Scabby/ weeping behind ear

[Lockdownbaby2021]

hi all

my son, (1) keeps getting sore and weepy behind his ears. one ear in particular has got quite sore and has really scabbed which we keep catching when getting him dressed and bleeds. not the best photo attached but you get the idea. we've tried sudocreme but doesn't seem to be doing much.

can anyone reccomend anything for it? or know why it keeps coming?and yes we do clean behind his ears.

Clean it with warm water and cotton wool. Dry it well and pop some magic cream (sudocreme) on it. No idea why it happens but remember one of mine getting something similar.

better picture i've take whilst he's asleep

Morhulin cream.

Possibly a zinc deficiency.

I ld bring him into the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist.

Try the pharmacist. Our DD had this when younger, and we were given an antifungal cream which helped clear it up. It kept coming back, so now we keep an eye on it and use epaderm if it stays looking scabby again. Seems like dry skin causes it to crack, then can become more vulnerable to infections.

thanks all. i will ask a pharmacist tomorrow but just worried they'll palm us back off to the drs. we have literally spent the last 6 months in that place. on another note, has anyone else found this winter the worst for bugs? we've had bug after bug. the poor things just got over flu/ conjunctivitis and HFM just this month alone.
then over winter we've had, colds, throat infections, temperatures, viral rashes, bronchilitis 😓

It could be seborrhaeic dermatitis, which is related to cradle cap and dandruff. I have had it since I was a child. The only thing that helps me is Betnovate but there's other less toxic options. I am allergic to sudocreme but most people find it helps skin conditions.

Looks like infected eczema. And ointment can be prescribed. Once it's healed, moisturise the area a couple of times every day to stop it returning.

Does he pick at it at all? I had something similar when i was young and have to confess that it was very hard to not pick at the scabs 🫤 It probably carried on for months and months longer than it needed to if i could have just left it alone

I get that quite often and it's always when I accidentally leave a bit of shampoo or conditioner behind my ear. Since I've started making it a point to fold my ear forward when rinsing my hair, it hasn't happened.

My daughter has this - she calls it her crumbles (barf) and now she’s 6 it’s a lot better.
i sort of think it’s because she hasn’t grown into her ears yet and they have folds which can become ‘wet’ and trap bacteria. She did also have cradle cap for a long time. When she was very young we used timodine which was incredible at fixing it. Now it’s not as bad we don’t need anything like that.
We have to take care to dry them out and make sure they’re super dry after baths etc Sudocrem helps. We also find that epaderm is good for keeping things at bay.

DS used to get it. We called it 'cracked ears'. Diagnosed as eczema by doctor. OTC cream from pharmacy.

Same here. I get it if I don’t rinse the shampoo or conditioner properly from behind my ears. I’m eczema-prone and it feels like its related to that. Topical steroid cream helps to clear mine up. Rinsing properly and moisturising well after drying thoroughly stops it coming back.

thanks all. he did suffer from badly from cradle cap from newborn until around 10 months old. maybe this is connected? also interesting that @Balloonhearts said it could be leftover shampoo as we do often have to rush hair washing due to his ears hurting so maybe not rinsing it properly. i will make an effort to keep bathing it separately and drying fully before applying anything else. but will deffo check with the pharmacist tomorrow to see what they suggest also. thank you

he doesn't pick it but he's been flicking that ear and messing with it a lot like it's bothering him. then i accidentally pulled it getting his top off tonight and he cried and it was bleeding 😔

I find this is when behind their ear isn’t washed regularly enough, the build up causes irritation.
You need to wash behind their ears with a soft face cloth.

My daughter used to get this. You need to wash with a cloth and dry thoroughly twice a day for 3 days and only then if it hasn’t cleared up start putting creams on. Like a PP said, it’s because the fold is getting “wet” so more cream is only going to make it wetter.

My DC has this - I posted about it. Went back to the Drs frequently, before a steroid cream was provided. It was / is eczema

thank you all for your suggestions. maybe it is that we're possibly not drying fully after his baths 😔 I have bought some cotton wool (couldn't find a soft flannel) and will keep bathing it and drying fully for a few days before applying anymore cream

It's a fungel infection my wee one had it really bad and a round of fuciden (spelling?) Cream sorted it right out and it's never been back since. Gp had to prescribe it

A good rinse and a bit of Savlon will heal it up.

He needs to see the doctor with that. It looks like dermititis or excema and he will need some hydrocortisone cream.
Maybe sure you use s gentle shampoo etc

My daughter gets this all the time. GP said it is from having her wet hair drying naturally and the skin behind the hers ears not being dried properly. She was prescribed a steroid cream which always clears it up within a couple of days.

so I think I forgot to mention my baby has had HFM the last few days.
he's always been sore behind his ears but never this bad, but today i feel like it looks spotty? is it possible for HFM to spread to this area? going to get in touch with GP tomorrow

this was his HFM 2 days ago, these are the only spots he had on his chin and tongue, no where else on body but now i'm wondering if it could be behind his ear?