The ear itches, has water and smells bad, you need to know the reason

The ears are itchy and there is water and it smells bad. This is something we may encounter occasionally. Especially when the ears are inflamed, it is more likely to cause discharge, which is very distressing. So what is the reason for the itchy, watery and smelly ears? Let me explain them to you one by one today. If you are interested, come and have a look.

1. Fatty otorrhea

Due to excessive secretion of the cerumen glands in the external auditory canal, the wax is mostly yellowish brown or light yellow, sticky and oily, generally without odor, commonly known as oily ears.

2. Purulent otorrhea

It is a manifestation of suppurative inflammation, common in acute and chronic suppurative otitis media, otitis externa, furunculosis, etc. In addition, rare cases of suppurative mumps, suppurative cervical lymphadenitis, etc. may also cause purulent otorrhea when the tube ruptures into the external auditory canal. If the pus is not large but has a foul odor, the possibility of cholesteatoma should be considered.

3. Bloody otorrhea

This condition is mostly caused by trauma, but it may also be caused by ear trauma and otitis media. Hemangioma and middle ear cancer can also cause this symptom.

Especially in the case of middle ear cancer, if there is blood in the pus, the pus has a foul odor, or there is severe ear pain or headache, it is a bad sign. Suspicious tissues in the external auditory canal or middle ear should be taken for pathological examination to determine the diagnosis and treatment measures.

4. Watery otorrhea

It often occurs in craniocerebral trauma with skull base fracture and tympanic membrane rupture, with clear water-like liquid slowly flowing out of the external auditory canal, often mixed with blood. This is a characteristic of cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea, which requires special attention because it may cause meningitis.

5. Serum otorrhea

The pale yellow, transparent, thin liquid is mostly secretion from the serous glands of the middle ear mucosa or serum leaked from the blood vessels. It can be seen in the early aspiration fluid of secretory otitis media and the overflow after tympanostomy tube placement, or in the recovery period of otitis media. If the amount of liquid of this nature is large and it overflows continuously, it is mostly allergic otitis media.