Young mothers do not always understand how to behave, if the child has an ear ache, what to do to alleviate the condition of the baby. In no case should you experiment with the health of the baby and treat it with folk remedies or drugs that friends used in a similar situation. Actions without a doctor's examination can harm the baby, increase inflammation, which will lead to a severe course of the disease.
Baby
Why does the child have a sore ear?
To understand why the baby is experiencing discomfort and pain, you need to know how the ear works. In structure, it is somewhat different from the adult's ear. That is why otitis occurs more often in children. The baby's auditory tube, located between the inner and middle ear, is shorter and wider. It is necessary to equalize the pressure outside and inside. If mucus gets into the pipe, its functioning is impaired. Adenoids also affect its patency. When the mucous membrane grows, swells, the entrance to the auditory tube is blocked. If it's blocked, the tympanic membrane next to it bulges. This is due to the pressure difference. As a result, the baby feels a sharp sharp pain.
Discomfort can result from inflammation caused by the activity of pathogenic microorganisms. The infection enters the Eustachian tube along with mucous secretions during a cold. This often happens when a baby, for example, sniffs. As a result, the child is diagnosed with otitis media.
It happens that the infection is provoked by caring mothers, trying to clean the baby's ears. They remove sulfur, forgetting that it plays the role of a protective layer, preventing bacteria from entering the internal cavity. In the worst case, they can cause injury, which can also trigger the spread of infection. Of course, you need to keep your ears clean, clean them, but this must be done so as not to harm the baby.
Note! It is recommended to remove sulfur on the surface. Do not insert cotton swabs or turunda into the ear canal.
When a child becomes restless and constantly touches the ear, it is necessary to exclude the presence of a foreign object in it. For example, an accidentally flown midge can cause discomfort. Perhaps the baby recently played on the street and fell a lot, so there was sand in the ear, which will also interfere with the baby.
How to understand that a child is in pain
You can understand that a child has pain in his ear by his behavior. The kid will not just be capricious, but will start screaming and crying. It will be extremely difficult to calm him down. Often, children begin to touch the ear, twitch it, and may bang their head on the pillow. The discomfort is usually worse at night when the baby is lying down.
Baby crying at night
A crumb during sleep can suddenly roll up in crying when it feels a sharp pain. He will seek a comfortable position, constantly turning from side to side.
You can check if the child's ear hurts by pressing the tragus. It is a small cartilage located next to the outer ear. When the child is in pain, he will cry after pressing. If his behavior does not change, he slightly shakes his head and continues to go about his business, severe pain can be ruled out.
With severe inflammation, even a slight twitching of the earlobe will increase the discomfort. The kid will start to worry, spin, cry.
Diagnosis of the disease
You can use an otoscope to detect inflammation and assess the condition of your ears.
The device allows:
- See eardrum, sulfur plugs;
- Exclude the presence of foreign bodies in the ear canal.
Note! The otoscope is equipped with a lens, which makes it possible to study the ear of the baby in the smallest detail, and a lamp, which creates excellent visibility.
For children over 9 months of age, diagnostics using an endoscope is provided. It is a painless and safe procedure in which a thin, soft and highly flexible tube is inserted into your baby's ear. At its end there is a camera that allows the doctor to see everything in great detail, record a video and review it later.
Treatment for ear pain
When a child's ear hurts, his behavior will definitely change. It is difficult not to notice that the baby is worried about something. Of course, the baby will not be able to explain exactly where it hurts, but he will definitely make it clear that he needs help.
First aid
When a child cries, screams, touches his ear, the more his temperature rises, you need to call a doctor. If the baby is several months old, then he may need emergency help. Before the arrival of specialists, parents must take actions that will alleviate the condition of the crumbs.
When a child's ear pain is concerned, first aid is as follows:
- You need to seat the baby. If it is very small, then raise the head of the bed. It is not necessary to put pillows under the head, it is better to place a towel roll under the children's mattress;
- Instill into the nose a vasoconstrictor approved for infants. You need to use it in a dosage acceptable for babies. It should always be in your home first aid kit for emergency treatment.
Remember! Vasoconstrictor drugs are recommended to be used under medical supervision. Their long-term use is unacceptable. Drops for pain in the ear will help relieve swelling in the auditory tube, reduce pressure in it, which means they will relieve pain. For children of the first year of life, the use of sprays is unacceptable. They create high blood pressure, which can lead to severe pain. Also, liquid along with nasal discharge can enter the ear.
- Give the baby a drink. Frequent siping will help reduce pressure and pain.
