Peeling earlobes in an adult. Peeling skin in the ear: the main causes and methods of treatment

22.04.2020 -

In most cases, skin problems arise due to the banal neglect of the rules of personal hygiene. Few people know that the ears are a very sensitive organ that needs daily care and preventive actions in order to avoid various ailments. Now, for sure, everyone wanted to pick up cotton buds and remove all the sulfur accumulated during the day.

However, there is a paradox : too frequent use of cotton swabs threatens with the formation of ear plugs. Sometimes even those who observe personal hygiene get annoying itching and constantly peeling skin in the ears. What is the reason?

The reasons why the epidermis in the auricles peel off can be very diverse. Among the most likely:

increased;
lack of vitamins;
fungal infections;
failure to comply with basic hygiene;
boils;
eczema;
malnutrition or diabetes;
(in most cases accompanied by peeling behind the ears);
large accumulations of sulfur;
genetic features;
age factor (in elderly people there is an increased tendency to pathologies of the epidermis);
stress and nervous breakdowns.

The epidermis can peel off behind the ear, inside the auricle, and also on the lobe. If you have flaky skin in your ears, you should immediately contact a medical institution.

Sometimes lichen develops behind the ear, and its carriers are pets such as dogs and cats. Therefore, your own treatment should be combined with the treatment of your little friend.

Allergy

The manifestation begins with redness and itching. Contact with the irritant should be quickly limited, otherwise the upper part of the epidermis will begin to exfoliate.

The causative agent of an allergic reaction is often chemicals for hair, earrings or eyeglasses.

You can cope with the problem with the help of antihistamine ointments, which eliminate itching and make the skin soft.

With a pronounced reaction, a hypoallergenic diet and a course of taking special medications are prescribed.

Furuncle

This is an acute inflammation of the purulent-necrotic type, which is caused by pyogenic bacteria. The cause of the disease is most often non-compliance with personal hygiene, as well as impaired metabolism, poor nutrition and skin problems.

In the initial stages, the process is accompanied by redness in the ears or directly in the ear. Further, swelling and acute pain appear, when touched, it intensifies.

You can get rid of the boil with the help of drugs or by surgical intervention. Then it is necessary to undergo antibiotic therapy for a long time.

Otitis

This is a disease that is the development of an inflammatory process in the ear cavity. Otitis media often occurs in children or people with weakened immune systems. If you do not go to the hospital in time, you can not only cause serious illness, but also completely lose your hearing. Symptoms of otitis media:

significant itching inside the ear;
hearing loss;
feeling of a "plug".

The development of otitis is accompanied by the formation of purulent masses, the appearance of pain, as a result of which dermatitis may appear: the skin will itch unbearably, peeling of the ear will occur. It is necessary to treat inflammation in children and adults under the strict supervision of a doctor.

At the initial stages, boric acid is used, at the final stages - antibiotics, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Fungus

Often, peeling of the skin in the auricle is caused by a fungal infection. You can get infected with harmful bacteria through earplugs, headphones and hearing aids of strangers.

Signs of a fungal infection:

noise in ears;
cork formation;
the presence of secretions;
the ear itches and flakes;
headache.

Treatment consists in the use of special medicines, the affected area is covered with therapeutic ointments.

Eczema

The disease has a chronic and acute form. The duration of the last one is on average 3 weeks. During this time, the top layer of the skin is damaged. With properly selected methods of treatment, the occurrence of relapses is unlikely. Sometimes an infection can get into the healed tissue or the disease will continue to develop, which will weaken the immune system, and give impetus to the onset of a chronic form.

Symptoms:

the skin turns red;
in the area of redness there is severe itching;
the appearance of a rash with vesicles, subsequently they become covered with a crust.

External and internal crusts can be removed with oil mixtures. The affected areas are treated with alcohol or ether, sometimes aerosols containing oxycort are prescribed.

