscope into the ear canal without examining the entrance to the canal carefully. The collection of pus (abscess) is often larger than meets the eye. The small white area is just the tip of the collection.

If untreated, the infection can spread and lead to swelling and obliteration of the ear canal. In this case, the child presented early as her parents recognised the need for early treatment. The small abscess for incised and drained under local anaesthesia and the child made a rapid recovery. The picture below was taken 3 days later. Note that the surrounding swelling has also settled.

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