Kid drinks water
What not to do
If a child suddenly has an ear ache and discharge is noticeable, nothing should be dripped inside. When pus appears, the baby's well-being improves, but this does not mean that the disease has receded. Discharge is a sign of damage to the tympanic membrane. To find out what condition she is in, the child must be urgently examined by a doctor. Normally, the membrane is pearly gray, when otitis media occurs, it turns red, becomes convex, and can break. In this case, medications are prescribed exclusively by a doctor. He must monitor the child's condition in dynamics in order to prevent complications.
Note! Do not put anything on your ear, heat compress can aggravate the situation. Do not hesitate to contact the clinic if the baby has a high temperature.
The danger of self-medication
Treatment with alternative methods, the use of drops and antibiotics without a doctor's prescription can harm the child. The danger of otitis media is that it can damage the eardrum. It recovers quickly with appropriate therapy. If the baby is not treated, the consequences can be sad, the child's hearing will suffer.
Sometimes fluid builds up in the middle ear. This happens if the ear infection is acute and treatment does not start on time. This leads to temporary hearing impairment.
If the infection that caused the inflammation is not cleared, it can spread further, affecting the bone behind the ear. Then it will be impossible to do without antibiotics.
Which doctor to contact
Parents will not be able to independently determine what may cause a child's ear pain. The kid needs to be examined. To do this, you will have to visit an otolaryngologist. In some cases, with an acute course, a pediatrician can also prescribe treatment.
At a reception with laura
Features of newborn therapy
Newborns should be treated exclusively under the supervision of a physician. What to do if a child has ear pain depends on his age:
- Babies up to six months are recommended to immediately carry out antibiotic therapy to avoid complications. In such babies, the infection spreads rapidly and can lead to sad consequences;
- Babies over 6 months old are first given drugs that relieve inflammation, and they are monitored over time. If in 2-3 days the condition has not improved or, even more so, it has become worse, antibiotics are prescribed.
Note! During illness, the child must be bathed carefully so that water does not enter the ear. Immersion in water is prohibited. If the baby visits the pool, then for a while he will have to be abandoned.
Komarovsky about ear pain
The famous children's doctor Komarovsky sees the main cause of ear pain in the wrong headdresses. Hats of children, especially infants, should completely cover their ears. Convenient when they have strings on them. There are helmet hats in which the need to use a scarf disappears. The baby is reliably protected from the cold wind. This does not mean that the baby needs to be wrapped up constantly, it is necessary to be guided by the weather conditions. Inflammation, respectively, pain can lead not only to hypothermia, but also overheating.
The doctor urges you to immediately see a doctor if the child has an ear ache. Before a specialist looks, you can not drip anything, especially apply to a sore spot.
Note! You cannot self-medicate if discharge is noticeable from the ear, the baby has a fever, and he constantly wants to sleep. Inflammation goes away quickly if the right treatment is immediately prescribed.
Before the doctor arrives, you can drop vasoconstrictor drops into the nose and give the child an antipyretic, which also relieves pain and inflammation. The drug will not affect the temperature, if it is normal. Anesthesia will soothe the baby, temporarily eliminate the unpleasant symptom, but will not relieve the cause of the disease. Even if the baby has stopped crying, a doctor's examination is still necessary.
Prevention
To avoid ear pains, you need to follow the recommendations:
- In windy weather, be sure to wear a hat that covers your child's ears;
- Make sure that no water remains in your ears after a bath or swimming. As early as possible, teach the child to shake out the liquid by shaking his head or jumping on one leg;
- To the end, treat any diseases associated with inflammation of the nasopharynx, larynx. A runny nose is often the cause of otitis media;
- Strengthen the baby's immunity. Monitor the correct nutrition, do not ignore the daily routine, be in the fresh air every day.
If the baby is breastfed, then during attachment to the breast you need to hold him so that his head is raised.
Correct attachment to the breast
For children who are "artificial" it is necessary to carefully select bottles. The mixture should flow out in drops and not pour out in a stream. After feeding, it is recommended to hold the baby in a horizontal position.
A child in a year is already able to complain when something hurts, he can explain this to his mother, point out the place where he is experiencing discomfort. The newborn communicates with the parents through crying. Any changes in the baby's behavior should make mom and dad take a closer look at the child. If the baby begins to get sick, it must be shown to the doctor immediately. After all, even the wrong treatment of a common cold with a cold is fraught with complications, in particular, otitis media. According to statistics, nearly 80 percent of children under the age of three have middle ear infections. Most often it affects babies from six months to 12-13 months.
