Consequences of ear picking habit
Ear picking is a very common habit, from young to old, whenever the ear is itchy, they pick it, after bathing they also pick it, sometimes they pick their ears with the reason of cleaning their ears. They often use cotton swabs or any hard object to pick their ears. So is it good to pick your ears often like that? Consequences of picking your ears a lot
Ear picking is a very common habit, from young to old, whenever the ear itches, they pick it, even after bathing, sometimes they pick their ears with the reason of cleaning their ears. They often use cotton swabs or any hard object to pick their ears. So is it good to pick your ears regularly like that?
Consequences of cleaning ears too much
Frequent ear picking causes tears and scratches on the protective skin layer of the ear canal, making it easier for pathogenic bacteria to penetrate the connective tissue underneath the skin, causing otitis media - especially when the patient swims in dirty ponds or lakes. On the other hand, ear picking can push the earwax (if any) deeper into the external ear canal, even pressing against the eardrum, causing ear pain. Ear picking can also introduce bacteria and fungi from the outside environment into the skin of the ear canal. Ear bleeding due to tearing of the skin of the external ear canal is one of the most common complications of ear picking. The Emergency Department of the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital also received a case of a patient who was picking his ear with an iron rod taken from a broken umbrella. While picking, the child pushed it, penetrating straight into the inner ear or brain, causing severe damage.
If ear picking causes an infection in the external ear canal, the ear will be painful, have pus, tinnitus, hearing loss, and some patients even come to the clinic when the external ear canal is inflamed and spreads to half of the face, with blood and pus flowing out of the ear.
Illustration
Otitis media is a common consequence.
The initial symptoms of otitis media are ear itching, the ear itching gradually increases, especially if the ear is cleaned a lot, then the patient feels a feeling of tightness in the ear canal and then begins to feel ear pain, which increases, aching, spreading to the head, many patients say they feel a throbbing pain in half of the head. The pain gets worse when the patient chews or yawns. In severe cases, there may be a fever of 38 - 39ºC, swelling of half the face on the side of the painful ear, and light touching of the ear is also painful.
Examination shows red skin of the external ear canal, a lot of dirty fluid stagnates, the external ear canal is partially or completely narrowed depending on the level of inflammation. If the bacterial toxin is too strong, it causes widespread inflammation of the external ear canal, causing swelling of the jaw angle on the side of the ear, pain accompanied by the appearance of small lymph nodes on the same side, mobile, painful to press. The eardrum is still normal.
How to properly handle some unpleasant symptoms of the ear
When the ear is itchy, it means the external ear canal is damaged, the more you pick it, the more the damage will spread and become more severe. At this time, you should use ear drops for the external ear for a week. The types of ear drops used in cases of otitis externa are those used when the eardrum is not perforated, mainly drugs to treat diseases of the external ear canal such as otitis externa, external ear canal furuncles, and skin lacerations of the ear canal such as polydexa, topical antiseptic betadine... sometimes have the effect of reducing pain of the eardrum when it is congested in acute otitis media in the early stages of the disease such as otipax.
If water accidentally gets into the ear canal while bathing or swimming, causing a feeling of ringing in the ear: take a cotton swab and place it gently into the ear canal, leave it for 5 minutes, the water will be automatically absorbed by the dry cotton, absolutely do not wipe too much.
If after cleaning the ear, there is pain and bleeding, you must seek treatment at an ENT facility: Apply medicine and local ear drops if the external otitis is mild. If it is severe, you must use antibiotics, systemic anti-inflammatory drugs combined with pain relievers and local ear medications.
Otitis externa is a disease that often recurs if you keep the habit of picking your ears when they itch.
Each part of the outer ear has its own function. |
According to Health and Life
