warning signs of cauliflower ear?

how effective is headgear to prevent it?

what should i watch/feel for?

 

i'm one of the lucky ones, i've never even had a hint of cauli and i've been training a while now.

however my fingers and toes and messed up

 

The only "warning sign" of Cauliflower ear is after you already have it. When your ear sweels up, consider yourself warned. You can ice them or drain them, but there are no "warning signs" before it happens. I had really bad cauliflower ear abut a year ago, one ear was completely closed and the other pretty balled up, but the ear canal was open. I drained the one that was closed and just iced them both and they came back to looking "normal". They look considerably different than they did before, but the damage is minimal considering what they were. Headgear is effective 99% of the time, it is still possible to get it with headgear, but it is your best option for avoiding it. Also, don't pull you head out of headlocks, triangles, guillotines, etc. if they are really tight, the friction will get you eventually, instead try to work it out slowly.

 

even a little bit of cauli seems to hurt an inordinate amount. Your ears will feel hot and swollen when it first happens. Then when you touch them they're pretty sensitive (I always notice when I'm laying down to go to sleep). Sometimes though, if you get hit the right way, they can blow up immediately. I saw a guy with huge cauli ear at a party, and I asked what he did. Apparently he tripped when he was drunk, and fell into a wall ear first.
Headgear is very effective, as long as it fits properly, and you wear it all the time.

 

hmm, i just came back from practice and i got kneed in the ear fairly hard. there a possibility that i have it? it's really warm, stings a little, and is a little bigger than the other ear.
Fuck, second week and i'm in danger already?
-Jon

 

As soon as your ears start swelling up I'd go to the hospita to get them drained immediately. You don't want cauliflower ear.

 

The real sign you need watch for is your ear turning purple in color. If it just blows up you can ice it to make the swelling go down and you should be okay. If it turns purple-ish, that means you have blood in the ear cartilage and you need to drain it. If you don't it will harden (scare tissue basically) and will become permanent.

I recommend going to a plastic surgeon instead of an ear dr. they tend to do a better job at keeping your ear in decent shape (looks wise).

If you drain it yourself, be sure to keep a lot of pressure on the ear for the next few days, if not it fills right back up.

 

I have been training for a few years now both Judo and BJJ and I have been pretty lucky. But lately, after class, I have been feeling a kind of stinging feeling at the touch on my ears and it will usually go away after a few days or so. Is that a sign of anything? Or am I still in good shape?

 

I have been training for a few years now both Judo and BJJ and I have been pretty lucky. But lately, after class, I have been feeling a kind of stinging feeling at the touch on my ears and it will usually go away after a few days or so. Is that a sign of anything? Or am I still in good shape?

 

i went to the doctor once when my ears were sore. doctor told be you'd notice a big difference if you were getting cauliflower ear.

 

uf fine, no worries untill it swells up really quickly and does what the guy above us says ur fine
i got mine when i got headbutted in bjj class and it swelled up pretty quickly and i knew what it was right away

 

I started developing it but didn't realize what was going on. I had sore ears, and the inside top of my left ear had swollen slightly and had become a little hardened. That's when I bought the headgear.

 

Sometimes my ears get banged up pretty good and turn a bit purple and hurt for a couple days, but they never swell and always clear up quick if I baby them.

 

i knew a guy who wore headgear every practice and still got cauliflower, the head gear was shit

 

I'm starting to get it on my left ear - my ear is defiantly puffier than my right and occasionally it's slightly discolored.

Being concerned about how it looked I went out and got head gear (Which I have not warn since 11th grade). I usually practice during the technique portion without it on, but once the intensity is kicked up and we go live I put it on. Invariably (Usually during second roll) I find myself getting choked by it, and attempting to rip it off while roiling.

I hate my head gear. It's made by Asics.....anyone know a better manufacturer?

 

There are actually stages to cauliflower ear. The ear doctor I went to who first drained my ears year ago used to handle lots of wrestlers and is now getting new business from the influx of new grapplers

Long story short, your ear will first blow up and get soft and fill with blood and fluid - this is hematoma of the ear. This soft, bloated state will eventually harden into the wonderful cauliflower ear we see on our favorite UFC fighters and world class grapplers. The trick is to drain the ear before the hardening can be allowed to happen.

As far as detecting before the hematoma actually happens, everyone was pretty much on the spot about it being sore, tender, painful, etc. before it actually happens. Mine was accelerated due to my constant drilling of guillotine escapes (wonderful for the ears), however I've known grapplers who have been training for years hard without a hint of it. Hope this helps! Headgear can go a long way with the prevention of the hematoma, but you sacrifice giving your opponents better head control during rolling.

 

I wear the Asics gear too, but it's cheap and does the job for the most part. I usually don't wear it for technique, either, or if I'm rolling light with someone.

But it's been worth it for the past year. My ears still look fine.

 

My ears started getting tender and were hurting when touched or when you lay on it.
Considering that they are already pretty big, I don't need them looking ugly and big.

I bought the Brute shockwave headgaer, for about $20, and it is the best money spent.

Haven't had issues since I started wearing the headgear.

 

I am surprized that no one has got this.

Here is what my doctor told me. You take a blow to the ear. It is sore. But, you usually don't get cali. The next blow to the ear is what does it. The ear floods itself with fluid as a protective measure and the swelling occurs.

So, you have to keep yourself from getting the first injury. I wear Cliff Keen ear protectors the minute I step on the mat. It is just not worth it. People in the real world do not understand the whole deformed ear thing. It can significantly hurt your ability to get a good job or get people to take you seriously in the professional world. Plus, girls call the ears "chick repellent".

 

cliff keen is one of the top brands. I use the classic model, but i know a lot of people that have the tornado one and like it. Can't go wrong with CK. Your best bet to get it would to go to wrestlinggear.com or a similar online store. I know most sporting goods stores don't carry any headgear besides asics.