Fungal infection behind ears

[Annie456]

I can't seem to get rid of 21mo DS fungal ears...have tried everything doc has given, last time they tried to attack it more aggressively with cream, oral meds (for a month) and ongoing medicated shampoo. Everything cleared up with the cream (which is only a week) as it always does-but it has come back during week 3 of the oral meds. Does this mean its not working and not going to work? It's such an effort to make him take the meds (its disgusting to be fair to him!) that I really don't want to put him through it if its not going to work anyway.

Any experience with this?

Hi, sorry nothing really helpful to say but thought I'd bump for you.

My dd had flaky skin behind her ears but it sounds as though your ds has it worse. It was a little itchy but didn't give her too much bother. As she had dry, itchy skin in general, the doctor prescribed us a gentle emollient called Epaderm which we rubbed behind her ears whenever it flared up. She eventually just grew out of it.

Although the Epaderm may not get rid of your ds infection I think it'd be worth asking your doc for some as it's very soothing, we certainly wouldn't have been without it.

Thanks for the tip, will ask for some. It starts out dry and flaky (like cradle cap) but then it goes really wet and er..crusty! Really horrible! He scratches it in his sleep and makes it bleed, he has a little in his armpit too so I think it just keeps passing from different areas, poor little man!

Ask for a referral to dermatology - sounds very similar to dd's - turned out it was/is psorasis.

Exactly the same place from birth more or less.

sure it's a fungus?
dc has a bit of scaly skin behind ears but doesn't let me peel it off
once it got infected and weepy but it was a strep infection not fungal.

Strep is another possibility. DD had strep and psorasis for more than 18 months before we got referred, they kept telling me it was thrush even though non of the treatments helped at all apart from canestan HC

Eczema which keeps getting infected? Have they tested and proved fungal infection?

Of course they've not tested it...we're only a year in so they're still guessing. It annoys me so much. We've got health insurance through DH's work but I thought this would be simple enough not to need to go down that route - but after goodness knows how many creams they've guessed at I'm ready to give up. Thanks for all the suggestions, they all sound like they could be what's wrong. I think ill go back to the doc this week and ask for a private referral.

If it is psoriasis, would the anti fungal creams clear it up? When I use one of the steroid based creams it always clears up completely after a few
Days and then always comes back...

Steroid based creams do clear up psorasis whilst you are using it.

That is what happened with DD used anti-fungal steroid cream it went and then after a few days without using it came back.

Am still fuming about it 5 years later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!