The Definitive Cauliflower Ear Thread (please sticky)

My left ear I've had the suture method.. terribly painful, with a compression stitched into my ear for a week. The entire week I felt like my ear was going to explode from the heavy sensation of blood trying to get into my ear but the compression not allowing it... but thankfully, after all is said and done, it looks like a fine ear. Luckily, I've never had problems with that ear again.

My right ear I drain myself every now and then. I didn't want to go through that suture method pain. Although when I drain the ear myself it'll fill up in a few days, I'll just drain it again. Less and less blood, but it still has (when taking close notice) the look of cauli. By the way, it is crucially important to get it clean when draining as previously and obviously stated, but after care is equally important. Cleaning again and compression is very important. I go crazy in with gauze and wrap an ace bandage around my head making sure the ear doesn't have a chance of filling up. I leave it on for a full day while icing it consistently. Maybe taking ibuprofen to prevent swelling too. Eventually though, like water, blood will work its way through anything.

Keep up the thread. I'd like to hear other experiences and stories.
 
Seriously....it pays to have good medical insurance. My ears are still pretty at age 33.
 
My left ear I've had the suture method.. terribly painful, with a compression stitched into my ear for a week. The entire week I felt like my ear was going to explode from the heavy sensation of blood trying to get into my ear but the compression not allowing it... but thankfully, after all is said and done, it looks like a fine ear. Luckily, I've never had problems with that ear again.

My right ear I drain myself every now and then. I didn't want to go through that suture method pain. Although when I drain the ear myself it'll fill up in a few days, I'll just drain it again. Less and less blood, but it still has (when taking close notice) the look of cauli. By the way, it is crucially important to get it clean when draining as previously and obviously stated, but after care is equally important. Cleaning again and compression is very important. I go crazy in with gauze and wrap an ace bandage around my head making sure the ear doesn't have a chance of filling up. I leave it on for a full day while icing it consistently. Maybe taking ibuprofen to prevent swelling too. Eventually though, like water, blood will work its way through anything.

Keep up the thread. I'd like to hear other experiences and stories.

The suture and compression stitch method isn't that bad. I didn't even take any painkillers, and I had it really bad. The only annoying thing was keeping it dry and medicated.
 
My number one tip, which has saved me enormous amounts of trouble with cauli:

Don't grind your ears.

It's just that simple. Do not grind your ears. Don't rip your head out of chokes, don't let your opponent crush your ears. Insist on using technique, not force, to escape chokes. If you feel your ears being crushed, then unless you're about to win the gold medal, just tap. Zero ego, and you are back on the mat, rolling right away. Instead of sitting in the &*#@)(& ER, being lanced and stitched, then wearing headgear for two months.

Accidents still happen, but most cauli comes from people senselessly grinding their ears, so determined to fight through things.
 
I'm starting to develop a little cauli and I'm wondering if there are any consequences to leaving it alone other than disfigurement.
 
My number one tip, which has saved me enormous amounts of trouble with cauli:

Don't grind your ears.

It's just that simple. Do not grind your ears. Don't rip your head out of chokes, don't let your opponent crush your ears. Insist on using technique, not force, to escape chokes. If you feel your ears being crushed, then unless you're about to win the gold medal, just tap. Zero ego, and you are back on the mat, rolling right away. Instead of sitting in the &*#@)(& ER, being lanced and stitched, then wearing headgear for two months.

Accidents still happen, but most cauli comes from people senselessly grinding their ears, so determined to fight through things.

I'm with ya' here. I see no need to try and rip my head out of a choke and damage my ears in the process.

I'll tap to save the ears and keep rolling.
 
My number one tip, which has saved me enormous amounts of trouble with cauli:

Don't grind your ears.

It's just that simple. Do not grind your ears. Don't rip your head out of chokes, don't let your opponent crush your ears. Insist on using technique, not force, to escape chokes. If you feel your ears being crushed, then unless you're about to win the gold medal, just tap. Zero ego, and you are back on the mat, rolling right away. Instead of sitting in the &*#@)(& ER, being lanced and stitched, then wearing headgear for two months.

Accidents still happen, but most cauli comes from people senselessly grinding their ears, so determined to fight through things.

Can't argue with that.
 
See, this is why we should prevent white belts from starting threads








Joke LOL. Great Stuff.

It's kind of funny we get a cauli sticky, though :)

I still don't understand why peolple let that happen by not wearing headgear.
I always have it on, I even feel more protected with it, almost like mouthguard / groin protection.
 
if you feel your ear start to hurt, meaning your getting the cauli... just ice it man.
 
if you feel your ear start to hurt, meaning your getting the cauli... just ice it man.

Sometimes it's not that easy. Cauliflower can be from continuos grinding (in which case ice and headgear will work fine) or it can be from a hard strike. You could go from no cauliflower to cauliflower in the amount of time it takes a punch to hit your ear or for your ear to hit a hip or something.
 
My ear has been really sore for the last 2 weeks or so... I went to get a hair cut yesterday and when the barber bent my ear down to cut the hair behind there it hurt like hell.

I dont see any swelling, but im feeling pretty paranoid anyway.

Is this normal or is the beginning stages of cauliflower?
 
I'm in the throes of it right now on my right ear. Too bad I have a MMA tourney in a week. It's been pretty damn tender, It's changed the way I rolled today. I told one guy to please look out for it when working on Gn and first thing he did was hit it. Grrrr.... He got his. :D
 
My number one tip, which has saved me enormous amounts of trouble with cauli:

Don't grind your ears.

It's just that simple. Do not grind your ears. Don't rip your head out of chokes, don't let your opponent crush your ears. Insist on using technique, not force, to escape chokes. If you feel your ears being crushed, then unless you're about to win the gold medal, just tap. Zero ego, and you are back on the mat, rolling right away. Instead of sitting in the &*#@)(& ER, being lanced and stitched, then wearing headgear for two months.

Accidents still happen, but most cauli comes from people senselessly grinding their ears, so determined to fight through things.

I do that and yet I don't have cauli

My mate at the dojo wrestlerd for 20-ish years and he has no cauli

Is it jsut that some people don't get it at all?
 
Susceptibility is genetic, yes. Some people just don't get it.
 
My ear has been really sore for the last 2 weeks or so... I went to get a hair cut yesterday and when the barber bent my ear down to cut the hair behind there it hurt like hell.

I dont see any swelling, but im feeling pretty paranoid anyway.

Is this normal or is the beginning stages of cauliflower?

i had this like a year ago

hurts for short amounts of time occasionally when rubbed

i think its just a bit of damaged or broken cartilage. healed up fine, generally doesnt hurt at all anymore and no signs of cauliflower yet here
 
How long can you have it puffed up before it's "untreatable"? I wanna do something about mine, but with my fights coming up so soon, I'd like to get them out of the way before messing w/ it. Would waiting another week be too late?
 
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