What Can I Do for My Child's Ear Infection? - MedicineNet

-
ear infection in children
Here's what you can do at home to help relieve your child's ear infection symptoms

In most cases, ear infections clear up without any treatment within a few days. Here's what you can do at home to help relieve your child's symptoms:

  • Give them an over-the-counter pain reliever:
  • Help your child rest by arranging quiet play.
  • Ice packs (wrapped in a cloth or towel) or warm compresses, placed on the outer ear, can help relieve ear pain. Keep it in place for about 20 minutes and repeat this every few hours throughout the day. You can alternate between hot and cold, since some children get relief with heat and others with ice.
  • Keep your child upright when they're not sleeping. Lying down can increase pressure in the ear and thus worsen pain.
  • Keep your child hydrated with water or other fluids.

What medications can be prescribed for my child's ear infection?

If the ear infection is severe and your child is fussy, you may need to ask your pediatrician for prescription medications. These may include:

  • Outer ear infections: antibiotic ear drops or oral antibiotics
  • Middle ear infections: course of antibiotics along with pain and fever medications
  • Glue ear: tubes may be inserted to prevent fluid from accumulating in the middle ear
  • Recurrent infections: a hearing test may be ordered.

What are signs and symptoms of ear infections in children?

An ear infection occurs when fluid builds up behind the eardrum, causing pain, pressure, temporary hearing loss, and fever. Common signs and symptoms of ear infection in children include:

  • Pain:
    • While older children can tell you if their ears hurt, younger children may only cry because of the irritation. This may be noticed more during feedings because sucking and swallowing can cause painful pressure changes in the middle ear.
  • Reduced appetite due to ear pain.
  • Trouble sleeping due to ear pain.
  • Temperature ranging from 100 (normal) to 104 degrees F.
  • Yellow or white fluid, possibly blood-tinged, draining from the child's ear:
    • The fluid may have a foul odor and will look different from normal earwax (which is orange-yellow or reddish-brown).
    • Pain and pressure often decrease after drainage begins, but this doesn't always mean that the infection is going away. The child will need to see a pediatrician.
  • Trouble hearing:
    • During and after an ear infection, the child may have trouble hearing for several weeks. This occurs because the fluid behind the eardrum gets in the way of sound transmission. 
    • This is usually temporary and clears up after the fluid from the middle ear drains away.

How can ear infections be prevented?

Here are some ways you can help prevent ear infections:

  • Breastfeed your baby.
  • Quit smoking:
    • Ear infections occur more often in children who are around cigarette smoke. 
    • Even the fumes from tobacco smoke on your hair and clothes can affect your children.
  • Encourage your child to wash their hands
  • Have your child immunized.
  • Make sure your child doesn't go to sleep while sucking on a bottle.
  • Try to limit the use of group childcare.
  • Never poke anything (such as cotton buds) into your child's ear, even if they complain that their ear feels blocked.
  • Don't use ear drops unless they are prescribed by a doctor.

QUESTION

Ear infection or acute otitis media is an infection of the middle ear. See Answer

When to call a doctor about your child's ear infection

Children's ear infections usually clear up without treatment. But it's a good idea to consult a doctor if your child develops following symptoms:

  • Extreme drowsiness
  • Difficulty breathing or wheezing
  • Cold or discolored hands or feet with a warm body
  • A fever over 100 degrees F
  • Pain in their arms or legs
  • Unusual skin color (pale or blue) around their lips
  • A rash that does not fade when applying pressure to the skin
  • Pain and tenderness of the bone behind the ear
  • Blood or discharge from the ear

It's pretty normal to get an ear infection once in a while (especially for children). But if the infections keep coming back, they could pose a serious health risk. Regular checkups are usually necessary to rule out underlying causes that may lead to hearing loss.

Latest Healthy Kids News

Daily Health News

Trending on MedicineNet

Medically Reviewed on 6/9/2021

References

WebMD. Treating Ear Infections in Children. https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/treating-ear-infections-in-children

Healthdirect. Ear infection. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/ear-infection

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uveitis Eye Inflammation Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

-
Image
sores inside the mouth and ear aches :: Article Creator Mouth Sores: Symptoms, Treatment, And Prevention Mouth sores may look different depending on the cause, appearing a different color than the surrounding tissue, including white, yellow, red, or purple. The following images show different types of mouth sores. These images are not intended to provide a diagnosis. If you have unexplained mouth sores or mouth sores that come back or last for a long time, it is best to visit a doctor for a diagnosis and treatment. Canker sores Canker sores may look like small oval-shaped ulcers in your mouth that appear white, gray, or yellow. They may be surrounded by a red "halo" of irritation. They may also appear as a painful red area. Canker sores are also called aphthous stomatitis or aphthous ulcers. They are common and affect about 25% of the general population. They are usually harmless and heal on their own in a couple of weeks. I...
Read more

Outer Ear: Anatomy, Location, and Function - Verywell Health

-
Image
There is much more to the ear than what you see from the outside. There are three parts to the ear—the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. These sections work together to collect sound from the world around you and send it to the brain where speech and auditory centers translate the information. The outer ear is the part of the ear that you can see and where sound waves enter the ear before traveling to the inner ear and brain. While the outer ear may not be as complex as its counterparts, it serves a vital function in your sense of hearing. AndreiDavid / Getty Images Anatomy Structure The outer ear—sometimes called the auricle or pinna—is mostly made of skin and cartilage.   It is made up of several components:   Helix: The outermost curvature of the ear, extending from where the ear joins the head at the top to where it meets the lobule. The helix begins the funneling of sound waves into the ear Fossa, superior crus, inferior crus, and...
Read more

Chalazion (cyst): Symptoms, pictures, causes, and treatment

-
Image
conjunctival pemphigoid :: Article Creator Modulating Conjunctival Wound Healing Thylefors B, Negrel A . The global impact of glaucoma. Bull World Health Org 1994;72:323–6 CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar  Foster A, Johnson G . Magnitude and causes of blindness in the developing world. Int Ophthalmol 1990;14:135–40 Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar  Quigley H . Number of people with glaucoma worldwide [see comments]. Br J OphthalmoI 1996;80:389–93 Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Sommer A . Glaucoma: facts and figures. Doyne Lecture. Eye 1996;10:295–301 Article  PubMed  Google Scholar  Jay J . Rational choice of therapy in primary open angle glaucoma. Eye 1992;6:243–7 Article  PubMed  Google Scholar  Migdal C, Gregory W, Hitchings R Long-term functional outcome after early surgery compared with laser and medicine in open-angle glaucoma. Ophtha...
Read more