Otitis Externa
Otitis externa is an inflammation of the outer ear and ear canal. Two human conditions commonly called earache. It also occurs in many other species. Inflammation of the skin of the ear canal is the essence of this disorder. If inflammation progresses to infection, the ear canal may fill with swollen tissue and drainage. Once the ear canal is blocked, hearing will be dampened until the condition improves.In very severe cases, the skin infection can spread to the face and to the major salivary gland in the cheek. In that situation, moving the jaw and eating become painful. In its mildest forms, external otitis is so common that some ear nose and throat physicians have suggested that most people will have an episode at some point in life. In many individuals, for the reasons discussed below, the condition is recurrent and will happen several times in a lifetime Ordinarily, inflammation of the ear canal skin starts off with the loss of protective oils and ear wax along with minor injury to the skin. That injury often stem from attempts at self-cleaning or scratching using cotton swabs, hair pins or other implements small enough to fit in the ear canal. Prolonged water exposure is enough alone to both decrease the protective barrier of ear wax and to cause tiny breaks in the waterlogged skin. the swollen ear canal skin often is both itchy and painful.
Sometimes associated with a feeling that something is stuck in the ear, a vicious cycle of self-cleaning or scratching can perpetuate the condition. Wax glands shut down the production of protective cerumen when the canal skin is inflamed, and weeks are required for the outer ear to completely return to normal production of wax and protective oils after even a short bout of moderately severe external otitis. During this recovery period, the skin is markedly more vulnerable to becoming re-infected. For these reasons, among others, some people are prone to recurrent external otitis with exposure to water. There is a rare and serious form of external otitis called necrotizing external otitis, in which the bone of the skull surrounding the ear canal becomes infected. Although the name of this condition contains the words "external otitis" it is a very different disease than the common swimmer's ear, it is a form of osteomyelitis .
Causes of Otitis Externa
Common causes of Otitis Externa
- Atopic dermatitis.
- Seborrheic dermatitis.
- Psoriasis or abnormalities of keratin.
- Swimming.
- Pathogengerms.
- Sewage.
- Trauma.
- Keratinization defects.
- Neoplasia and masses.
- Immunocompromized status of patient.
- Psoriasis.
Symptoms of Otitis Externa
Common symptoms of Otitis Externa
- Pain.
- Hearing loss.
- Rapid worsening.
- Pruritus.
- Mild otalgia.
- Otitis Externa.
Treatment of Otitis Externa
Common Treatment of Otitis Externa
- Ear drops(Antibiotic drops and Steroid drops ) is the mainstay of treatment for external otitis. These drops both physically wash collected debris from shed skin and infected drainage from the ear canal, and contain substances that either kill pathogenic germs, stop them from multiplying, or do both.
- Aural toilet (suction, dry mopping, irrigation, removal of obstructing cerumen or foreign object)
- Biopsy (excluded from guideline) and Surgery (excluded from guideline).
- Avoid scratching or poking the ear canal with fingers, towels, cotton wool buds, or anything else.
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