The receptionists at Dr Adam Blond’s office are always available during office hours to answer any questions you may have. However, before you do so you may like to see if any of your questions have already been answered below.
After your operation with Dr Adam Blond you will be provided with his 24-hour contact number. The following questions have been frequently asked by previous patients after their operation or appointment.
How long do grommets stay in?
This varies as the grommets grow from the placement area in the drum to the side ear drum and then fall out into the external canal. This can happen over a period of nine to twelve months for a standard grommet placed in a small child but longer term grommets can be placed in some patients.
Do I need to keep my ears dry?
The recommendation in most of the eastern seaboard of Australia is that we wear water protection, such as plugs or putty with all water activities including the bath, shower and swimming. There are however, international standards in different countries as they tend to have less water contact than we do in Australia.
What happens if I do get water in the ear?
This can cause discharge in some patients but the water has to penetrate the external cannel and go through the grommet and has to be contaminated water. If this does happen, a large amount of discharge, very similar to mucus will come out of the ear without any noticeable pain or temperatures.
What is the best treatment for a discharging grommet?
The best treatment is a topical therapy, a drop called ciproxin, HC, or ciprofloxacin, these drops are safe to use in an ear containing a grommet or a perforated eardrum. They should be placed regularly in the ear two to three times a day until the ear stops discharging.
Why wouldn’t I use oral antibiotics?
Oral antibiotics tend to be ineffective and often have to be taken for prolonged periods, such as up to a month, to have any significant effect because this is not a classical infection of the tissues this is a contamination of your canal and the oral medication do not penetrate this area very well.
Why are they placed in small children?
In small children the most common reason to place grommets is recurrent middle ear infections or recurrent middle ear fluids which causes problems with speech and language. In the infected patient grommets stop the infection process and the build up of pressure and fluids in the middle ear and allow the station tube to have time to grow.
Why are tonsils and adenoids removed?
In most situations the tonsils and adenoids are removed for one of two primary reasons. One is recurrent infections and this will normally need to be at least three infection for more than two years in a row or more than five infections over a twelve month period. The second reason is airway obstruction, these children often snore and have symptoms associated with something called obstructive sleep disordered breathing, this can occur with or without apneic events.
What is a post tonsil bleed?
When the tonsils are removed from a patient, either a child or an adult, there is a period of time, approximately six to ten days later, within the recovery period, where bleeding can occur. This is more common in older patients, such as adults where the bleed risk can be as high as one in ten.
My child snores, is that a problem?
Snoring is normally an indication of poor sleep patterns and often indicates a condition called obstructive sleep disordered breathing. The snoring on its own is not the issue it’s the complication group of symptoms associated with the snoring that require intervention. In some cases this is medication in other it is surgery.
What is the difference between sinusitis and rhinitis?
Sinusitis is an infective process involving the nasal sinuses. This tends to be associated with temperature changes and also quite dramatic discharge from the nose. This can associated with pain and pressure inn some patients. It tend to be prolonged and often occurring for more than four week intervals.
Rhinitus on the other hand is a reactivity of the nasal lining similar to allergy or hay fever. The symptoms, although looking a lot like sinusitis tend to be without any temperatures. They tend to be quite quick in their development and can be associated with environmental irritants such as smoke or temperature change. These symptoms can be treated often with antihistamines and rest. But this condition is a long term chronic reactivity or allergy and often does not require surgery but medical treatment or avoidance.