CHILDREN’S HEALTH: DRAINING EAR
A draining ear occurs when any abnormal discharge or fluid comes out of the ear canal. The only material that normally comes from the ear canal is wax (cerumen). Earwax is ordinarily brown, though it may be beige or even yellowish if mixed with water when bathing, showering, or swimming. Normally, earwax has only a mild odor, contains no blood, and never flows out in large amounts.
Any other material discharging from the ear canal signals a potentially serious condition. It may be a symptom of a middle ear infection; a boil in the ear canal; swimmer’s ear (infection of the ear canal); rupture (break or tear) of the eardrum by injury or infection; a foreign object in the ear canal; tumour of the middle ear (cholesteatoma); or fracture of the base of the skull.
Signs and symptoms
Abnormal discharge from the ear may be thin and watery, bloody, odorous, cheesy, green, yellow, or white.
Home care
Any drainage from the ear canal (except typical earwax) should be considered abnormal. Do not try to treat a draining ear at home. It should be promptly seen by a physician.
While waiting to see the doctor, pain accompanying a draining ear may be temporarily treated with aspirin or paracetamol pain relievers.
• A draining ear should be examined by a doctor within 12 to 24 hours.
• Do not pack cotton into a draining ear. Packing the canal may force the discharge back into the middle ear.
• Do not use a cotton swab or any other instrument to remove material still in the canal.
• Do not attempt to wash out a draining ear since the eardrum may be broken or torn.
Medical treatment
Your doctor will gently clean your child’s ear, inspect it, and diagnose the cause. Depending on what is found in the ear canal, treatment may require oral antibiotics, medicated ear drops, removing a foreign body, an X ray of the child’s skull or mastoid bone, or surgery for cholesteatoma (tumour of the middle ear). In the case of a ruptured eardrum, antibiotics may be required for a long time, until the eardrum is healed and hearing returns to normal.
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