Otitis externa is a common ear disease. It is usually related to bad living habits. For example, people who like to swim do not clean their ears in time after swimming, so that unclean water remains in the external auditory canal, causing inflammation. So what is fungal otitis externa? Why is it prone to occur in summer?

1. What is fungal otitis externa?

Fungal otitis externa is caused by fungal infection of the ear canal when the body's resistance is reduced. It is manifested as ear itching and water, accompanied by ear pain, redness and swelling when combined with infection. The main symptoms are discomfort in the ear, ear itching, and watery discharge, which affects hearing when the secretion blocks the ear canal. Therefore, in daily life, we should pay attention to keeping the external auditory canal comfortable, clean and tidy. Fungal otitis externa is prone to recurrence after treatment, so when choosing drugs, we should pay attention to choosing those drugs with strong sensitivity, and rationally use antibiotics to reduce the possibility of recurrence.

Common symptoms of fungal otitis externa

1. Acute patients: discomfort, burning, pain in the external auditory canal, severe cases with systemic fever and swollen lymph nodes around the ear. The examination showed swelling of the external auditory canal, diffuse congestion, and in severe cases, the external auditory canal was narrowed and the skin ulcerated.

2. Chronic patients: the external auditory canal is uncomfortable and itchy, and there is a small amount of secretions. Hearing loss occurs in patients with a long course of disease, mainly due to thickening of the skin of the external auditory canal.

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2. Beware of fungal otitis externa in summer

In the summer, such patients began to increase. This is because mold is easy to live in a warm and humid environment. In summer, many people swim and sweat a lot, and the external auditory canal is prone to accumulation of secretions or water; in summer, athlete's foot patients do not wash their hands and dig their ears directly after rubbing their feet, which can also cause mold infection. In addition, the body's low resistance, the abuse of antibiotics is also the cause of disease.

Patients often feel itching in the ears, especially at night, and the itching is unbearable. If the bacterial infection is accompanied by pus and pain, it is easy to be misdiagnosed as otitis externa. For the treatment of fungal otitis externa, first remove all secretions and scabs in the external auditory canal, and apply 1%-2% thymol alcohol or 1%-2% salicylic acid alcohol, 1:1000 salicylic acid to the external auditory canal. To keep it dry, nystatin can also be sprayed on the external auditory canal.

Beware of fungal otitis externa in summer. First of all, you must get rid of the habit of picking your ears. Plug your ear canals with earplugs when swimming to prevent sewage from entering your ears. In particular, be careful not to use unclean and unsterilized utensils or dig your ears with your hands. Go to the regular hospital as soon as possible.

Third, how long can otitis externa be cured

Otitis externa drug treatment is very effective. Generally, patients will get better after using the drug for about a week, and some patients' symptoms will disappear after three days of drug use. This has a great relationship with the patient's physique and whether the patient's care is carefully

The onset of this inflammation has a lot to do with the environment. Try not to let water enter the external auditory canal in daily life. Once the water enters, wipe the water with a sterile cotton swab in time to keep the external auditory canal dry. In addition, do not use unclean cotton swabs and unclean hands or things to dig your ears, and do your daily work to prevent inflammation of the external auditory canal.

During treatment, the patient should first thoroughly clean up the secretions in the ear canal. In the case of keeping the ear canal dry and clean, local use of antifungal preparations is applied or sprayed on the external ear canal, and if necessary, oral antifungal drugs are used.

Fungal otitis externa is easy to recur, and we must pay attention to prevention and keep the environment clean and tidy. Get rid of some bad ear-picking habits. Humid environment, unhealthy ear picking habits, etc., will prolong the course of fungal otitis externa, recur repeatedly, and even affect hearing, so patients must be actively treated.