Ear infections are among the most common of health complaints in young children. Ear aches are associated with pain, high fever and considerable discomfort. Chronic ear infections can mean endless trips to the doctor, multiple courses of antibiotics and can mean that the child's hearing can be affected if not treated properly.
Reasons for Middle Ear Infections
Babies and young children are susceptible to ear infections because their Eustachian tube, the canal running into the middle ear and connecting the ear and nasal passages, is not yet fully developed and does not drain fluid efficiently from the middle ear. When a child has a cold or swelling in the nose, this further impedes drainage, the lining of the middle ear swells up and fluid builds behind the eardrum.
The majority of ear infections in children are middle ear infections.
How to Prevent Middle Ear Infections
- Keep a child who is prone to getting ear infections away from sick children.
- Breastfeeding babies for at least the first six months of life prevents them from developing illnesses that can cause or worsen a middle ear infection.
- Bottle fed babies should not be given a bottle lying flat, prop them up on pillows or hold them while feeding.
Treating Ear Infections
Some signs to watch out for that indicate a child may have a middle ear infection are fevers, rubbing or pulling at ears, crying more than usual, difficulty sleeping, irritability or fluid seeping from the ear.
Many doctors will take a wait-and-see approach to give the infection a chance to clear up on its own. If the infection is viral, antibiotics will not help.
Ear drops may help and pain medication can reduce fever; see a medical professional for the correct medication.
Never poke anything into the child's ear to attempt to "see what is going on".
It may help to prop the child's head up to sleep and placing a warm compress to the ear can also provide some relief.
Grommets for Ear Infections
For persistent and recurring middle ear infections, a doctor may suggest having grommets inserted into a child's ears.
Grommets are tiny tubes which are placed into the eardrum to help drain excess fluid away. A procedure done under general anesthetic, the results are usually immediate. The grommets usually fall out by themselves any time between six months and two years after having been inserted.
Inserting grommets are a successful method of treating recurrent ear infections; there are very few side-effects associated with the procedure and there are virtually no long-term effects or discomfort.
Source:
"Understanding Ear Aches", Juliet Pitman, Dischem Magazine, July 2009
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