Air Embolism from Cauliflower Ear Treatment

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Hi all,

I recently (2-3 weeks ago) developed a cauliflower ear from wrestling. I attempted to drain it myself with a syringe and it did not work immediately. The first try pulled out a small amount of blood and then I went in again, but forgot to push the syringe plunger back in.

Afterwards (about 30-60 seconds) after the first attempt, I immediately felt faint and for the next hour and a half was fighting faintness and dizziness until I eventually went to sleep.

Essentially since that day I have regular spells of dizziness or faintness once, twice, or even three times a day. I generally feel light headed and fatigued. I also get random spells of irregular heart beats, sometimes racing, sometimes just off beat, and today I even felt a good tingling in my entire left part of my body. All this concerns me and I will get checked out, but I wanted to see if there was a chance of air entering in through my ear and into my blood stream, despite the fact that I was pulling out and not pushing in with the needle. Could this really be a cause after 2-3 weeks?

A lot has been going on since then (I immigrated to a new country, am completing my Masters thesis, looking for work, learning new languages, etc...) that stresses me out greatly, so I know that these are possible factors but I wanted to know what were the chances of an embolism somewhere in my body.

Could stress be the cause? I also suffered a concussion a couple of months ago and never took the time I was told to rest.

Yes, I know - I am a bad patient.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

You need to see your primary care provider or if the situation warrants, an ER. We cannot diagnose an issue over an anonymous internet message board, nor is it wise for you to do so as you cannot truly verify that those responding are health care professionals.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

We cannot assist you. As per the site Terms of Service that were agreed to when signing up you agreed to not seek medical advice.

Please seek assistance from your medical provider. Thread closed.

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