I’m developing cauliflower ear on the concha of my right ear. It started out pea size and not noticeable a couple of weeks ago but between last night and this morning it appears to have grown. I plan on aspirating it some time today but have a few questions.
Can one just buy syringes OTC or is a prescription required?
Does anyone have advice on how to apply pressure specifically to the concha to prevent reaccumulation of fluid?
You gotta make a X so it drains rather than just heals up . and I don’t think it really helps that much. Maybe some others will chime in with better advice. And don’t get a infection. Betadine and let it dry for 1 minute before doing anything.
CR,
IMHO. If you have medical insurance or the money to do so, please consider having it done professionaly. True story: Baghdad, Iraq (2007), an informal class of MT, Boxing, and JJ, just a bunch of guys getting together to work out. One guy drained his own ear, failed to properly care for the cut, developed a nasty case of MRSA. Eventually had to be flown to Germany for intensive care.
He never recovered, dead at 24. Its not worth it. As you know from training, MRSA is always a threat on mats, floor,rings, and equipment. If you do decide to self medicate, I would not go to the gym until it has completely healed.
I had it done a bunch of times- it did help.
and its pretty tender after.
You can do it yourself- but really see a professional
I have seen Dr’s sew pieces of rubber or foam into peoples ear to help it keep some shape
one more reason to see a professional
I will confess to using paper towels and binder clips to do the same.
I wore head gear all the time- in training no matter how bad people teased me.
My left ear is like 95% clean- my right ear was worse a dog bit it and I had to go to ER.
luckily the ER had a plastic surgeon there who in the process of sewing it shut ( read reattaching it)
scraped out a ton of shit and put in many many stitches and now the right ear looks better then ever
Only the lower ear I guess what you call the Helix and the Antitragus on the lower ear are still hard as fuck
[quote]CroatianRage wrote:
I’m developing cauliflower ear on the concha of my right ear. It started out pea size and not noticeable a couple of weeks ago but between last night and this morning it appears to have grown. I plan on aspirating it some time today but have a few questions.
Can one just buy syringes OTC or is a prescription required?
Does anyone have advice on how to apply pressure specifically to the concha to prevent reaccumulation of fluid?
[/quote]
Location is going to dictate the availability of syringes, packing material, wash, ect.
I am glad you have already been advised to seek out qualified medical care. Do It Yourself is not going to do you any favors here. Complications can quickly get expensive to fix, or even life threatening. Really, go see a doctor. If insurance, or simply high deductible, is an issue call the local doc in a box/immediate care centers and ask if they offer the service and find out what the cash/credit card rate is.
If you have a high deductible plan the provider has to charge a certain rate because your insurance carrier has contractually obligated them to. However a “cash at time of service” discount is possible if you do not volunteer that you are covered. These can often be very, very reasonable because the provider doesn’t have to cover the billing overhead that is usually in excess of the time spent actually treating the patient.
In any event, get actual medical treatment. Even if it just saves you scar tissue, that scar tissue translates into increased risk of future “cauliflower ear” so it is still money well spent.
Regards,
Robert A
I read an article in Sports Illustrated years ago about high school wrestlers, maybe in Iowa or something. They punched themselves in the ear 100 times before bed every night so they would develop cauliflower ear and look like more extreme wrestlers.
Checking back in. I took the advice here, and a little elsewhere, and decided not to drain my ear. The nodule is probably 95+% gone and I anticipate it will be all the way gone by Monday. Had an old teammate come in and his entire ear looks like chewed bubble gum. Turns out he drained it daily and continued training and gravity decided to take his whole ear. Thanks for the heads up everyone.
Yeah, it fucking sucked. After training all day, being beat up tired, tense, and hungry it got really tedious going home to stab myself in the ear repeatedly. I eventually gave up on the process and now have them as a permanent feature.