If the surface of the skin is not wet, treatment with all kinds of anti-inflammatory ointments is supplemented with drugs that constrict blood vessels and have an antifungal purpose.

Treatment for dandruff in the ears

The ears can flake due to dandruff, often accompanied by intense redness and intolerable itching. Dandruff occurs due to stress and unhealthy diet. The treatment is as follows: first you need to establish your own diet, and then drink herbal teas to normalize the nervous system. Experts recommend creating a daily routine and trying to stick to it as much as possible to reduce stress levels.

Sometimes the surface of the ears peels and cracks due to metabolic problems. The skin can peel off due to its features, for example, too intense secretion of sebum.

It is necessary to choose the right shampoo, which will not only remove excess fat, but also have a beneficial effect on the epidermis. If the surface, on the contrary, is dry, it must be systematically moistened.

How to get rid of ear dandruff on your own?

To combat seborrhea, it is not at all necessary to undergo clinical treatment; you can cope with the disease on your own, using traditional medicine. To do this, you need to periodically prepare homemade masks, as well as make compresses with vegetable oil and chamomile tincture.

To cope with seborrhea, you need to insert a cotton swab moistened with sunflower or olive oil into the ear canal three times a day. Keep such a compress should be no more than 15 minutes. After this time, you can remove the swab, the remnants of softened skin are removed with a clean cloth.
Add 1 tablespoon of chamomile flowers and pour 100 ml of boiling water. The resulting solution should be infused for about 25 minutes, after which it must be carefully filtered and a few drops of vegetable oil added. Moisten a swab with the mixture and insert into the ear canals. Repeat the procedure 3 times a day for a week.

To cure a more serious disease, for example, one that has an infectious origin, hormone therapy should be used under the strict supervision of a specialist. It would be advisable to use various ointments containing salicylic acid, sulfur or tar.

When dandruff appears behind the ear and in the auricle, it is necessary to use preparations with zinc, ketonazole and selenium disulfide, which kill the fungus. The specialist should prescribe individual methods of treatment, based on the disease and skin characteristics.

In addition to the use of drugs and folk methods for a quick recovery, hygiene should be observed and dry skin should be systematically removed. It is forbidden to wipe your ears with alcohol, use cotton swabs every day and clean the sulfur with foreign objects.

Attention! Treatment can only be carried out under the supervision of a doctor, therefore, before using traditional medicine, it is necessary to consult a specialist, otherwise you can seriously damage the eardrum and even lose your hearing.

Ear dandruff is a very unpleasant, but easy-to-treat disease, subject to all the rules and recommendations.

There are a lot of reasons why the skin in the ears peels off. At the first manifestations of the disease, appropriate measures should be taken, namely, consult a specialist, since sometimes self-medication can bring more trouble than the disease itself.

The process of peeling in the ears is quite unpleasant. This is due not only to the external unaesthetic side of the exfoliation of skin particles, but also to sensations of itching, discomfort, and sometimes pain.

As a rule, people do not go to the doctor with such a problem, considering it insignificant, but peeling can be one of the signs of an unpleasant and dangerous disease, which then begins to develop and lead to unpleasant consequences. It is even more dangerous to self-medicate until the causes of this condition are determined.

Causes of peeling in the ear can be very different. It is quite difficult to determine them on your own without the help of a doctor. It can be either a serious inflammatory disease, or an allergy to shampoo and improper care.

To determine why the ears are peeling inside, you need to contact an ENT doctor. It is impossible to independently examine the condition of the auricle.

In addition to peeling, there may be other warning signs that should not be ignored.

The causes of this unpleasant symptom can be physiological or pathological. If you experience pain in the ear, you should immediately contact a specialist.

