swollen ear

kerinsp

lads how do you fix cauliflower ears? I know most of you wouldn't bother but whats the "at home" fix for this?
My right ear is swollen and a bit sore espeically when my son grabs it to use it as a climbing aid. I tried a nick of a stanley blade thinking a whole pile of goo would just ooze out but it didn't make much of a difference.

Should I just get the doc to syringe it?

Are those kooga caps the rugby lads wear any good for rolling in to protect the ears? Ear guards just look weird.

Paul

Barry.Commins

O'Reilly's probably the man to ask here as I know he's had them syringed and tried other methods.

The first couple of times I got them, I just iced the affected area a couple of times a day and wrapped a pressure bandage around my head at night for about a week. I think you're probably supposed to leave the bandage on the whole time for a couple of days, but it worked out ok for me those times (it has happened again since and I didn't treat it. Now it's permenant, but it's not a particularly bad case).

The reason you need the pressure bandage is because the cartilage (sp?) gets it's blood supply from the skin in your ear. When the ear swells, the cartilage becomes detatched from the skin and can eventually die. The cartilage then calcifies and hardens, resulting in cauliflowering.

Ear guards work well to prevent it from re-occuring after you let it heal. Never tried scrum caps, though.

Anyway, hope I haven't scared you. It can be easily treated if you get it on time.

Colm_OReilly

Maybe I've a low tolerance to pain but the syringe is disgustingly painful.

Ice and Pressure is all that's required. Plus time to heal. Pretty much everything Baz mentioned is spot on.

Mola.mola

scrum cap will work.

also, have a think about the way you're rolling. are you getting trapped in between ppls legs etc. and reefing you're head out? how is there so much pressure being put down on your ears causing this?