part of my right ear is swollen up like a balloon

it has been this way for about 4 or 5 days. - it hurts.

I have no medical coverage.

should I poke it with a needle and try to drain it ?

not that I am a doctor
but I would try it, sounds like you have a fluid buildup there,
maybe a staff infection?
How deep under the skin does it feel?

~John

I suppose you could, but I would visit a general/family doctor. That should not cost more than a normal visit (40-50 bucks)

Ouch—

I sure would not want to aggravate it any further. Pretty much what Morelite stated.

Wish you the best!

Infections in your head area are potentially very serious. They can easily - and very quickly - spread to your eyes, nasal cavities, and brain and - depending on the resistance of the bug to antibiotics - can be very hard to eradicate thereafter. Your health is much more important than money so go see a doctor or free clinic or whatever and get it looked at immediately.

No joke - really...

You can check WebMD, they have a symptom checker for ear problems. I'm sure their advice is on the conservative side and it should be if you are trying to self treat/diagnose.

I would be concerned with any infection. It may be worth the small expense up front rather than wait for or cause it to become a bigger problem/expense down the road.

Dude!!! Don't touch it! Go to the Emergency room NOW! so they can figure out what it is. Hospitals MUST provide a certain amount of free medical care to patients that can not pay, Go to the ER.

I agree with others here. Get yourself to an E.R. asap! You could easily lose your hearing in that ear permanently, and other bad things could happen too.

life threatening blood infections can develop pretty easily from small infection sites. go to the hospital.

For a fact, get yourself to a doctor pronto before it spreads. It could reach your brain very quickly. Don't fool around with something like this.

i had a swollen ear once myself.

i was young and was teasing my little syster (4 years my junior), she reached up and yanked my ear.

thought nothing of it, but i woke up that night with my ear feeling strange. went to the bathroom and glanced in the mirror, i remember screeming at the top of my lungs, because my ear was the size of my head.

i can't recall how long it took to go away, but i think it did so on it's own...

maybe you had something like this happen? if it is indeed an infection i'd at least talk to someone who has an idea what to look for...

Get to the ER immediately! Most hospitals have to treat you by law, no matter your economic status. I had a nice guy in my own town develop a bad ear infection. It swelled to baseball size. He didn't want to go to the doctor because he he did not have much money after being pink slipped at work. He wanted to get his son a new catcher's mitt. He finally went by ambulance several days too late. The infection became septic quickly. Now his son has his catcher's mitt but no dad to play with. Don't screw around with this.

GET HELP NOW!!!!

Come on, brother - after they amputate your ear, get some dang medical insurance, will ya?

cheers!

You should definitely get that looked at ASAP!

some hospitals are private, some are public -- go to a public ER, you may have to wait a while, but they will (should?) treat you.

If you're still reading this and not in the E.R. yet, find a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, mix it with water 50/50 and use that to irrigate the ear canal. At least you'll have a head start with a mild disinfectant while you decied which E.R. to go to. Link.

Look for some Urgent Care clinic if you can first (dang Sunday/Holiday weekend--these things always seem to happen then). At least with the UC's, they will give you a price that you can probably afford (probably less than a couple hundred dollars).

If you go to the ER, G*d knows what they will try and charge... and you will not even know how much for days or even weeks. And they will try and ruin your credit for ever more if you can't pay (unless you are an.....).

I have my own self paid insurance (high deductable Blue Cross), and I am getting more and more scared of going to any doctor/hospital because it seems that even with the insurance, they still try to charge you $500-$1,000 (after the fact, after you talked with them and asked for a price, asked if they were part of the plan pricing, etc.) for 15 minutes of having a nurse talk with you... and the insurance covers a $100 towards the deductable.

But, in any case, infections around the head/face area are not something to ignore.

Good Luck,
-Bill

What Bill said! Look for an Urgent Care Clinic, if one is available in your area.

Recently was admitted to the hospital, via the emergency room, for a 26 hour stay. The hospital bill alone, was over $6,500.00, if I hadn't been covered by Medicare. Still had to pay the hospital $952.00, out of pocket. Then all the different doctors have to be paid, along with all the lab tests. Unfortunatley, health care is pricing itself out of reach of many in America.

oldgrandpajack

Over here you can get a doctor to look at it for $30 bucks, ask around, but do have it looked at it.

Hope you get better

AlexGT

It is the upper part of my right ear lobe that is swollen

I will see a doctor soon