Ear infection treatment in Railay
Three days of swimming and snorkelling and now one ear is throbbing. It hurts to lie on that side, tugging the earlobe makes you wince, and it has kept you awake since two in the morning. This is swimmer’s ear, and on a peninsula where everyone is in the sea daily it is one of the most common problems we treat. Ear infection treatment in Railay usually means antibiotic ear drops, with the pain settling within a couple of days.
Outer ear or middle ear
The two are treated completely differently, which is why an examination beats guessing.
Outer ear infection — swimmer’s ear — affects the canal itself. Water softens the skin lining it and lets bacteria in. The canal looks red and swollen, and the giveaway is that pulling the earlobe or pressing the small flap in front of the ear hurts sharply.
Middle ear infection sits behind the eardrum, usually follows a cold, is far commoner in children, and does not hurt when you tug the ear. Drops do very little for it, because the medication cannot reach behind an intact eardrum.
Why Railay produces so many
Days in warm sea water, then a shower, then a humid bungalow where the canal never fully dries. Warm and damp is close to ideal for the bacteria involved.
Add cotton buds, which strip the protective wax and scratch the canal lining, and the conditions are perfect. Wax is not the enemy — it is mildly acidic and antibacterial and it is protecting you. Cleaning it out before a week of swimming makes swimmer’s ear more likely, not less. See ear wax removal for when wax genuinely does need clearing.
How it is treated
Outer ear infections are treated with antibiotic ear drops, often combined with a steroid to reduce swelling. Drops work considerably better than tablets because they reach the infection directly and in high concentration.
If the canal is too swollen for drops to penetrate, a small wick is placed to carry the medication through — briefly uncomfortable, and it makes the difference between the drops working and not.
Pain relief matters and is often underdone. This is genuinely painful, and paracetamol or ibuprofen should be taken regularly for the first couple of days rather than only when it becomes unbearable. Improvement is usually clear within 48 hours, and drops continue for the full course.
Keeping water out while it heals
This decides whether it clears in three days or drags on for two weeks.
No swimming, no snorkelling and no diving until it has settled — which on Railay is the hardest instruction we give, because the sea is the entire point of being here.
When showering, keep the ear dry: a smear of petroleum jelly on a cotton ball at the entrance of the canal works well and is far more effective than head-tilting. Do not put anything into the canal to dry it, including buds. Tilt and let it drain, and dry the outer ear only.
When to be seen again the same day
Return, or arrange a crossing, if there is:
- Swelling or redness spreading onto the skin behind or below the ear
- A fever alongside the ear pain
- Sudden loss of hearing
- Dizziness or a spinning sensation
- Facial weakness on the same side
- Pain worsening despite two days of drops
Redness and tenderness over the bone behind the ear can indicate mastoiditis, which needs hospital treatment rather than stronger drops — see evacuation and hospital transfer.
Preventing the next one
People who get swimmer’s ear once frequently get it again on the same trip, and a few habits prevent that.
Dry your ears after every swim by tilting your head to each side and letting water run out, then drying only the outer ear. Leave the wax alone entirely. If you swim daily, well-fitted swimming earplugs are the single most effective measure and are worth buying before you come.
Drying drops with alcohol and acetic acid help people who are prone to it, but never use them if the eardrum might be perforated or if the ear is currently painful — they sting severely and can cause damage. And do not dive until the canal has fully settled: a swollen canal will not equalise and diving on one risks perforation, which is a considerably longer problem and one that will fail a fit-to-dive certificate anyway.
Frequently asked questions
How much does treatment cost?
A consultation plus ear drops is inexpensive and one course usually resolves it. You are quoted the total before medication is dispensed.
How soon can I swim again?
Usually about a week, and only once the pain has gone and the canal has settled. Going back in too early is the main reason these recur.
Can I dive?
Not until fully healed. A swollen canal or inflamed eardrum will not equalise and diving risks perforation. Ask for a check before returning to the water.
Can a doctor come to me?
Yes. A doctor resort visit carries an otoscope and can examine the ear and supply drops in your room.
Are ear infections contagious?
No. You cannot pass swimmer’s ear to anyone else, though several people swimming in the same water can each develop it independently.
My child keeps getting ear infections. Is that different?
Children more often get middle ear infections, which follow colds rather than swimming and are treated differently — usually pain relief and sometimes oral antibiotics rather than drops.
A nurse-led clinic, part of the Takecare network
Takecare Clinic Railay is staffed by experienced English-speaking nurses, and works together with Doctor Ao Nang Takecare Medical Clinic in Ao Nang. The two clinics share doctors, records and treatment plans, so a doctor is involved whenever one is needed — reviewing a case, prescribing, or coming over to Railay — and care started on the peninsula continues without repetition if you cross to the mainland. It also means a second clinical opinion is a phone call away rather than a boat ride.
Come in, or we come to you
Takecare Clinic Railay is open 8am–10pm daily on Railay, and reachable 24 hours by phone, WhatsApp and Line — so if something happens after we close, message rather than wait until morning. Walk in without an appointment, call +66 81 718 9080, message WhatsApp or Line. If you would rather not move, ask for a doctor resort visit and we will come to you. For anything that cannot wait for a boat, see evacuation and hospital transfer.