Why You Should Always Drain Your (Cauliflower) Ear

Did anyone see this past weekend’s UFC? If so, then you know exactly what I’m about to talk about.

First, let’s go over exactly what cauliflower ear is, just in case anyone isn’t sure (courtesy of Wikipedia, of course):

“Cauliflower ear… is a condition that occurs when the external portion of the ear suffers a blow, blood clot or other collection of fluid under the perichondrium. This separates the cartilage from the overlying perichondrium that supplies its nutrients, causing it to die and resulting in the formation of fibrous tissue in the overlying skin. As a result, the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed, resembling a cauliflower.”

Basically, when the ear receives enough trauma, the skin on the ear will separate from the cartilage and fluid will fill the space. Eventually that fluid hardens into scar tissue and that’s how you get cauliflower ear.

For a number of people this is seen as a badge of honor, if you will, and refuse to drain the fluid that builds in the ear. For those folks, hopefully this is your “scared straight” moment:

Yup, that’s right: this girl was struck in the ear with enough force that her cauliflower ear exploded.

The officials thankfully stopped the match, but really, ew.

I’m posting the video below of the moment (obviously NSFW, unless your superiors are cool with exploding ears):

In short, drain your ears kids- you may think it looks cool now but even if someone isn’t punching at them, cauliflower ear can lead to more complications down the road.