where can i buy a Otoscope?any you would recommend?

[whiteandyellowiris]

i want to be able to check dds ears and throat for redness/spots
can you use them in the throat too, guessing you can as you only need a light really

[incywincyspideragain]

I got mine off eBay

[whiteandyellowiris]

Which one did you go for please ?and is it easy to use ?

[whiteandyellowiris]

Which one did you go for please ?and is it easy to use ?

[incywincyspideragain]

This link might not work as I'm on my phone but mine is link this one, about £17 and easy to use item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=130718414688&index=1&nav=SEARCH&nid=99684143419

[Judyandherdreamofhorses]

Why would you need one?

[r3dsquirrel]

^^ my thoughts exactly

[TeggieCampbeggBlegg]

Really????

I've never even owned a thermometer.

[Floralnomad]

How strange !

[DameFanny]

What they said - why?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Have a look on amazon, they've got lots all with reviews. I've been thinking about getting one so when I self syringe my own ears I can get Dh to check if all the wax is gone. But I suspect Dh won't be very keen which is stopping me.

Wish I could see in my own ears...

[Delayingtactic]

Why? Do you know what a normal tympanic membrane looks like? Do you know what a healthy amount of wax looks like? Do you know what normal variants occur from time to time? If not then don't get one.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Yes, yes and yes. Well I do but Dh doesn't.

[Floralnomad]

How are you syringing your own ears ( serious question not sarcasm) ?

[VivaLeBeaver]

A friends done it in the past for me with a 50ml syringe of warm water and a bit of NG tube on the end.

I've also bought a special syringe from amazon and tried doing it myself with that but it wasn't very successful. So will try the 50ml syringe next time if I have to.

I normally need them doing once a year, have done for 20 years. Our gp surgery stopped doing them for a bit but have now relented. They keep threatening to stop though which worries me. The nurse says she's never seen ears as waxy as mine, I can tell when they're blocked. The nurse says they're totally blocked, she can't see the membrane.

[VivaLeBeaver]

This is what I bought here but I can't get enough pressure with it to blast the wax out.

[Floralnomad]

Do you mind me asking if you are a qualified medical person and have you in the past done the extended role thing for ear syringing ? I syringed ears as a student nurse ( eons ago) but someone later told me that they'd stopped letting people do it because of the damage that can be caused .

[Ginformation]

please don't syringe your own ears! You really can make yourself deaf. Easily. This is why a lot of nurses have stopped doing it. If you need your wax removing then it can be done safely by microsuction at the audiology or ENT clinic by a nurse practitioner.

And I wouldn't recommend buying your own otoscope, unless you are being medically trained. There is a serious chance of missing something or getting worried about nothing. Leave it to the professionals.

[XBenedict]

Please go careful syringing your own ears, it can be very dangerous. I had to go on a fairly intensive study day followed by a rigorous mentor assessment before I was deemed capable of assessing and syringing ears.

[whiteandyellowiris]

why? because i'm hacked off having to take dd drs three tiimes before they say shes got an ear infection, i want to be able to have a look for any redness myself then if there is quick down the drs

[Ginformation]

whiteandyellow there is a reason that drs spend so much time at medical school and post grad training, please do not think you can do their job if you own an otoscope. A recent cochrane review showed that antibiotics are not needed in most cases of mild otitis media anyway.

[whiteandyellowiris]

not trying to do their job, but if i see redness i can get them to look at it,instead of wasting time thinking it a virus

[XBenedict]

Just be very careful. I find examining children's ears very difficult. The ear canal is very narrow and it can be very uncomfortable for them as you have to try and straighten it to see the ear drum.

[Backingvocals]

I bought something different but still useful. It's called something like earchecker and it uses echo or something to tell you if there is glue in the ear. It's not foolproof but it really helped me with my son's chronic ear infections. I'll see if I can find a link.

[Backingvocals]

www.amazon.com/EarCheck-1124-Earcheck-Middle-Monitor/dp/B003VDEKAE?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

It was this. Got it from the US so had to pay customs iirc. But it was useful. He had ear infections for a year and we were at the Drs every week, literally. Eventually he went on prophylactic antibiotics for another year and during this time it was useful as I could tell if things were brewing again. Eventually they agreed to do grommets. Problem solved overnight.