Ear Bleeding Due To Deep Cleaning Using Cotton Swab. Punctured Ear Drum?

Posted on Fri, 25 Oct 2013

Question: My daughter (age 17) was cleaning her ear with a cotton swab and she got too deep and now her ear is bleeding and hurting? Should she see a doctor? Could she have punctured her ear drum?

Answered by Dr. E Venkata Ramana (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Chance of puncture of ear drum.Consult the doctor

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for your query on Healthcare Magic.

Bleeding and pain after putting a cotton swab into her ear is suggestive of injury to her ear drum.

There is a chance of her ear drum getting punctured because of putting the swab deep inside her ear.

Dont put anything into that ear until you see the doctor. For pain relief you can give her paracetamol or ibuprofen in prescribed dose with food.

I suggest you to consult the doctor for for direct examination of her ear to find out the type of injury and to advise further management.

Hope I have answered your query, if you have any clarification please let me know.

Regards.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar