9 Mo Old Boy Scratches Ears Until They Bleed

Have you tried putting mittens on his hands before laying him down? When my daughter was an infant, she used to scratch her face until my mom told me to try mittens. You don't have to run to the store, either. Baby socks work just as well! I hope this helps until you can see a doctor. It sounds like an ear infection.

I have a friend who is 35 and does this! It is a nervous habit. The only thing you may try to do is keep his nails very short so they may not cut or scratch. You can also try to get him to bed about 30 mins earlier than normal so he does not get so sleepy to do this. You could keep them greased up so his finger slips and he cannot cut, just rub.

Sorry, not much help.

W. M. M'boro, TN

My daughter does the same thing. I asked my ped. about it because my oldest lived with ear infections for the first year, i think. He said it was a soothing thing and to just make sure to keep her nails cut. And you know how fast their nails grow. Every week! But no more problems. When She gets tired the thumb goes in the ear, usually the left one for her. Sometimes both. But he said it was a soothing thing. Don't panic... Relax... I did the sane thing. :>)

wow i understand what you mean....my son is two and does the same thing...the doctor told us the same thing too....it seems it mostly acts up in humid weather....he makes it bleed also....he does do it when hes sleepy and its kinda frustrating i try and put a blanket by his ear so he rubs the blanket and not his ear.....try that.....

hi my friends son is 6 years old and he has scratched himself in his sleep since he was a baby to the point of huge wounds she is still looking for answers and weve been searching internet for others like and have hard time finding.... is youre kid still doing this

I know the inside of my ear will itch when I’m having an allergy attack. Have you checked with your pediatrician to see if he might have allergies?

K......!!!! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!!! I had the SAME EXACT PROBLEMS WITH MY SON. HIS ECZEMA WAS CAUSED BY A PET ALLERGY!!! No one beleived me at first and said it was "normal" for babies to have this kind of skin sensitivity. I was not convinced and demanded to see a pediatric allergist~ Long story short he has a significan CAT ALLERGY. We can't even take him to a friends house who has a cat or he will have an outbreak. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you have pets, PLEASE talk to your doctor about having him tested for a pet allergy!!!! It can potentially develop into a more severe allergy (especially with cats) and may progress to respitory and ear issues. If he has ear issues they may also be irritated and complicated by this type of allergy. I HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOU READ AND HEED MY MESSAGE. Good Luck, GOD BLESS.
A. D

I agree with the person who says it could be allergies - an IgG & IgE test would be good.

Also, I belong to an autism-mercury yahoo group and they say that itchy ears are usually a sign of yeast overgrowth. If you want some ideas on how to combat that, let me know.

If he's using it as a soothing thing, put a hat on him that covers his ears and even ties under the chin when he gets sleepy, make it like a sleep cap. He'll fuss at first, but if it's a soothing response, he'll probably start rubbing the cap or playing with the chin strap as a substitute. Or you could put mittens on him before bed.

Hi K.,
I have eczema and so does my brother. It is horribly itchy! Even though I am an adult and know better, it is so hard to not itch it. I would talk to your peds. about anything else you can apply-- that is okay if he digest a little (fingers to ears to mouth so fast!). Whatever they say.. if still the neosporin okay... then reapply it as often as you can.

I am sure you know this, but it's related to dry skin and a humidifier may also be good for the moisture.

my son does not make his ears bleed, but he does pull at then and dig in them when he is tired. it very well may be a soothing thing. have you tried putting cortisone cream in them, to make sure that they are not just itchy? there is a 1% and a .5% and i know that when my daughter was that age we used the .5% on her eczema. the 1% is to strong for them until age 2. you get it at the drugstore, over the counter. you could try putting it on a q-tip and just rub it into the ear. be careful not to get too far into the ear. also, what helped my son to stop pulling so much at his ears was to get him an alternative. we found a small blankie, about 12 inches square, and it is silky on one side, fleecy on the other, and has teethers on the corners. he rubs that on his face and ears now instead of pulling them. you could also try a tuggie. the little blankies with the ribbons all around the edge. i have never used one, but i hear that kids love them.

You could try putting a hat on his head that covers his ears until he gets out of this habit. Continue the moisturizers in the ears to be on the safe side. He should out grow this.

K.,
My daughter does this too. She is almost 14 mos now, but we had a big scare in the mall one time when she cut her ear open and we couldn't tell if it was coming from the inside of her ear or not. We only get concerned when she consistently does it at times that she doesn't seem sleepy because that can signal an ear infection. The doctor said that sometimes teething pain can feel like it's in their ears as well, causing them to tug and dig. My advice is to just keep an eye on when it's happening and keep his nails as short as possible. Good luck!

sounds like a food allergy to me. My brother did the same thing as a baby (ears didn't bleed, but got really red and irritated). He still rubs his ears if he eats something that doesn't sit well with his body such as wheat. Does he eat before he goes to bed or before his naps?

K.,as you feed him tuck one of his arms under your armpit, then you only have one arm to watch.
Have you tried covering his hands with socks when he is getting sleepy? If he is doing this in front of you correct him when you first spot this behavior. Believe me there will be other behavior/habits he will pick up, so just keep trying!!! Blessings to you and your, LaDonna

My son totally did this, and still does occasionally. Just like your son, he also does it when he's very tired. I just keep his nails VERY short, and I clip them while he's watching a DVD so he doesn't protest too much. My son is very "handsy", meaning he's always needing to hold and fuss with something in his hands and he's always wringing his hands or rubbing his neck or something...we had to swaddle him for the longest time when he was smaller (like until he was 10 months!) so he didn't scratch his own face up when he was falling asleep. Now he's 22 months and has pretty much grown out of it, but every now and then when I need to cut his nails I see a scratch in his ear or on his nose. Good luck!

My 5-year-old has had terrible itchy years for over a year now. A couple of times he actually had a yeast infection in his ear. During the times he did have the yeast infection he scratched his ears until they bled. We took him to an allergist and an Ear, Nose & Throat. The ENT would clean his ears and give us medicine to get rid of the yeast infection but it always ended up coming back. More recently we took him to Dr. Kirse, head for the ENT Dept. at Brenner's Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem. He told us the key is to keep the skin inside the ear helthy which is not easy to do. We have to go and have his ears "vacuumed" regularly. This has been helping. His itching is less frequent now.
I would be sure to take him to a good ENT and maybe get him allergy tested as well. One thing I can say is go with your instincts. Don't just accept what one doctor tells you. If you still feel someting isn't right, find another doctor. Good luck.

My son did this to around that age. He eventually stopped. This may sound silly, but it helped to make sure his hair around his ears was trimmed so that it didn't get in his ears because that would bother him.

You may want to check with the physician who treats the excema to see if he will prescribe a liquid antihistamine that is really good for itching. The prescriptions Periactin and Vistaril are really good for this and are sometimes used in combination. Sometimes the "itch cycle" needs to be stopped. Also, there is a prescription called Cortane B Otic that has a steroid and a topical anesthetic. I hope this helps.

Hi K.. My daughter used to do that too, but I learned something that completely cleared her eczema up. Several months ago, I got all the storebougt household and personal care products out of my house and I began using only products manufactured by Melaleuca, the wellness company. Since then, her eczema disappeared. I told two friends and they had the same experience when they started using Melaleuca. The products are extremely gentle and non toxic so they are safer for him whether you have eczema or not. My dermatologist is even thinking about recommending the products because she keeps seeing people's eczema clear up when they begin using the products. I can give you a lot more information if you call ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com Right now, the company has a special 1/2 price membership fee until April 20. I think they would make a huge difference for you and the best part is, you can avoid using those steroid drugs on your baby!
C.