Google is not helpful.

  • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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    9 months ago

    Why are you using it as ear drops? Is that safe?

    Fizzing with acids usually means they are reacting with a base. Not sure what base would be in your ear though.

    • ReallyKinda@kbin.socialOP
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      9 months ago

      Outer ear infection, I guess most ear drops for this are acetic acid? Dr. recommended it to help improve the ph or something.

      • Hazzia@discuss.tchncs.de
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        9 months ago

        If this was a Dr. recommendation and they specifically said it was to balance out the PH, then yes, the fizzling makes sense.

        When an acid (vinegar) reacts with a base (I assume somehow related to the infection you mentioned) the chemical reactions tend to produce gasses. Baking soda + vinegar is a classic example. You have the equivalent of baking soda in your ear.

      • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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        9 months ago

        Gotcha. Just making sure this is all Dr. approved. Vinegar can be more hazardous than some people realize. It is an acid after all.

        Another user suggested it might be reacting with soap residue in your ear. This seems the most likely explanation to me.

        • ReallyKinda@kbin.socialOP
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          9 months ago

          they got an MD at Loyola in chicago and work at/for Kaiser as a regular family Dr.— I specifically picked someone younger cause I figured they would be more up on the science straight out of med school but idk people seem very worked up

          • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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            9 months ago

            It sounds really weird, to be sure. There’s a difference in a food grade compound and pharmaceutical grade of the same compound. Though I guess since it will not interact with a mucosa or internal anatomy it’s OK? Idk, I’m not a health professional. But it smelled more of folk remedy than medicine.

            • jak@sopuli.xyz
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              9 months ago

              Aspirin comes from willow bark, which we used to drink in tea. Home remedies aren’t necessarily opposed to science, they’re often a part of it.

              • ReallyKinda@kbin.socialOP
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                9 months ago

                That’s neat, I remember reading about that lady who won the Nobel for a Malaria drug made out of wormwood they discovered after combing ancient healer books awhile back.

              • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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                9 months ago

                They start like panacea until their actual beneficial uses are confirmed / denied by rigorous study. While they’re in their unconfirmed, protocol-less phase, I’d rather not use.

                • jak@sopuli.xyz
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                  9 months ago

                  Willow bark was generally used for headaches and body aches, similarly to how it is today. The same could be said for tons of other medications. It’s perfectly fine to choose not to use them, but a home remedy is not inherently unscientific or dangerous.

                  • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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                    9 months ago

                    I didn’t say they were dangerous. Unscientific? Until there’s science applied to it, they are, sort of by definition.

                    I take a phytotherapic daily to deal with a chronic illness. It’s scientifically vetted, there’s a protocol with established dosage and its potency is controlled by the lab that processes it.

                    I’m Brazilian, there is a ton of government sponsored research in folk remedies there, and I think it’s great. What’s not great is how many people (there, at least) are quick to advertise some herbal tea as having miraculous properties without any base to it.

                    Here’s an example. There’s no evidence for any of these claims. Growing up, all I’ve heard people attribute to it was “digestive” properties, which is another way of saying mildly laxative.

                    This pattern is repeated ad nauseum to countless other herbs, even the ones that have been studied. A multimillion dollar industry sprung profiteering from anti-scientific sentiment, preying on the vulnerable. Government intervened, requiring supporting science for manufacturer claims on labels and potency control. But websites such as what I linked are still funded somehow and there’s no control on the sale. Quack gurus abound, essentially practicing illegal medicine, making diagnoses on victims reported symptoms and prescribing teas and supplements.

                    So yeah, I don’t mind people brewing some tea once or twice to deal with some mild discomfort like stomach pain. It’s when vultures circle the seriously ill suggesting their cure evades them because they’re not doing enough and they need their panacea to get better that I start paying attention.

    • godzillabacter@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      You’re generalizing a specific phenomenon, and incorrect. Acid-base reactions only very rarely produce gases. The reactions produce heat and water, only in the case of bicarbonate being a base is a gas produced. This is because carbonic acid forms, which spontaneously decays into carbon dioxide. This is not a universal acid-base phenomenon. Soaps should not cause fizzing with vinegar.