Possible reasons:

. An allergic reaction manifests itself in the form of peeling, itching, redness. Usually it does not only appear in the ears and can be caused by shampoo or other product that has got inside the ear. When an allergic reaction occurs, they speak of allergic dermatitis. Most often, dermatitis occurs when it comes into contact with metal (when wearing jewelry), but in this case, the skin will peel off on the outer part of the auricle.
Fungus. Fungal diseases of the ear are quite common. The fungus can occur as a result of too active cleaning of the ears or by contact when using other people's headphones. Symptoms may begin with flaking and itching only, followed by tinnitus, a feeling of fullness, and white or yellow discharge from the ear. With fungal infections, you should not try to clean the ear with a cotton swab, this will lead to even more inflammation.
. Otitis media is called inflammation of the middle ear. It usually begins with fever and pain in the ear and head. Peeling does not always appear, but with a prolonged course of otitis media, allergic reactions and irritation can occur, which causes peeling of skin particles in the ear canal.
Furuncle in the ear. A furuncle is an inflammatory, often purulent formation under the skin, in the hair follicle or sebaceous gland. The furuncle in the ear begins with peeling, redness and itching, and then a dense and painful tubercle begins to form at the site of inflammation.
Eczema. Eczema is one of the manifestations of allergies. It is accompanied by peeling, thickening of the skin, sometimes itching, rash. Eczema responds quickly to treatment if started early. Local preparations are usually sufficient.

Peeling ear treatment

Treatment of ear peeling can only be started after the cause of the peeling has been established. Usually, treatment is aimed at eliminating both unpleasant symptoms and the root cause itself.

You can not start treatment on your own before the examination and drip any drops available at home into the ear. It is also dangerous to use folk remedies such as decoctions of herbs and natural juices. They can be not only ineffective, but also increase the allergic reaction, lead to burns.

Symptom treatment:

Antibiotics. Antibiotics are prescribed for a bacterial infection, with purulent discharge from the ear,. They may be local or general. In case of a serious infection, oral antibiotics are combined with the use of topical agents. The most famous antibiotic ear drops are Anauran, Otofa, Otinum. They have a complex effect: they relieve itching, anesthetize and act on pathogenic bacteria. The drugs have contraindications and age restrictions, so it is advisable to consult a doctor before using them.
Antihistamines. Antiallergic drugs are prescribed for allergies, dermatitis, eczema. They are usually prescribed in tablets. These drugs block the receptors that respond to the stimulus, relieve all the symptoms of an allergic reaction. These drugs include Zodak, Cetirizine, Loratadine, Tavegil, Suprastin, etc. The drugs differ in composition and have contraindications. In the treatment of eczema, it is also necessary to adhere to a diet.
Antifungal local agents. In the event of a fungal infection, topical preparations are usually used. Medications are prescribed depending on the type of fungus: mold, yeast, pathogenic. Usually, agents such as Terbinafil, Nitrofungin are recommended. For severe infections, oral medications such as fluconazole are recommended.
Surgery. Surgical treatment usually requires only boils. If the drugs do not help, the boil increases in size, matures and does not break through, it is opened with a scalpel after local anesthesia, and then treated with anti-inflammatory drugs and a course of antibiotics is prescribed to prevent complications.

Possible complications of the symptom

Ignoring the symptom increases the risk of serious complications!

Complications can occur not only in the absence of treatment, but also with improper treatment. The severity of complications depends on the disease that caused the peeling process in the ear.

Even ordinary dermatitis can lead to undesirable consequences if it is started:

