Fungal otitis is one of the types of inflammatory diseases of the ear, when individual departments are affected by yeast-like fungi. According to statistics, the ailment is common. It is set in 18.6% of cases in adults and in 26% in children. The disease is also called otomycosis.
Etiology of the disease
Aspergillum is the cause of otitis development. It is a good medium for development of sugar. Some species have adapted to life without this element.
Note that the ear canal is protected by several mechanisms. It is difficult to get into viruses, bacteria, because it has local immunity.
The latter is provided by the secretion of the sebaceous glands and gray. Protective mechanisms can be reduced for various reasons, this leads to the fact that the fungi begin to multiply very quickly.
Causes of
The decrease in local immunity is due to:
- frequent presence of water in the ear,
- skin trauma,
- viral immunodeficiency.
You can get otomycosis at any age.
Some people think that to prevent the development of the disease you need to carefully care for the ears, clean them with cotton buds. The latter often cause the damage to the mucous membrane and the skin of the ear.Sometimes lead to the onset of illness:
- bathing in freshwater reservoirs,
- metabolic disorder,
- deficiency of vitamins.
Additional causes of otitis become the ingestion of an alien body, increased sweating, scratching with itching.
Symptoms of fungal otitis
Otomycosis begins with the disappearance of the fatty protective film that covers the dermis of the passage. This may be due to microtrauma or moisture disturbance. In the acute stage, discharge is observed. Their volume increases daily. In some situations, puffiness becomes so strong that there is a complete overlap in the lumen of the auditory canal. This leads to noise in the ear.
In adults
Inflammation is sometimes accompanied by lymphadenitis, spread to the parotid gland, temple, mandibular joint. Sometimes otomycosis is limited only to damage to the external ear. In patients with blood cancer or diabetes mellitus, the middle ear is often affected.
Pay attention to symptoms such as:
- itching,
- swelling,
- swelling, discharge white or brown,
- sensation of congestion in the ears,
- hearing loss.
Photo of otomycosis in a person
Signs in a child
This form of otitis is most common in young children. There is a disease on the background of catarrhal and viral diseases, as well as preterm infants, toddlers who are on artificial feeding.
In severe form, not only pain in the affected ear, a rise in temperature, but also symptoms of meningism: vomiting, tension of limbs, tipping of the head, protrusion of fontanels in children under one year. Frequent concomitant symptoms are lack of appetite, sleep disturbance, a more fluid stool appears.
Than to treat?
Treatment is never fast. Usually it takes 1-2 weeks to completely get rid of the symptoms. But to remove the pain syndrome easily regardless of when the first signs appeared. The main rule for the child and adults is to ensure free nasal breathing. If there is a runny nose, use vasoconstrictive drops of prolonged action.
Medicated
Drops and special ointments have shown themselves well. The first include "Anuaran", "Dexon".Special ointments and solutions: "Nitrofungin", "Travogen", "Microspores".Depending on the instructions and characteristics of the lesion, the dosage and the number of applications are selected.
For the treatment it is often sufficient to use local medications, for example, "Otisol".Antibacterial drugs are selected only if the disease is part of a more complex diagnosis.
Before applying the above remedies, it is necessary to clean the ear canal with cotton swabs. If the discharge is abundant, the ears are washed with a solution of furacilin. Careful toilet, the use of special drops allows a few days to remove puffiness, pain syndrome.
Folk methods
Folk methods can be part of the general therapy. There are a lot of them, each has a special effect. Sometimes people get by only in such ways. Popular are:
- Tincture of birch buds. For cooking 10 gr.for 200 ml of vodka. Week composition should stand. After the tincture is ready, she needs to wipe her ear, and a cotton swab dipped in such a solution is placed in the ear.
- Propolis tincture. She will take off the pain well. Before use, heat it slightly and put it in your ear. Then cover it with cotton.
- Sugar Smoke. You need to put a tablespoon of sugar on the tin lid. Place it on the tile. When the smoke appears, fold a sheet of paper into the tube and place it above the smoke, the other end should point toward the affected ear. The procedure takes 5 minutes.
- A good antebacterial remedy for fungal lesions is tea tree oil.
What can and can not be done
Patients are allowed:
- to clean the ears using disinfectant drops,
- to wipe the ear with soda solution,
- to take inside the antifungal medications prescribed by the doctor.
It is impossible in otomycosis:
- to warm up the ear,
- to drip funds used for other types of otitis,
- to smoke, take alcohol,
- is in large quantities sweet.
On the dangers of otomycosis, treatment and prevention of disease in our video:
Prevention
Fungal lesions often occur in people who carefully monitor hygiene. Do not clean them with deep cotton buds, as it is easy to infect. As preventive measures, the following is used:
- correctly nutrition,
- vitamin complexes,
- avoidance of water ingress into ears.
Do not abuse antibiotics and hormonal agents. Since fungal otitis develops against the background of weakened immunity, prevention is to strengthen it. For this, immunomodulators are used.