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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Swelling At The Ear Opening Indicate?

13yr old male with swelling at the base of the opening of the ear, in comparison, the swelling has closed the opening to about 1/2 the size of his unaffected ear. No visual redness or coloring, very tender to touch or ear movement, no complaints of hot spots. Other than his discomfort and the opening size , nothing visually out of the ordinary.
posted on Sat, 13 Aug 2016
Twitter Fri, 2 Sep 2016 Answered on
Twitter Sat, 3 Sep 2016 Last reviewed on
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Dentist,  's  Response
Hello,

I can understand your concern. The area you are describing contains preauricular lymph nodes that get swollen and tender when there is presence of infection in the ear of TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) area.

I would advise you to start with the antibiotic. The patient can take Cefixime 200 mg (Topcef) twice a day for 5 days. It will eliminate minor infection in the ear as well as in the TMJ area, if present. For the pain and tenderness, the patient can take Ibuprofen 400 mg or Acetaminophen 500 mg up to three times a day.

However, if the swelling is not reduced or disappeared in 5 days, I would advise you to visit an ENT specialist for clinical examination of the ear for presence of infection. If the ENT surgeon denied presence of infection in the ear, you should consult an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for the presence of infection in the TMJ cavity.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Thank you for choosing HealthcareMagic. Get well soon!

Best,
Dr. Viraj Shah
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What Does Swelling At The Ear Opening Indicate?

Hello, I can understand your concern. The area you are describing contains preauricular lymph nodes that get swollen and tender when there is presence of infection in the ear of TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) area. I would advise you to start with the antibiotic. The patient can take Cefixime 200 mg (Topcef) twice a day for 5 days. It will eliminate minor infection in the ear as well as in the TMJ area, if present. For the pain and tenderness, the patient can take Ibuprofen 400 mg or Acetaminophen 500 mg up to three times a day. However, if the swelling is not reduced or disappeared in 5 days, I would advise you to visit an ENT specialist for clinical examination of the ear for presence of infection. If the ENT surgeon denied presence of infection in the ear, you should consult an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for the presence of infection in the TMJ cavity. I hope this information is helpful to you. Thank you for choosing HealthcareMagic. Get well soon! Best, Dr. Viraj Shah