deep mycosis. Otomycosis (fungal infection of the ear) in severe cases can lead to deep mycosis. This is a dangerous disease when the fungus begins to penetrate the body, affecting organs and tissues. It is very difficult to cure this disease, it is often accompanied by relapses throughout life. The fungus can affect the mucous membranes of the mouth, genitals, upper respiratory tract, liver, and lymph nodes. Usually, mycosis stops, but can be fatal in immunocompromised people, such as those infected with HIV.
Sepsis. Otogenic sepsis leads to the penetration of infection into the blood and its spread throughout the body. Sepsis is severe, accompanied by high fever, fever, profuse sweating, dehydration, and a drop in blood pressure. When the meninges are damaged, meningitis develops.
Otoanthritis. This complication usually occurs in young infants, when inflammation from the middle ear passes to the mastoid process. The disease can proceed in a latent form or be accompanied by characteristic signs: fever, pain in the ear, active discharge of pus, and pus accumulates very quickly after its removal.
. Inflammatory processes, procedures, improper hygiene lead to damage to the eardrum. As a result of perforation of the membrane, the function of hearing is impaired, unpleasant sensations, pain occur. In case of perforation, drops should not be instilled into the ear, as they can fall on the auditory nerve, which leads to serious hearing impairment.
Destruction of the auditory ossicles. The destruction of the auditory ossicles begins with prolonged and severe inflammatory diseases of the ear. With this disease, hearing loss can be significant and quite long, and there is also severe pain in the ear, feeling, noise, dizziness.

Prevention of peeling of the ears

Various ear diseases can be avoided if you follow simple rules. Even healthy ears need proper care. Ear diseases are much easier to prevent than to treat.

Preventive actions:

You need to clean your ears properly. Many strive to clean their ears of sulfur as often and efficiently as possible, thinking that it is she who is the key to illness. But the body cleans the ear passages from sulfur on its own. It is excreted by chewing and talking. You need to clean only the outer part of the ear canal, but in no case should the wand penetrate deep into the ear. This can lead to injury and complications.
Hearing aid wearers should clean their hearing aids regularly and use special ear rinsing drops. These people are especially prone to developing dermatitis and inflammation in the ear.
Swimmers and people who regularly visit the pool should protect their ears from water (which also contains chlorine). There is a special hat for this. After the pool, the ears should be washed with a solution of sea water.
When bathing small children up to a year, you need to make sure that water does not flow into the ears. For this, cotton swabs are used, which are inserted during bathing. If a child needs to clean their ears, it is better to use special children's cotton buds with a limiter.
Ears need to be protected not only from water, but also from cold air. Walking in winter and in windy weather without a hat is highly discouraged. This is dangerous not only with otitis media, but also with other inflammatory infectious diseases.
A good prevention of ear diseases is the timely treatment of colds. ARVI, influenza and other infections often lead to otitis media with a long chronic course.

Dry skin on the earlobe

Peeling ear

Shampoo, hair dye, styling foam and other cosmetic products often cause allergies, which are accompanied by redness and itching of the skin. If contact with the allergen is prolonged, the upper layer of the affected epidermis exfoliates.

Another reason why the earlobe flakes and itches is eczema. These are the first signs of the disease. Then a rash, cracks on the skin, crusts appear. With timely treatment, eczema disappears, if measures are not taken for too long, it degenerates into a chronic form.

The fungus also provokes discomfort, causing itching and flaking of the skin. The infection is accompanied by other symptoms:

Discharge from the ears

feeling that the ear canal is blocked;

Rapid formation of sulfur plug.

The most innocuous cause of peeling earlobes is earrings, which often cause skin irritation. If hygiene is not observed and regular cleaning of jewelry is neglected, itching, darkening and flaking of the skin occur.

What to do if the earlobes are peeling

The solution to the problem depends on its cause. Therefore, before proceeding with the treatment of the earlobe, it is necessary to identify the "provocateur". And it is better to do this not on your own, but with a doctor. What measures are taken then?

1. In case of allergy, skin contact with the allergen is excluded. With severe itching, antihistamines and ointments are taken - "Fenistil", "Suprastin", "Locoid".

2. Eczema and fungus are detected during a thorough examination in the clinic. Treatment is selected to the patient individually and includes ointments with antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

3. If earrings or other items in contact with the skin (headphones, hearing aid, etc.) are the cause of peeling, hygienic treatment of products is required. They need to be cleaned of contaminants and treated with an alcohol solution. Until the discomfort passes, you should not return to using these things.

