[A boy with red ears]

A previously healthy boy presented himself on a sunny day in May with swelling, pain and itchiness of both his ears. At physical examination we saw a healthy boy with indeed a lot of swelling of both his ears, redness of the skin and some little blisters. Under suspicion of juvenile spring eruption we started local corticosteroid crème as well as oral anti-histamine tablets to bring the swelling down. Juvenile spring eruption is a local reaction to sunlight, the precise mechanism of origin is unknown. It is usually seen in boys age 4 to 12 with uncovered ears. Most often it is seen on sunny days in spring. It is self-limiting, sometimes steroid crème is prescribed to reduce itchiness of the skin. It can be recurring, in which the advice is to wear sunscreen and a hat.