title: Pritt Tak: another hazard of grommets and swimming.
abstract: There is argument about whether, whilst swimming, water should be excluded from ears which have middle ear ventilation tubes in place in the tympanic membrane. The adhesive putty substance BLU-TACK (registered Trade Mark, Bostik Ltd, Leicester, England, LE4 6BW) has been suggested as an effective ear plug for this purpose. A case is described in which an alternative adhesive putty substance was used as a waterproof plug. The result was that the plug became semi-solid and impossible to remove without the use of micro instruments and removal would have required general anaesthetic in a less co-operative patient. Patients should be warned of this risk.
authors.affiliation: E.N.T. Department, Warwick Hospital.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000269:Adhesives / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D004430:Ear Protective Devices; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation; D011482:Protective Devices; D013550:Swimming
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives