Induced trauma to the external ear and bleeding - Online Doctor Chats

User :   i was cleaning my ears with a q-tip when i noticed a little spot bleeding on the q-tip. that was yesterday. this afternoon i carefully used a q-tip just to check of the bleeding stopped, when i pulled the q-tip out it was more blood then before. i have very little to no pain but i do notice if i lay with that ear up it feels like water is in it. the ear hasn't bled enough where it comes out there but its a small discomfort in that ear. how serious can this be and is there anything i can do on my own. also i do have to fly on friday should this be a concern? thanks in advance
Doctor :   Hi
User :   hi
Doctor :   Let me read the query
Doctor :   May I know your age?
User :   32
Doctor :   Do you have any hearing problem?
User :   no
Doctor :   Do you feel fullness of the ear/sensation of clogged ear?
Doctor :   Are you running fever?
User :   only earlier when i was laying on my side but
User :   no fever
Doctor :   Do you have any associated with sorethroat, headache, nasal congestion?
User :   i had the nasal congestion before hand b/c of a cold
User :   no headache yet
User :   no sorethroat
Doctor :   Ok
Doctor :   Let me brief you.
Doctor :   Presence of blood while cleaning the ear is a sign of trauma.
User :   ok
Doctor :   Since you do not report of hearing difficulty, the chances that you may have injured your ear drum is unlikely.
Doctor :   It probably appears that you may have induced trauma to the external ear.
Doctor :   Most often such injuries heal spontaneously, provided you don't have diabetes,
User :   no i don't
Doctor :   don't not reinsert foreign body again,
Doctor :   keep the ear dry and clean.
User :   how should i clean it if it needs to stay dry
Doctor :   You can keep the ear dry by avoiding application of drops into the ear unless a doctor suggest you one,
User :   ok
Doctor :   by using a cotton to plug the ear while having a bath.
User :   ok i understand
Doctor :   Since, I haven't physically examined the ear, I cannot comment, if you need an ear drops now.
Doctor :   Hence my suggestion is
Doctor :   with those above measures,
Doctor :   watch out for the following symptoms
Doctor :   severe ear ache, presence of spontaneous bleeding, eardischarge which is profuse/foul smelling,
Doctor :   persistent sensation of fullness of ear, impairment in hearing,
Doctor :   fever and so on.
Doctor :   If these symptoms develop or if you continue to see bleeding/ear ache even after a day or more,
Doctor :   I would recommend you to see an ENT specialist for physical examination and specific treatment.
Doctor :   Have you followed what I have suggested?
User :   yes
Doctor :   Do you have any other query?
User :   should flying pose a problem?
Doctor :   If there are plans to fly, i suggest that you to get a physical examination done before you fly.
User :   ok
Doctor :   Pressure changes in the ear are known to happen while you fly, which can aggravate ENT infections.
Doctor :   Have you followed what I have suggested?
User :   ok thank you
User :   thanks
Doctor :   Though use of ear pluggers do help while flying, I would recommend you to completely know what the problem is and get the treatment done, before you get into the plane.
Doctor :   Do you have any other query?
Doctor :   Are you there?
User :   no
User :   thats all
Doctor :   Thanks for consulting me. Bye for now.
User :   thanks again bye