As practice shows, very often patients turn to the otolaryngologist when they have bleeding from the ear. This condition is characterized by the fact that red fluid begins to stand out from the external auditory canal. If a person has blood from the ear, in such a situation it is quite simple to determine the condition. It is much more difficult to find out the cause of this symptom. Why is blood coming from my ear? What to do in this case? This article will answer these questions.
Features
Many, having first encountered a problem, do not even have an idea of what it means if blood comes from the ear. This condition can occur as a result of a number of pathologies. This problem is addressed to doctors equally by both adults and children. There have even been cases where ear bleeding was diagnosed in newborn babies, as well as in older people who throughout their lives have never encountered ear diseases.
Most often, these pathologies affect men. There are even cases when the appearance of ear bleeding testified to a developing disease that the person did not even suspect.
Why you need to know the reasons
When a person has unnatural discharge from the ear, it is very important to find out the cause of this process in a timely manner and begin treatment. The prognosis of the disease and methods of treatment depend on this. The disease can not be started. The sooner you get to the doctor, the easier it will be to get rid of the disease.
Mechanical damage
As a result of mechanical damage to tissues, both an adult and a child may have blood from the ear. The most common mechanical damage include:
- Scratches and abrasions that may occur as a result of improper cleaning of the ears with cotton buds. Such lesions most often result in the formation of a crust and do not require medical supervision and treatment.
- During ear cleaning, there are times when someone pushes a person under the elbow, and this leads not only to pain, but also to the appearance of blood. In such a situation, you should seek the help of a doctor to make sure that there is no damage to the eardrum.
- An eardrum injury can also cause bleeding from the ear.
- Skull injuries. Such conditions are always accompanied by bleeding from the ear canal. When blood appears, you must definitely seek medical help, since pathology poses a threat to life.
- Hit. As a result of a strong blow in the ear, bleeding may open. This is due to vascular damage. In such a situation, the bleeding is longer, but not profuse. Specialist assistance needed. After all, stopping the blood yourself is almost impossible. Why is blood coming from a teenager’s ear? Most often, when this question arises, the answer is hidden in elementary damage.
- Foreign body. This reason is mainly characteristic of young children, since it is they who like to put various small objects into their ears. Unfortunately, in most cases, it is not possible to immediately detect a foreign body in the ear. Over time, the subject leads to inflammation and bleeding. It is impossible to fix the problem yourself, so you need to contact a specialist.
Infections
When blood comes from the ear, the causes may be hidden in a developing infection. One of the most common pathologies is myringitis. The disease develops as a result of the infection penetrating the ear from the external environment or the tympanic cavity. In addition to blood discharge, a person in such a situation is concerned about pain, tinnitus and intoxication. When the first signs appear, you need to immediately seek medical help, since in the absence of treatment, the disease can go into a serious form.
Another reason why blood flows from the ear in adults is the boil of the external auditory canal. Various injuries and abrasions that provoke the penetration of bacteria that provoke purulent inflammation can provoke such a disease. Blood appears with such a deviation already after the boil bursts. Before this person is accompanied by pain, fever, chills and weakness. It is strictly forbidden to open the abscess independently.
Candidiasis of the ear can also provoke blood discharge, but only if the disease is started. After all, this symptom refers to severe complications of the disease.
Sometimes, if blood comes from the ear, the cause of this symptom is acute otitis media. Most often, before a person bleeds, fever, pain and purulent discharge are disturbing.
Neoplasms
When an unpleasant symptom appears, people wonder why blood comes from the ear. The reasons may be different. Blood discharge may appear as a result of a neoplasm growing in the ear. A tumor can be either malignant or benign. Among other things, this formation is manifested by constant dizziness, pain and hearing loss.
If blood comes from the ear, the reasons may be the most catastrophic. One of them is carcinoma, which is characterized by a growth in the ear, which is constantly increasing in size. Since they are torn as a result of strong compression of the blood vessels, blood is released from the ear. Do not delay with treatment in such a situation.
Pressure change
Many people wonder why blood comes from the ear and what reason provoked such a deviation. Only a qualified specialist will be able to accurately answer this question after a thorough examination.
Often this manifestation is observed in individuals who suffer from hypertension. In this case, ear bleeding occurs as a result of high blood pressure. In this condition, blood discharge is accompanied by headache, nausea, dizziness, as well as redness of the skin on the face. Why does blood come from my nose and ears? First of all, blood pressure should be measured. It may be the main reason.
First aid
Regardless of why blood comes from the ear without pain or with pain, everyone should be able to cope with this manifestation and provide first aid to themselves.
If ear bleeding has begun, then the first thing to do is to block the ear canal. To do this, you can use a cotton swab. It must first be moistened in an antiseptic solution. In this way, infections can be prevented from penetrating into small wounds.
Most often, such a symptom passes by itself and does not indicate a disease (of course, if other signs do not develop along with the secretions). If the blood from the ear canal does not stop for an hour or more, then this is a clear sign that immediate medical attention is required. This manifestation may indicate the development of serious pathological processes in the body.
What can not be done?
When a person has blood from the ear, then in no case should one ignore such symptoms. When such alarming signs appear, you can not warm the ear or apply a cold compress to it. It is also forbidden to rinse the ear canal with homemade solutions or other drugs.
You should also not try to clean the blood from the ear canal using ear sticks. The only thing that can be done in such a situation is to take an anesthetic drug and seek help from a medical institution.
Diagnostics
When a person bleeds from the ear, only the doctor can determine the cause of this symptom. In order to make a diagnosis, a thorough examination of the external ears is carried out in the doctor’s office and the degree of discharge is evaluated, palpation of the parotid area is also carried out.
There are situations when the problem, manifested by bleeding from the ear, does not have ENT origin. If after conducting research it was not possible to identify the disease and make a diagnosis, and the symptoms persist, then in this case the surgeon is involved in the search for the cause.
Most often, the diagnosis is made on the basis of examinations conducted by the ENT doctor. Also, two specialists can immediately prescribe treatment, who will help stop the bleeding and choose the most effective treatment.
Treatment
After making a diagnosis, the doctor in each individual case will select the most effective treatment, which directly depends on the cause that provoked the appearance of blood from the ear canal. If a person is diagnosed with a hearing disease, then the following drugs are prescribed:
- antiseptics;
- anti-inflammatory drugs;
- systemic antibiotics;
- antimycotic drugs.
Without prior consultation with the doctor, it is not recommended to use any medications, since improper treatment can provoke the development of serious complications.
If a benign or malignant neoplasm is recognized as the cause, then in such a case the patient is prescribed procedures such as radio wave, laser therapy, electrocoagulation or cryodestruction.
If blood in the ear appeared as a result of an injury, then the only recommendation would be periodic treatment with an antiseptic. Such injuries do not require qualified treatment and, as a rule, pass on their own. But the decision is made by the doctor.
Prevention
Everyone has long known that any disease is much easier to prevent than to get rid of it later. This also applies to problems with the ears, which are manifested by the presence of bleeding.
In order to prevent the appearance of this unpleasant symptom, you need to adhere to the following recommendations:
- in order to cleanse the ears of sulfur and dirt, do not stick the ear sticks and other foreign objects too deep;
- it is forbidden to replace ear sticks with any sharp objects that can pierce the eardrum.
Conclusion
So, it was examined for what reasons this problem may form and how to provide yourself first aid. If ear bleeding appears with marked constancy, then this is a signal that you need to visit a specialist in the very near future. Indeed, only in this way can one find out the cause and get rid of it without the risk of complications.