Continuous pus discharge from right ear
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"Otitis Media, Suppurative"[MeSH Terms] AND treatment
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NHS ear discharge otorrhoea when urgent medical advice
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Continuous pus discharge from one ear needs an in-person ear examination within 24-48 hours, preferably with an ENT clinician. It may be due to an outer-ear infection, a perforated eardrum with middle-ear infection, or chronic suppurative otitis media. Persistent foul-smelling discharge with reduced hearing can also occur with cholesteatoma, which needs prompt assessment.
Seek urgent care today or emergency care now if you have any of these:
- Severe ear pain, high fever, swelling/redness behind the ear
- New dizziness/vertigo, vomiting, severe headache, neck stiffness
- Facial weakness or drooping on that side
- Significant hearing loss
- Diabetes, weakened immunity, or recent ear/head surgery
- Clear watery fluid after head injury, rather than pus
Until you are seen
- Keep the ear dry: no swimming; use petroleum-jelly-coated cotton at the entrance only while showering.
- Do not insert earbuds, cotton buds, oil, hydrogen peroxide, or home remedies.
- Do not use antibiotic ear drops unless prescribed, because the eardrum may be perforated and some drops can be unsafe in that situation.
- Wipe only the outer discharge gently with clean gauze.
- Paracetamol or ibuprofen can help pain if normally safe for you.
With chronic suppurative middle-ear disease, persistent or recurrent, often malodorous ear discharge and hearing loss can occur; examination may include microscopy and a hearing test. Complications such as vertigo or facial weakness need urgent evaluation. K J Lee’s Essential Otolaryngology, p. 446. Recent Cochrane reviews also address topical and systemic treatment strategies for chronic suppurative otitis media (PMIDs 40484407 and 40484405), but the appropriate treatment depends on what is seen inside your ear.
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