A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Ear Agony

This swollen and uncomfortable looking ear is from a staph infection of unknown origin. Ultimately it resulted in a week of hospitalization while on three simultaneous antibiotics to kill off the very serious infection. A thing to remember about stretched lobes is that they can act like “the canary in the mine shaft” for a lot of people &mdash if you’re getting a cold, your ears may get a little irritated first, and so on. Or in this case, be the rupture point for an infection (hopefully moddoctor will pop in and comment with something less medically amateur).

Comments

292 responses to “Ear Agony”

  1. J3SS Avatar

    scabboy: ALL staphylococcus can be transmitted hand to hand. It’s a VERY common bacteria found pretty much everywhere on the human body (your skin is covered in it right now)…that’s why they wipe your arm with alcohol before they stick you with a needle – it’s not because the needle is dirty, it’s to prevent what’s ON your arm from getting INTO your arm. and you can’t tell why type of staph it is just by looking at the infection (or even looking at the cocci under a microscope) – it has to be cultured and then tested for sensitivity.

  2. J3SS Avatar

    scabboy: ALL staphylococcus can be transmitted hand to hand. It’s a VERY common bacteria found pretty much everywhere on the human body (your skin is covered in it right now)…that’s why they wipe your arm with alcohol before they stick you with a needle – it’s not because the needle is dirty, it’s to prevent what’s ON your arm from getting INTO your arm. and you can’t tell why type of staph it is just by looking at the infection (or even looking at the cocci under a microscope) – it has to be cultured and then tested for sensitivity.

  3. gimpy Avatar
    gimpy

    Oh wow… I hope he’s OK?

  4. gimpy Avatar
    gimpy

    Oh wow… I hope he’s OK?

  5. gimpy Avatar
    gimpy

    Oh wow… I hope he’s OK?

  6. gimpy Avatar
    gimpy

    Oh wow… I hope he’s OK?

  7. El Baffo Avatar
    El Baffo

    I’ll never eat breakfast links again.

  8. El Baffo Avatar
    El Baffo

    I’ll never eat breakfast links again.

  9. El Baffo Avatar
    El Baffo

    I’ll never eat breakfast links again.

  10. El Baffo Avatar
    El Baffo

    I’ll never eat breakfast links again.

  11. MODT Avatar

    Just happened to me, to a lesser extent, conch piercing 12ga. hurts like hell. Glad I caught it early though!

  12. MODT Avatar

    Just happened to me, to a lesser extent, conch piercing 12ga. hurts like hell. Glad I caught it early though!

  13. MODT Avatar

    Just happened to me, to a lesser extent, conch piercing 12ga. hurts like hell. Glad I caught it early though!

  14. MODT Avatar

    Just happened to me, to a lesser extent, conch piercing 12ga. hurts like hell. Glad I caught it early though!

  15. jeffro Avatar
    jeffro

    Damn im glad thats not me id probably cry if that happened to me

  16. jeffro Avatar
    jeffro

    Damn im glad thats not me id probably cry if that happened to me

  17. jeffro Avatar
    jeffro

    Damn im glad thats not me id probably cry if that happened to me

  18. jeffro Avatar
    jeffro

    Damn im glad thats not me id probably cry if that happened to me

  19. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    i wanna squeez it

  20. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    i wanna squeez it

  21. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    i wanna squeez it

  22. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    i wanna squeez it

  23. Rapunzel Avatar
    Rapunzel

    Ugh, I had cellulitis in my Achilles tendon, and that was terrible and scarry enough! I don’t even want to imagine it in my face! I hope this poor guy heals okay…

  24. Rapunzel Avatar
    Rapunzel

    Ugh, I had cellulitis in my Achilles tendon, and that was terrible and scarry enough! I don’t even want to imagine it in my face! I hope this poor guy heals okay…

  25. Rapunzel Avatar
    Rapunzel

    Ugh, I had cellulitis in my Achilles tendon, and that was terrible and scarry enough! I don’t even want to imagine it in my face! I hope this poor guy heals okay…

  26. Rapunzel Avatar
    Rapunzel

    Ugh, I had cellulitis in my Achilles tendon, and that was terrible and scarry enough! I don’t even want to imagine it in my face! I hope this poor guy heals okay…

  27. Sami Avatar
    Sami

    It’s cute how some people are saying it’s because he gauged his ear. This could have happened to your ear even without gauging. Just by a simple 18 gauge pierce.