When the ears are itchy and the skin is flaky, you need to see a doctor, as these symptoms may indicate an infection. However, in most cases, these phenomena are just the result of poor hygiene. Many, carefully caring for their face and hair, forget about this part of the body. To get rid of discomfort, you just need to wash them more often, and then lubricate them with a low-fat cream.

Causes of discomfort

It is worth noting that the reasons may be hidden in excessive hygiene. Cotton swabs used to clean the ear canal can scratch and chafe unprotected gray skin.

A high probability of injury in people using matches, knitting needles and other inappropriate items.

The scratches that form during the healing process itch, respectively, the person is again disturbed by the wound, which increases the risk of infection.

If you do not take into account insufficient or excessive hygiene, then there are four causes of peeling ears:

Local allergic reactions;
Skin diseases, including allergic dermatoses, eczema;
Fungal lesions (otomycosis);
Inflammatory processes in the outer ear - otitis media, purulent inflammation at the site of injury, pimple or boil.

This condition can be a manifestation of systemic diseases accompanied by the production of toxins, such as diabetes, pathologies of the liver and excretory systems.

Why the skin itches and flakes in the ears: local allergies

A negative reaction from the body begins with redness, burning, itching. If contact with an irritant is not excluded, the upper layer of the epidermis is exfoliated.

The cause may be hair dye, gel, shampoo and other hair care products.
Allergies in the ears can occur when in contact with earrings, headphones, metal temples of glasses.

You can normalize the condition with the exclusion of an irritant, for example, an object and aggressive chemistry. Otherwise, a complication occurs - eczema or dermatitis of the outer ear.

Treatment consists in local antiallergic therapy - antihistamine ointments and creams are prescribed (pr. Fenistil), which eliminate itching and soften the skin. A severe allergic reaction requires a hypoallergenic diet, oral antihistamines (pr. Loratadin, Suprastin) and local treatment with ointments (Lokoid, Advantan).

Why do the ears peel off inside and out

Otitis

Infection can be triggered by water entering the ear canals, hypothermia, and damage to the skin.

Signs of developing otitis:

Itching in the depths of the ear, a slight hearing loss, a feeling of "plug".
The progression of the disease leads to the appearance of pain, the release of purulent masses, which in turn leads to dermatitis: the skin begins to itch, the ears peel off as a result of irritation.

It is necessary to treat inflammatory processes only under the supervision of a specialist. With a mild course, solutions of boric acid are used, a complex one requires taking antibiotics inside ("Amoxiclav", "Nitrofural"), anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agents externally. Sometimes physiotherapy procedures are prescribed, for example, UHF and UVI.

furuncle

Damaged skin is prone to inflammation. If infection occurs at the same time, a furuncle is formed - an acute inflammation of the hair follicle, subcutaneous tissue and sebaceous glands. The beginning of the pathological process is accompanied by itching of the skin, redness of the affected area, for example, behind the ears or directly in them. Hearing does not worsen, but there is swelling and pain, which is aggravated by touch, chewing, pulling the auricle.

If external otitis, as a rule, is easily amenable to conservative treatment, then in the case of a boil, surgical intervention is necessary. After that, there is a need for antibiotic therapy for a long period of time.

Dermatitis and eczema

The causes of peeling and irritation of the skin in the ears can be hidden in these diseases, which occur as a result of allergic reactions, due to mechanical irritation of the skin (eg construction dust), under the influence of secretions during the inflammatory process, in case of weakened immunity and in chronic pathologies that violate metabolism.

Dermatitis

The atopic form is characterized by itching around the ear canal, in the sink, on the scalp. The skin turns red, vesicles with serous contents appear on it.

After opening the latter, peeling and the formation of weeping, and then dry crusts occur. The contact form of the disease manifests itself in a similar way, but edema, as a rule, occurs only at the point of contact with the irritant.

