If you are a mother or father you must know about the earaches in kids. Adults also get affected by this condition. But it mostly happens in kids of young age.
It is because the children did not have a strong immune system and can not fight viruses and diseases caused by bacteria and their hearing system not yet developed completely.
Earache did not come alone, you or your child can have a stuffy nose, sore throat, or fever.
Visit your health care providers so they can find out the actual reason for the infection and prescribe the best treatment for ear infection.
Table of Contents
Diagnosis of Ear Infection
To diagnosis the condition you have to visit the doctor. He can ask you about different symptoms associated with Ear Infection, Tell him in detail what you or your kid feels.
On physical exam, the doctor looks in the ear through some equipment and instrument called an otoscope to see the infection. It becomes very difficult with infants, help out your doctor to do the examination, and keep your kid calm during the procedure.
What are Signs of Ear Infection
There are various kind of signs that show infection such as
- Red eardrum
- Plugged eardrum
- Fluid in the eardrum
- Pus in the eardrum
Otitis Media
It is an ear inflammation condition of the middle ear. To examine this infection doctors attach a puffer attached with an otoscope that throws air at the eardrum to check its movement. When the ear filled with fluid the eardrum can not move or vibrate.
There is another instrument to see the signs of middle ear infection. This instrument is called tympanometry. It uses air pressure and sound waves to check the fluid-filled in the middle ear.
Treatments For Ear Infections
Normally ear infection is caused by a virus. Which treated with antiviral medication. But if the infection is due to bacteria then antibiotics can help better.
Antibiotics for Ear Infections
You should follow the instructions of your doctor if prescribe antibiotics for you. Complete your medicine course even you or your kid feel good and think you are ok. Talk to your doctor if you want to quit medicine before the prescribed time.
You should use the complete course because the infection can come back and the bacteria become more powerful and its treatment can be a difficult subject.
Pain Relievers
Another main issue of ear infection is that you or your kid will feel mild to strong pain. If your doctor did not prescribe you a pain reliever but you feel pain talk to your doctor.
The most recommended pain relievers are
- Ibuprofen
- Advil
- Acetaminophen
- Motrin
- Tylenol
These relievers also help to reduce fever. Never give Aspirin to the kids because it can cause many complications such as Reye’s syndrome. Which cause brain or liver swelling.
You can also use a low heating pad to reduce pain. But be very careful while using it on children.
Fluid Drainage
This process is done in case of serious complications if an ear infection comes back again and again. this procedure is called a myringotomy.
In this procedure doctor creat a very small hole to take fluids out from the middle ear.
Tubing in the Ear
The doctor also uses a tube to give take fluids out and keep the ear dry and reduce pain very much. These tubes are fell out in 6 to 12 months.
This method is done under the administration of an ear expert. This surgery normally finishes in 15 to 30 minutes. Doctors make children sleep during this process.
It is a safe operation and usually did not point to any kind of infection. If you feel any pain during the treatment talk to your doctor
