[ad_1]
A man in England swore to wash his ears with a cotton swab after developing a life-threatening infection that not only affected his hearing, but also spread to the brain wall and caused neurological symptoms, according to a new report from his case. .
The problems of the 31-year-old man began when the tip of a cotton swab got stuck in his ear canal, although he told the doctors that "there is no reason to worry about it. he did not know exactly how or when it happened.
A little cotton in the ear may seem harmless, but in this case it has wreaked havoc. [27 Oddest Medical Case Reports]
The man developed a serious bacterial infection that started in his ear canal, then in the bone located at the base of the skull, then in the inner lining of his brain, the meninges, said Dr. Alexander Charlton, lead author of the book, team of ear, nose and throat specialists involved in the treatment of the patient at the Coventry University Hospital in England.
Although the infection did not enter the human brain – it did not progress beyond the mucosa – it clearly caused neurological symptoms. The man was rushed to the emergency room after having an epileptic seizure and collapsed, according to the case report.
Charlton told Live Science that he suspected that it was the toxins from the bacterial infection or the pressure exerted on the brain by the infection that had triggered the seizure.
Cotton tip found
The symptoms of the man, however, began long before his crisis, according to the report. Before the seizure, he had felt a pain and a left ear discharge for about 10 days and had had headaches on the left side of his head so severe that they had done so to throw up. In addition, he had begun to have trouble remembering people's names.
But the problems in the ear of man were not new; he told the doctors that he had had a bad ear in the left ear and had lost hearing in the last five years and that he had been treated twice for severe otitis media. same side.
When he arrived at the hospital, the doctors gave him a CT scan to examine his brain. the images showed two abscesses, or inflamed areas filled with pus, in the bones located at the base of the skull, adjacent to the canal of the left ear. This indicated to the doctors that, although the infection may have begun inside the ear canal, it had spread beyond this area.
In humans, "necrotizing external otitis" or soft tissue infection of the external auditory canal has been diagnosed. (The external auditory canal is the part of the ear canal located between the outside of the ear and the eardrum.)
The doctors of the human made a small operation to explore his ear canal. during this operation, they found and removed the cotton swab tip that had disappeared. The tampon was touched and surrounded by wax and debris, suggesting that he had been there for some time, said Charlton, adding that he had probably contributed to recurring ear infections during years, culminating particularly in a particularly severe episode.
The man spent nearly a week in the hospital and needed two months of intravenous and oral antibiotics to treat the infection, but he had no hearing or long-term thinking problems. term.
And, unsurprisingly, he was advised never to use cotton swabs in the ears again. "They can only cause problems," said Charlton, pointing out that cotton swabs have been associated with ear infections, perforated eardrums and impacted ear wax.
The case was published online March 6 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
Originally posted on Live Science.
[ad_2]
Source link