The appearance of pain in the ear in a child is a very unfavorable sign. It can develop in a variety of pathological conditions. This article explains what parents should do when their baby has such an unpleasant symptom.
How does it manifest?
It can "shoot" in a child's ear for various reasons. Quite often, various bacterial and viral infections lead to this. Pathogenic microorganisms, reaching the middle ear cavity, cause severe inflammation there. This is manifested by the fact that the child begins to feel various sound effects in the affected ear. Such an unfavorable symptom can appear both during the daytime and at night.
In the evening, the child's ear “shoots” a little harder. This feature is due to the gradual development of the inflammatory process. Babies-babies tolerate such a pathological condition quite hard.
The appearance of characteristic sounds in the affected ear can be explained quite simply. The resulting inflammation leads to the formation of a large amount of pathological secretions in the ear cavity. This fluid disturbs the pressure balance between the environment and the inner ear cavity, thereby contributing to the disturbance that occurs in the Eustachian tube. It manifests itself in a sick baby as a feeling of "shooting" in the affected ear.
Otitis media or inflammation of the middle ear can manifest itself in a sick child not only by the appearance of "shooting", this pathology leads to a significant violation of the baby's behavior and mood. A sick child becomes more moody, plays less with favorite toys, his appetite and sleep are disturbed; in the daytime he feels very sleepy, and at night he can wake up several times.
Bacterial ear infections cause the baby to develop intoxication syndrome. In most cases, it manifests itself as a strong increase in body temperature, the value of which reaches 38-39 degrees. Against the background of severe intoxication, the child becomes more lethargic, apathetic, babies are poorly attached to the mother's breast.
It is quite difficult to diagnose babies. When the child has the first symptoms it is important to show it to your doctor right away. The doctor will conduct the necessary clinical examination and will be able to establish the correct diagnosis.
During such an examination, pediatricians conduct a special test: they press on the ear tragus, and if during this the child's pain syndrome increases, then this indicates that the child has all the signs acute otitis media. Soreness in the ear can also manifest itself in a child when the baby begins to cry more often.
This symptom is especially clearly manifested in infants, who still cannot complain to their parents about symptoms that bring them severe discomfort.
According to statistics, babies get sick with various ear pathologies, which are manifested by characteristic symptoms of "shooting" from 2 to 7 years old. This is largely due to the immaturity and anatomical structure of the hearing organs. The size of the Eustachian tube in children is still very small, and this contributes to the fact that infections can easily penetrate into the ear cavity and cause severe inflammation there. If symptoms are detected too late, then the course and prognosis of such diseases become rather unfavorable.
A sick child may have dangerous complications. Some of them even require surgery. A pediatric otolaryngologist conducts therapy for any diseases of ENT organs.
First aid at home
Parents should remember that the main treatment regimen must be drawn up by an otolaryngologist. Self-selection of therapy can contribute to the progression of the disease and even worsen its course. In the first hours and days of the illness, you can only help the baby to reduce the severity of the adverse symptoms that he has. Further tactics should be sure agree with the pediatrician.
Many parents, when a child has "shooting" in the ear, apply a compress with camphor alcohol to the affected ear. This should not be done. Some pathologies of ENT organs can be aggravated during warming up. Such treatment can be carried out only after a mandatory consultation with a pediatrician. Boric alcohol compresses can also be extremely dangerous.
It is important to note that the use of various alcohol preparations can not only lead to a deterioration in the course of the underlying disease, but also cause a severe skin burn in the baby.
When carrying out any warming compresses, it is very important to observe the duration of their application to the skin: on average, the exposure of such a procedure is 10-15 minutes.
For home use, you can use anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drugs. They help reduce inflammation in the damaged ear and also improve your baby's overall well-being. In children's practice, paracetamol-based drugs are quite successfully used. You can also use products that contain ibuprofen. The intake of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) in babies, especially young children, should be limited.
