Ear-cleaner

[Gina Heitz <brier@oregonsbest.com>]

Every Spring on ALL the Golden lists this recipe comes up.  Today it came 
up so I snatched it for you all:



1 pint 90% isopropyl alcohol (aka isopropanol)
preferred over 80% or 70%; and
1 scant tablespoon of powdered boric acid.

Both of these can be obtained at Payless, Riteaide,
Savon, etc.

Shake together in the pint bottle to dissolve as much
as possible. There will always be a little insoluble
particles in the solution. Decant a portion for use
into a small squeeze bottle & use that to fill ear
canal and rub around. Once or twice a day for two
days has cleared up the worst yeast infection we ever
had. A quick squirt after hunting in the sloughs of
farm country totally prevents any infection for us.
Be sure to keep most of the solution in the pint
bottle and tightly capped. This stuff will absorb
water right out of the air (reducing it's
effectiveness) until it is 70%.

Just a little on the mode of action of the alcohol
will help you make the best substitution when you
can't find 90% isopropanol. The alcohol does two
things. It sterilizes the ear canal by desiccating
and rupturing the single cell organisms in there;
i.e., fungi (such as yeast) and bacteria. Second, it
dries the ear by rinsing out most of the water
molecules and taking the rest out by co-evaporation.
Both of these functions depend on the alcohol being
hydrophilic and the lower the water content the more
hydrophilic the alcohol will be. Ten-percent water
(90% alcohol)is apparently low enough for optimum
results. Thirty-percent water (70% alcohol) will see
a substantial drop in hydrophilicity as I think this
is close to the equilibrium one reaches if alcohol is
left uncapped and absorbs water from the air (which
explains why 70% is cheaper to make as the handling is
not as critical). It's better than nothing, however.
BTW, the lack of hydrophilicity is one of the reasons
that vinegar solutions tend not to work as well since
vinegar is about 70% water. So the bottom line is 1)
you want to be above 70% if you can, and 2) there is
no advantage (or harm) to going over 90%.

Now, what if you can't find 90% isopropanol. You
could use denatured ethanol (ethyl alcohol) just as
readily. I have had just as good a result with this
substitution. It costs more, and to find 90% you may
need to look/ask for it. I've noticed where I shop
that 90% (or higher) ethanol is not shelved with the
rubbing alcohol, but with diabetic supplies. As has
been mentioned, avoid methanol (aka methyl alcohol) as
it is toxic (but the tiny amount used to denature
ethanol is ok for external use).