Can you break your ear? Should I take her - to the ped???

kit_kats_mom wrote: I'm not positive what exactly happened but K "bonked her ear on the wall" and within seconds she was screaming bloody murder. I thought there was a smudge on her ear but when I took the ice patch off, it's deepened and it's a black bruise. Plus, it looks a little swollen and blistery in that area. Is there anything a doc can do? I probably won't take her in but man, this is just about the wierdest thing I've ever seen.

kit_kats_mom replied: second pic

and totally off topic but is it just me or does she have elf ears?

Kentuckychick replied: OUCH! That looks incredibly painful

Luckily that part of the ear doesn't have any bones (just cartilage) so though the bruise looks awful and I'm sure does hurt, it's not serious. You may want to call your ped. to see if they advise icing it or not (I know I wasn't supposed to ice mine when they bruised from having them pierced but that could be for other reasons).

Hopefully it will go away in a few days and be good as new.

Cece00 replied: You cant break your ears, its just bruised from broken blood vessels. I, personally, wouldnt take her in, I'd just let it be...I probably wouldnt ice it either, just give her some meds for the pain.

gr33n3y3z replied: Awwww that looks so sore
It will be very sore but its not broken
Just as long as she isnt bleeding out of her ear she will be fine

Calimama replied: Awww poor thing. I hope the pain lessens for her.

amynicole21 replied: Yikes! Poor kiddo I agree that it doesn't need a ped visit, but I bet it's sore.

redchief replied: I agree, that's a deep tissue bruise. It looks so sore.

One correction, though... You can "break" your ears. The ear structure is cartilage and this can be broken and will develop some nasty scars if trauma is repeated often. That's why wrestlers (the real ones, not the professional showmen) wear ear protection. Repeated trauma to the cartilage in the ears results in a condition called "cauliflower ear." This will not be the result of Kit-Kat's injury, however. I hope she's feeling better soon.


Informational link only:
WARNING - GRAPHIC A picture of cauliflower ear - WARNING - GRAPHIC

ediep replied: awww, poor Katherine!!! I'd giver her motrin for the pain. Hope she feels better soon

kit_kats_mom replied: Ok Ed, Now that's just FOUL! Gross. I know you warned me but I'm totally one of those people who will look anyway...wouldn't want to miss anything good.

Thanks for the advice guys. She's asleep now with a hefty dose of motrin. That thing just looks nasty. I'd never seen a bruise go black right away like that and it freaked me out.

luvmykids replied:
Me too. That was just ugly!

Hope she feels better soon!

MoonMama replied: Awww poor thing hope she fells better really soon.

MomToJade&Jordan replied: Cauliflower ear...EW!

Poor K. That really looks like it hurts. Jordan did something similar to her ear a couple of weeks ago. It turned black pretty quick as well, but hers wasn't as bad as that one looks. I'm still not sure how she got it. I hope K heals quickly.

HuskerMom replied: Hope she feels better soon!