What should I do if I have eczema in my ear canal?

Eczema can occur anywhere on the skin, especially in areas that have been in a humid environment for a long time or have little activity. The ear canal is a part that is prone to eczema. The external auditory canal, auricle, and area around the ear may all suffer from eczema. The main symptoms of ear canal eczema are itching, rash, etc., which are prone to recurrence. The main cause of ear canal eczema is contact allergy. It may also be caused by other systemic diseases in the body, such as indigestion, endocrine disorders, neurological dysfunction or mental factors. After ear canal eczema occurs, the cause should be actively identified and symptomatic treatment should be given. At the same time, attention should be paid to care in daily life, especially to eliminate bad habits such as scratching and picking ears due to itching.

Clinical manifestations of ear eczema

According to the course of the disease, it is divided into acute eczema, subacute eczema and chronic eczema.

Eczema manifests differently at different stages .

1. Acute eczema

The affected area is extremely itchy, often accompanied by a burning sensation. After digging the ear, yellow watery secretions flow out and form yellow scabs after solidification.

2. Subacute eczema

It is mostly caused by untreated acute eczema, improper treatment or prolonged treatment. The local area is still itchy, with less exudate than acute eczema, but there is crusting and desquamation.

3. Chronic eczema

If acute and subacute eczema recurs or is not cured for a long time, it will become chronic eczema, with severe itching in the external auditory canal, thickening of the skin, and desquamation. External auditory canal eczema may recur.

Treatment of ear eczema

1. Treatment of the cause

Try to find out the cause and eliminate the allergens. If the cause is unknown, stop eating spicy, irritating or highly allergenic foods.

2. Systemic treatment

Oral anti-allergic drugs, such as diphenhydramine, loratadine, desloratadine, cetirizine, terfenadine, fexofenadine, etc. If secondary infection occurs, systemic and local antibiotics are added.

3. Local treatment

(1) For patients with acute eczema with a lot of exudate, use calamine lotion to clean the exudate and crust, and then apply a wet compress with boric acid solution or aluminum acetate solution. After drying, apply zinc oxide paste or boric acid zinc oxide paste. Physical therapy such as local ultraviolet light exposure can also help.

(2) For subacute eczema with little exudate, apply 2% gentian violet solution topically. After it dries, apply zinc oxide paste or boric acid zinc oxide paste.

(3) For chronic eczema and local dryness, apply zinc oxide paste or boric acid zinc oxide paste, 10% zinc oxide ointment, white mercuric ointment, antibiotic hormone ointment or elocon ointment, etc. If there are a lot of dry scabs, clean the area with hydrogen peroxide first and then use the above ointment. For those with thickened skin, 3% salicylic acid ointment can be used.

Prevention of ear eczema

1. Avoid eating or contacting allergens, treat otitis media and eczema on the head in time, and change bad habits such as ear picking.

2. Avoid heat and sweating, keep your skin clean and dry.

3. Children's clothes should be loose, soft and made of cotton.

4. If you find yellow liquid flowing from your ears, go to the hospital immediately for cleaning and application of medicine.