Otitis externa is a health condition that causes swelling and redness of the external canal-the tube between the eardrum and the outer ear. This condition affects between 1 and 3 percent of people per year, 95 percent of which are acute cases. About 10 percent of people develop the condition at some point in their lives. The risk factors for the development of otitis externa include infections that are present in polluted water and cotton swabs and other small objects to clean the ear. The water that remains in the ear creates a moist environment that provides an atmosphere for the growth of fungi or bacteria.

The infection of the skin begins in the external auditory canal (EAC). It then proceeds to cellulitis, chondritis, osteitis, and osteomyelitis. Depending on the cause, it may spread to the osseous auditory canal and skull base through fissures of Santorini. Otitis externa affects the external auditory canal, which is the part through which sound waves travel to reach the tympanic membrane. Prolonged exposure to water, cotton buds, or blockage can disrupt the external auditory canal’s protective mechanisms, causing inflammation and overgrowth. Moisture in the ear makes the skin erythematous, tender, warm, and swollen.  Symptoms include edness in the outer ear, pain, warmth, hearing loss, itching, tenderness, fever, and tinnitus.

The first-line treatment therapies include Neomycin/polymyxin B/hydrocortisone. Patients with an uncomplicated case of otitis externa should be treated with ear drops because they are delivered right to the area of infection. Oral antibiotics do not reach the area of infection. Patients who have an allergy to the first-line treatment should consider the homemade cure. A homemade cure is a solution that contains half rubbing alcohol and half vinegar. The second-line treatment includes a High-dose of oral amoxicillin-clavulanate and Oral cefuroxime axetil 250 mg taken twice in a day