Itching in adults and children is stopped with the help of antihistamines for internal and external use (tablets, ointments), anti-inflammatory drops are prescribed "pr. "Sofradex", "Otipaks"). It is also necessary to use emollient creams or drying ointments, depending on the condition of the flaky crusts.

eczema

The disease can occur in acute or chronic form. Acute process lasts about 3 weeks. At this time, the upper layers of the skin are affected. With adequate treatment, eczema is not prone to relapse. Otherwise, an infection gets into the healing tissue or the disease continues, weakening the immune system and acquiring a chronic form.

The first symptoms of eczema are redness and thickening of the skin of the ears, itching, which is aggravated by scratching. Then a rash occurs. In place of bursting bubbles, crusts form, cracks peel off from combing.

The doctor conducts a thorough examination to distinguish eczema from a fungal infection. Crusts inside and out are disposed of with oil solutions. When wet, the affected areas are treated with ether or alcohol, aerosols with oxycort are used.

If the peeling is dry, treatment is prescribed with anti-inflammatory ointments, which in addition have a vasoconstrictive and antifungal effect. Such funds should include in their composition and antibacterial substances. When the ears are very itchy, topical agents are used. The course of treatment lasts about a month and must be completed, even if the symptoms have completely disappeared. This is necessary to prevent relapses and the transition to a chronic form.

fungus

Peeling can be caused by a fungal infection. This happens when immunity is reduced and favorable conditions are created for the active reproduction of harmful microorganisms, which, by the way, are constantly present on human skin. It is also possible to disturb the normal microflora with excessive hygiene, when not only the ears are treated with water, but also the ear canals directly. You can get infected through other people's headphones, hearing aids, earplugs.

Symptoms of a fungal infection:

Headache;
Itchy and flaky skin;
The formation of sulfuric plug or the sensation of a foreign body;
Allocations of a different nature and color, depending on the type of pathogen.

The ears, as a rule, itch and flake as a result of infection with a fungus of the genus Aspergillus or Candida, sometimes an infection is added to them, for example, Staphylococcus aureus. Treatment of all parts of the body with a fungal infection is the same.

Peeling is a natural process of desquamation of the dead epidermis located on the surface of the skin. Normally, the process goes unnoticed - keratinized scales are washed off while bathing and wiping with a towel. However, peeling of the ears can sometimes develop.

Peeling in the ears

Excessive peeling indicates overdrying of the skin or rapid division of epithelial cells, when keratinized scales do not have time to peel off. Damage to the skin of the ear canal due to mechanical, chemical irritation, inflammatory processes or can lead to this pathology.

If peeling develops for the first time, then a doctor's consultation will be required. Only according to the results of complex diagnostics, it is possible to accurately determine the cause of the pathology and prescribe effective therapy. The appearance of unpleasant symptoms should not be ignored, because some ear diseases can lead to dangerous consequences.

Causes

There are the following factors that provoke the development of skin peeling:

Increased dryness of the skin in the ear, which is an individual feature of a person;
Unbalanced diet;
Development of furunculosis;
Violation of hygiene rules;
Diabetes;
Frequent cleansing of the skin, which provokes dryness;
and nutrients in insufficient quantities;
fungal infection;
Development of eczema;
Allergy. In this case, the skin behind the ears also peels off;
Excessive formation of sulfur;
advanced age of patients;
skin in the ear;
genetic predisposition;
Frequent stressful situations.

It is worth considering in more detail the main causes of peeling ears.

About the causes of itching and peeling in the ears in our video:

Inflammation

In most cases, the ears begin to peel off against the background of inflammatory processes. can lead to damage to the external and internal sections. The following diseases are distinguished:

Peeling with otitis externa or dandruff in the ear canal

Otitis

Inflammation in adults can also develop as a result of an infectious process caused by staphylococci. The disease often provokes the development of the following symptoms:

peeling of the ears;
The appearance of sensation;
Development . The pain usually comes on suddenly, but can be constant and debilitating;
Appearance.