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2 Year Old Stuck A Q-tip In Ear, Have Bleeding. What To Do?
Posted on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 10 Jan 2013
Answered on
Thu, 21 Feb 2013
Last reviewed on
Question : my 2 year old stuck a q-tip in her ear and now its bleeding what should i do
Hello
I am Dr Ravinder Sharma ENT surgeon
On the basis of the information provided it appears that q tip has caused trauma in the ear canal or in the ear drum (with or without ossicles)
If the bleeding has settled it would advise you to AVOID PUTTING ANYTHING IN EAR CANAL and consult a ENT surgeon as examination will help us to know the severity of injury in the ear canal or ear drum. If the injury is in ear canal only it will settle with the medical treatment. If there is an injury in the ear drum you will need medical treatment and will have to AVOID PUTTING ANYTHING IN THE EAR CANAL. In almost 95% of cases drum heals by itself in 6 to 8 weeks time. If the injury involves ossicular chain also it will require surgery.
If the bleeding has not settled I would advise you to put a cotton plug in the outer part of the ear canal and go to a hospital emergency for examination and for the severity of the injury so that the correct treatment can be initiated.
I hope this answers your concern. Feel free to contact me if you need more information about it
with warm regards
Ravinder Sharma
I am Dr Ravinder Sharma ENT surgeon
On the basis of the information provided it appears that q tip has caused trauma in the ear canal or in the ear drum (with or without ossicles)
If the bleeding has settled it would advise you to AVOID PUTTING ANYTHING IN EAR CANAL and consult a ENT surgeon as examination will help us to know the severity of injury in the ear canal or ear drum. If the injury is in ear canal only it will settle with the medical treatment. If there is an injury in the ear drum you will need medical treatment and will have to AVOID PUTTING ANYTHING IN THE EAR CANAL. In almost 95% of cases drum heals by itself in 6 to 8 weeks time. If the injury involves ossicular chain also it will require surgery.
If the bleeding has not settled I would advise you to put a cotton plug in the outer part of the ear canal and go to a hospital emergency for examination and for the severity of the injury so that the correct treatment can be initiated.
I hope this answers your concern. Feel free to contact me if you need more information about it
with warm regards
Ravinder Sharma
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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