  28. Sami Avatar
    Sami

    It’s cute how some people are saying it’s because he gauged his ear. This could have happened to your ear even without gauging. Just by a simple 18 gauge pierce.

  29. Sami Avatar
    Sami

    It’s cute how some people are saying it’s because he gauged his ear. This could have happened to your ear even without gauging. Just by a simple 18 gauge pierce.

  30. Sami Avatar
    Sami

    It’s cute how some people are saying it’s because he gauged his ear. This could have happened to your ear even without gauging. Just by a simple 18 gauge pierce.

  31. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    This looks absolutely awful and quite painful. I hope he’s able to get it fixed and healed up. Might require plastic surgery…poor guy.

  32. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    This looks absolutely awful and quite painful. I hope he’s able to get it fixed and healed up. Might require plastic surgery…poor guy.

  33. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    This looks absolutely awful and quite painful. I hope he’s able to get it fixed and healed up. Might require plastic surgery…poor guy.

  34. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    This looks absolutely awful and quite painful. I hope he’s able to get it fixed and healed up. Might require plastic surgery…poor guy.

  35. Josh Jett Avatar
    Josh Jett

    I’m alive… Didn’t die… Had a friend I worked with at the time cut the excess off and sewed me closed. my ears now don’t look that weird or scarred, unless I state that they were cut way down from a larger size.. this happened from over cleaning, was hospitalized for 2 weeks and was on 6 antibiotics at the same time at one point because they didn’t know what the infection actually was…

  36. Josh Jett Avatar
    Josh Jett

    I’m alive… Didn’t die… Had a friend I worked with at the time cut the excess off and sewed me closed. my ears now don’t look that weird or scarred, unless I state that they were cut way down from a larger size.. this happened from over cleaning, was hospitalized for 2 weeks and was on 6 antibiotics at the same time at one point because they didn’t know what the infection actually was…

  37. Josh Jett Avatar
    Josh Jett

    I’m alive… Didn’t die… Had a friend I worked with at the time cut the excess off and sewed me closed. my ears now don’t look that weird or scarred, unless I state that they were cut way down from a larger size.. this happened from over cleaning, was hospitalized for 2 weeks and was on 6 antibiotics at the same time at one point because they didn’t know what the infection actually was…

  38. Josh Jett Avatar
    Josh Jett

    I’m alive… Didn’t die… Had a friend I worked with at the time cut the excess off and sewed me closed. my ears now don’t look that weird or scarred, unless I state that they were cut way down from a larger size.. this happened from over cleaning, was hospitalized for 2 weeks and was on 6 antibiotics at the same time at one point because they didn’t know what the infection actually was…

  39. Aszuna Avatar
    Aszuna

    I’ve been at 1 inch for two years. No change in the jewelry I’m using and I woke up this morning to my right love swollen, red and painful.

  40. Aszuna Avatar
    Aszuna

    I’ve been at 1 inch for two years. No change in the jewelry I’m using and I woke up this morning to my right love swollen, red and painful.

  41. Aszuna Avatar
    Aszuna

    I’ve been at 1 inch for two years. No change in the jewelry I’m using and I woke up this morning to my right love swollen, red and painful.

  42. Aszuna Avatar
    Aszuna

    I’ve been at 1 inch for two years. No change in the jewelry I’m using and I woke up this morning to my right love swollen, red and painful.

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