Preauricular Pits, small holes near the ears
All babies have this, but most people close up when they are born but unfortunately some not. They still have them even when you’ve grown up. Some only have one pit, some have on both ears.
Preauricular Pit or Preauricular Tag is a small skin tag or pit in front of the outside part of the ear. Skin tags and pits just in front of the opening of the outside (external) ear are commonly seen in newborn infants.
Preauricular pits are (arguably) one of the milder anomalies that may result from imperfect external ear development. A minor anomaly of no great consequence in itself. More common in blacks than whites and in females than males. Can recur in families. The presence of 2 or more minor anomalies in a child increases the probability that the child has a major malformation.
The pits can become infected. When infected, this hole discharges a small amount of fluid, which has an unpleasant smell. The smell comes from a bacterial infection somewhere within the area behind the hole.
An infected pit usually presents as a soft or hard swelling at the helical root. Press on the swollen area, and a drop of pus will emerge from the pit. This can be treated with antibiotics, of course, but if the pit keeps getting infected, you would probably want to have it surgically removed. This can be done under local anesthesia. An ear, nose and throat surgeon (ENT) would be the best choice for this procedure, since we all have experience with pits.
Common Causes
- An inherited tendency to have this facial feature
- A genetic syndrome which has preauricular pits or tags as one feature
- A sinus tract abnormality (an abnormal connection between the skin and underlying tissue)
Sources:
Popularity: 98% [?]
Posibly Related Posts
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
i knew it. ive seen this in mostly all my blacc freinds and my bacc asz. then i concluded & realized it was common in african americans. i have one too and alawys wondered what it was till now.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:37 am
amazing page! Tom
May 11th, 2010 at 12:44 am
Just want to say your article is awesome. The lucidity in your post is simply spectacular and i can take for granted you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the admirable work.
July 28th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Eczema is a disease which occurs when there is inflammation in generally the upper area of the skin. It chooses anyone at any age group. More than the itching and swelling, it gives your skin an unpleasant appearance, which eczema is thought of as one of the miserable skin conditions.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:43 am
I actually have these! I’ve always wondered what they were called, I have them in both ears and I’m a white female with many sinus problems..