Pain in the ear in children: causes and effects

Ears hurt children more often than adults. The reasons for this are different. Pain in the ear in children occurs both as a complication of the cold and as a reaction to cold weather. As a rule, if the cause is the second factor, the pain passes as soon as the child enters a warm room.

Approximately up to seven years, earache in children is very common against a cold. Usually, the temperature rises, some swelling and redness behind the ears develops. At this stage, there may be a certain inflammation of the tympanic membrane. If the disease is diagnosed in a timely manner, the necessary treatment is prescribed, and the disease is completely eliminated. However, it is important to remember that one should not engage in self-medication: in order to take action, it is first necessary to establish correctly the causes of pain in the ear, i.e. Requires a timely call to the doctor.

To protect your child from this ailment, parents need to ensure that the child is wearing a hat (if required by the time of year) or at least warm headphones.

When earache in children is caused by an infection of the middle ear, as a result, the temperature rises, nausea or vomiting is possible. If the child is old enough, he can describe the pain in his ear. It is possible that children even temporarily lose their hearing (stupefied sore ear). Unfortunately, babies can not explain what hurts them: they just cry and scream. In order to exclude pain in the ear in children of this age, you need to press your fingers on the tragus. If a child cries, it is likely that the cause of his anxiety is precisely the inflammation of the hearing.

Parents should remember that treatment of this inflammatory process should be done only after consultation with the otolaryngologist. As a rule, the inflammation of the middle ear is treated only through antibiotics, which can be prescribed only by a doctor. There are situations when opinions of experts are divided. Some believe that there is no need to take medication to treat earache in children. Treatment in this case consists only in the appointment of antipyretics.

Sometimes in the middle ear a fluid forms which, as a rule, absorbs during antibiotic administration. But this does not always happen. Therefore, one and a half to two months after the detection of inflammation, the child should be taken to a specialist, so that he checks the level of liquid elimination of their ear. The problem is that the presence of fluid residues can lead to deafness.

According to the doctors, many children have a predisposition to external otitis. Sometimes the reason for this is established very quickly (water from a pool or a bath), but it is often difficult to determine it. In such a situation, the doctor can prescribe specialized ear drops or cleaning of the ear canal from dead epithelium or pus (this procedure is prescribed when the drops do not help). Cleaning is carried out in hospital conditions.

External otitis, of course, brings a lot of trouble, but it, unlike the inflammation of the middle ear, does not harm the child's hearing in the future.

If your baby has a discharge from the ears, this may indicate an inflammation of the middle ear, a rupture of the tympanic membrane, and may also be a consequence of external otitis or a foreign object in the hearing organ.

Sometimes, when the baby is disturbed by discharge from the ear with a semi-fluid consistency and a brown hue that is not accompanied by pain, this can be quite normal. Thus, the ear can get rid of surplus sulfur. This is considered acceptable, but the doctor's consultation in this situation will not be superfluous.

Remember that independently treating the pain in the ear in a child is dangerous for his health.