Compliance with bed rest is a very important condition for treatment, which is especially important to perform in the early days of the development of the disease. This simple but effective measure will reduce the development of dangerous complications of the disease. Pediatricians recommend staying in bed for 3-5 days.
A drinking regimen is also necessary to remove all toxic products from the child's body. These substances are formed during a pronounced inflammatory process that develops during the acute stage of the disease and is especially pronounced in bacterial infections of the staphylococcal or anaerobic flora.
In order to help the child's body remove all toxic substances, you should provide the baby with enough liquid. Any fruit drinks and compotes made from berries or dried fruits are suitable as drinks. They can be easily prepared even at home. For this, both fresh and frozen fruits and berries are suitable.
You can also use ordinary warm boiled water to drink the baby. Babies should be sure to breastfeed "on demand".
In some cases, acute ear inflammation can occur in a child on vacation or on weekends, which significantly complicates access to medical care. Only in the most urgent situations can parents start treating themselves. For this, you can use cotton turundas. Before injecting into the affected ear, soak them in a solution "Miramistin" or "Chlorhexidine".
This procedure should be carried out with the baby as carefully as possible so as not to provoke the appearance of adverse complications in him.
Drug treatment
To treat inflammation in the ears in babies should be with the obligatory prescription of medications. The therapy regimen is unique and is selected for each baby separately. The main treatment depends on what reason contributed to the development of these adverse manifestations in the child. If the shooting pain in the ear has arisen due to bacterial infections, then agents that contain antibacterial components are used to eliminate it.
Doctors consider the most effective means having a wide range of actions. The course of such treatment is usually 7-14 days. As a good combination remedy for inflammation in the affected ear, it is used Otipax.
Quite often, ear pain is accompanied by the appearance of a severe cold in the baby. This leads to the spread of inflammation from the ear cavity into the nasopharynx. The process can proceed in the opposite direction. To eliminate a strong current from the nose, various vasoconstrictor dropswhich include Galazolin, Naphtizin, Snoop and others. The duration of use of these nasal medicines is 3-5 days.
Most diseases of ENT organs occur against the background of reduced immunity. Various multivitamin complexes are used to strengthen the general condition of the child. The vitamins and microelements included in their composition help to strengthen the baby's immunity and restore strength to fight the disease. These funds can be used for a long time, within 1-3 months.
Note that all ear warming procedures can be prescribed only after agreement with the attending physician.
There are quite a few contraindications to the use of “dry heat”. They can only be detected by an otolaryngologist during a thorough examination of ENT organs using special medical instruments.
Often times, a child develops adverse sound symptoms in the affected ear due to the ingress of water while bathing. Parents should remember that the baby should be bathed as carefully as possible.
After carrying out such water procedures, the face and head of the child should be thoroughly dried with a soft towel. If water does get into the ear, then you should ask the baby to strongly tilt his head to the shoulder. At the same time, you can take the baby in your arms and gently bring his head to the desired position.
Physiotherapy
You can also eliminate shooting pain in the affected ear with the help of physiotherapy techniques. They are prescribed in courses, usually, to achieve a positive effect, they are carried out for less than 10-15 procedures, both daily and after 1-2 days. The courses of therapy can be very different, the required one and is selected by the physiotherapist individually for each specific child.
Possesses excellent anti-inflammatory effect UHF therapy... Regularly carrying out such procedures not only reduces inflammation in the affected ear, but is also the correct "dry heat". The duration of one treatment session can be different, it largely depends on the severity of the pathological process, but usually 1 procedure is performed in 5-7 minutes.
Techniques based on the use of quartz are quite successfully used in pediatric otolaryngological practice. Exposure to ultraviolet rays of a certain spectrum has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect, and also has a positive effect on hearing. This leads to the fact that all the adverse symptoms of inflammation in the child's ear completely disappear.
Ultrasound therapy also used to eliminate shooting ear pain in babies. The course application of this method helps to normalize hearing, and also has a positive effect on the general condition of the child. To achieve a positive effect, at least 10 procedures are required.
What to do when a child's ear “shoots”? See the following video about this.
