Otitis externa risk factors
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Risk Factors
Swimming in polluted water is a common way to contract swimmer's ear, but it is also possible to contract swimmer's ear from water trapped in the ear canal after a shower, especially in a humid climate.[1] Saturation divers have reported otitis externa during occupational exposure.[2][3][4] Even without exposure to water, the use of objects such as cotton swabs or other small objects to clear the ear canal is enough to cause breaks in the skin, and allow the condition to develop.[5] Once the skin of the ear canal is inflamed, external otitis can be drastically enhanced by either scratching the ear canal with an object, or by allowing water to remain in the ear canal for any prolonged length of time.
Impaction of cerumen that abuts up against the delicate skin of the bony canal, or attempts to remove the impacted wax, can also be the initial event. Other inciting factors can be foreign bodies or cysts that develop in the skin near or just inside the canal opening.
The S-shape of the ear canal, the presence of hair in the outer part, and the outward migration of skin all combine to help shed water from the ear canal and keep shed skin from building up within the canal, as well as to keep water from pooling in the innermost canal. In some minor malformations of the ear canal or auricle, the size and shape of the canal may predispose allowing water that enters the ear to remain, or to inhibit the normal shedding of superficial skin and cerumen from the ear canal. In such cases, the individual may have a predisposition to recurrent external otitis.
References
- ↑ Wang MC, Liu CY, Shiao AS, Wang T (2005). "Ear problems in swimmers". J Chin Med Assoc. 68 (8): 347–52. PMID 16138712. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Cobet AB, Wright DN, Warren PI (1970). "Tektite-I program: bacteriological aspects". Aerosp Med. 41 (6): 611–6. PMID 4392833. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Ahlén C, Mandal LH, Iversen OJ (1998). "Identification of infectious Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains in an occupational saturation diving environment". Occup Environ Med. 55 (7): 480–4. PMC 1757612. PMID 9816382. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Thalmann, ED (1974). "A Prophylactic Program for the Prevention of Otitis Externa in Saturation Divers". US Naval Experimental Diving Unit Technical Report. NEDU-RR-10-74. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ↑ Zichichi L, Asta G, Noto G (2000). "Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis after shower/bath exposure". Int. J. Dermatol. 39 (4): 270–3. PMID 10809975. Retrieved 2008-07-22. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help)