After the baby was born, parents always didn’t see enough of the baby. After the baby slept and took a bath, they wanted to check every corner carefully.
Perhaps many parents will find that many babies have a small hole beside their ears, and sometimes there will be liquid flowing out, which smells smelly. Is this what? Does it matter?
Today, Dr. Clove will tell you about this [mysterious hole].
Is the hole beside the ear what?
Folklore in some places believes that the small hole in the ear is a sign of good luck, so it is called “ear bin”.
In fact, in medicine, this is a common congenital external ear malformation, called congenital preauricular fistula.
Most of the small holes of the preauricular fistula are open in front of the ear, and a few are open in the posterior upper edge of the helix, tragus and earlobe. The depth and length of the fistula vary. Almost all the fistulas are connected with the perichondrium of the auricular cartilage.
At present, it is believed that the occurrence of preauricular fistula is related to heredity. The incidence rate of congenital preauricular fistula in China is 1.2%, most of which are unilateral.
Does this hole matter?
Most preauricular fistula babies are generally asymptomatic. When pressed, there can be a little thin mucus or milky white sebum-like overflow, local pruritus and discomfort, and local and surrounding tissues of fistula after infection can be red, swollen, painful and abscess. If the baby is young, infection can be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever.
Don’t do this if you find a small hole in your baby’s ear.
1. Avoid extrusion, keep local clean and avoid infection;
2. Do not poke small holes with foreign bodies. After infection, do not pick out abscess by yourself.
3. When washing your face, clean the front and back of your ears with clear water. After washing, wipe the surrounding water clean with cotton swabs, but don’t use too much force.
What should I do if I am accidentally infected?
Most scholars believe that preauricular fistula does not need treatment when it is asymptomatic, and surgical treatment is required once infection occurs. Complete removal of fistula is the only effective way to prevent recurrence.
At present, the treatment method for preauricular fistula is:
1. In case of acute infection or skin ulceration caused by infection, antibiotics should be used to control inflammatory reaction before surgery;
2. For local abscess formation, incision and drainage should be carried out first, and surgery should be carried out after inflammatory reaction is controlled.
3. General dressing change method: local debridement and dressing change until recovery.
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