Recently, Xiao Wang always felt that his ears were itchy and he couldn't help but scratch them. I used a digging spoon to pluck it once, but I couldn't get anything out.
Itching in the ears is an uncomfortable symptom that often occurs in our daily lives, and while not fatal, it can seriously affect our quality of life and social interactions.
Some patients even describe it this way: "I can't wait to pull my ears off", "cut out the ear canal", and some people will consciously or unconsciously take out the ear spoon in public, but it is inevitable that it is somewhat indecent.
So, what is the cause of itchy ears? Let's first look at the structure of the ear.
1. What does the external auditory canal look like?
The shape of our external auditory canal is like a long "S" shaped curved pipe, with a length of about 2.5 to 3.5 cm, and the outer 1/3 of the pipe is mainly cartilage, and the inner 2/3 is mainly composed of "hard bone".
(Internal structure of the ear)
There is a gland in the cartilage skin called the cerumen gland, and its excrement is excreted into the external ear canal to form our earwax (that is, ear feces, the scientific name is "cerumen"). The shiny thing we see further inside is our eardrum.
The ear canal has a rich distribution of nerves, such as the mandibular nerve, vagus nerve, facial nerve, etc., which also constitutes the structural basis of our ear canal that is sensitive and easy to itch.
Second, the cause of itching in the ear canal
The causes of itching in the ears are "strange", some people say that "blowing breath will cause itching in the ears", which is a bit exaggerated, but it also shows the common degree of ear itching.
The itching in the ear canal is not simply caused by factors such as ear droppings, but also has other complicated factors. The main points are as follows:
1. Bacterial infection
The external auditory canal is chronically infected by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus, resulting in local skin redness, itching, pain, and even purulent discharge.
2. Fungal infection
The tubing of the external auditory canal is "winding and twisting", and once the local dampness is long, it will be secondary to fungal infection and itching of the ear. This itching sensation is very strong, it can be said to be "strange itching", and it is often repeated and cannot be improved.
3. Ear droppings or foreign bodies in the external ear canal
Ear feces is the secretion of the cerumen gland of the external auditory canal, normal earwax is flaky, floppy, if secondary infection or aggregation into a hard mass, it is easy to stimulate the external auditory canal skin secondary inflammation, resulting in itching of the ear canal. A similar condition occurs with foreign bodies in the external auditory canal.
4. Allergic reactions
Eczema, which is mainly the local skin of the ear, is more common in infants and young children who often eat breast milk, and is caused by irritation after skin contact with breast milk. People with allergic rhinitis also often have itchy nose and palate, as well as itchy ear canal.
In addition, allergic rhinitis caused by mite allergies may also appear with itchy ears, which is a symptom of allergic rhinitis affecting the ears, but it is not "parasitic mites in the ear canal".
Therefore, ear itching is not necessarily ear, you must first find the cause of ear itching, in order to carry out the correct treatment.
Third, why can't I pluck my ears frequently?
Earwax (ear mage) is a normal secretion of each of our external ear canals, which has antibacterial function and the effect of keeping the external ear canal itself self-purifying.
Normal ear feces can be excreted from the body with our body movements, teeth chewing, etc., without the need to deliberately pluck the ears or clean up.
If you pluck your ears frequently, what is the harm?
1. It will not only destroy the self-purification barrier function of the external auditory canal, but also stimulate the cerumen gland of the external auditory canal, so that it secretes more vigorously and the ear feces produce faster, resulting in a "vicious circle";
2. The ear feces secreted after frequent ear removal is thin and moist, and it is easy to cause secondary infection;
3. At the same time, it will also damage the skin, hair follicles and other structures of the external ear canal, resulting in local inflammation, itching, pain, and even tissue hyperplasia and narrowing of the external ear canal.
In addition, we often see some "ear picking" publicity and services in small street shops and stalls. However, "ear picking" basically relies on the feel of the hand, neither fully observing the internal structure of the ear canal nor professional medical knowledge. The most worrying thing is that their operating equipment can not be completely sterilized and sterile, and it is difficult to ensure that it will not cause ear canal damage, so it is not recommended that everyone go to "ear picking".
(Traditional Ear Picking Service)
Fourth, how to correctly clean the ear feces?
Normally, ear feces don't need to be cleaned up.
What needs to be cleaned up is ear feces that cannot be excreted from the body. They accumulate locally in the external auditory canal, and after the water evaporates, it becomes a tan hard block that blocks the external auditory canal. It's a disease called "cerumen embolism."
To remove it, it is also necessary to operate it in the hospital's otolaryngology department, which is operated by professional medical staff. There are 3 ways to remove the method:
1. Hook to take
With a special instrument "cerumen hook", the cerumen is inserted into the gap between the embolized cerumen and the wall of the external auditory canal, and the hook is removed. This method can easily damage the external auditory canal and cause bleeding, and sometimes cause obvious pain, so it is relatively rarely used.
2. Rinse
Use a large syringe to draw saline and rinse along the wall of the external auditory canal to "wash out" the ear droppings. Before rinsing, the cerumen is generally softened with drugs beforehand.
3. Suction out
First use sodium bicarbonate ear drops or phenol glycerin ear drops to soften the cerumen, and then use the suction tube on the ENT table to reach into the ear canal to aspirate the cerumen, which is simple and easy. Most hospitals now use this method.
(Suction out cerumen embolism)
*The pictures in this article are from The Ku Helo, except for the tencent medical classic medical illustrations.
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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