Ear pimple is just another term for acne that occurs on the ear. Whoever thinks that acne is just a skin condition that people get when they hit puberty is kidding themselves. Acne is not an age bound skin condition. The likelihood of getting acne in adulthood further increases, because factors other than hormonal changes are at work. Stress, being exposed to a dirty and polluted environment, dandruff, and neglecting skincare are some of the factors that predispose adults to acne.
Now, there’s a need to define what acne is. Acne, or acne vulgaris as it’s scientifically known, involves pimples of varying sizes that occur when pores get clogged up by dirt, dead skin cells, sebum, hair, and bacteria. This causes whiteheads, blackheads, nodules, pustules, papules, or cysts to form that may contain blood along with the pus. Usually, the skin is inflamed as well. Acne can take a long time to subside, often you will notice that as the old bumps fade away, new ones take their place, therefore in this case you will be required to apply treatment methods to curb the acne.
Men have skin that produces more sebum than females. Sebum is the natural lubricating oil that the sebaceous glands in the skin pores produce to keep the skin moist. Although sebum does protect against water content loss from the skin surface, however, it causes other particles such as dirt, smoke, and bacteria to stick to the skin as well, which is why it can cause acne as well. Over-production of sebum as is the case in oily skin types raises the chances of pore-clogging which can result in acne.
Therefore, it is advised to cleanse the skin regularly and twice a day to get rid of the excess oil and skin impurities to minimize the chances of acne formation. Now, pimple in your ear can occur either outside anywhere on the ear or within the external ear canal. Often, they fade away if left untouched, but painful ones may incite you to speed up the healing process. Anyone can get these, and it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with hygiene. But there are definitely some factors that can prepare from getting these irritating bumps from forming anywhere near your ears.
What You Can Do To Avoid Getting Ear Pimples
- Have dandruff on the scalp? Then you should do something to get rid of this otherwise this can lead to the formation of ear pimples behind the ear lobes.
- Do you have a habit of wearing helmets or hats for long periods of time? This may raise your chances of getting ear pimples too.
- Don’t share your earbuds. And make sure that any sort of headgear and earplugs that you use are regularly cleaned with rubbing alcohol.
- Apply medicinal or home remedies to control already existing facial acne as it can spread the infection to the ears. If you think that your acne is not responding to traditional acne treatments, then you should seek a dermatologist’s expert advice instead of trying to manage it on your own.
- Don’t swim in dirty polluted water as this water can introduce bacteria inside the ear leading to formation of infectious ear pimples.
- Get in the habit of cleaning the ears to avoid getting a buildup of dead skin cells, hair, wax, and oil inside the ears. If you have an oily skin type, then you should clean them regularly.
- Don’t put anything inside your ears, not even your fingers as this can transport bacteria inside the ear that causes ear pimples.
- If you think you take too much stress, then adopt lifestyle changes or seek expert help to cope up with it. Stress can cause an imbalance in hormones which can lead to breakouts.
- Avoid wearing tight headgear, as wearing tight headgear, or tightly bound scarves or bandannas around the head can trap excess sweat and oil and produce friction around the head and ears that might lead to breakouts.
- If you have an experience of getting breakouts that you think you might have had because of an allergy, then rule out the allergen by going through a prick test or patch test. Ruling out can help you steer clear of the allergen and avoid breakouts in the future.