A person is susceptible to many different diseases. Some of them pass easier and faster, almost imperceptibly, with some it takes longer and harder to fight. Otitis also belongs to a series of such unpleasant sores that cause significant discomfort to its owner. How to treat it, how to prevent the disease and is it possible to warm the ear with otitis media?
What is otitis media
First of all, we will give a definition of the disease. Otitis is called inflammation of the ear tissue. From the school course, we can recall that our ear consists of three parts. These parts are called the outer, middle and inner ear, respectively. Inflammation can affect any of these three parts - separately or, in especially critical cases, together. As a rule, only one ear is affected, however, if there is inflammation of the middle ear, which is due to respiratory infections presently present or just transferred, then the disease can affect both ears at once.
Signs of Otitis
There are not so many symptoms of ear inflammation, but they are all pronounced, so there can be no doubt about it. As soon as these signs appear, you must immediately run to the hospital to avoid possible dire consequences. Otitis is not a disease where you can spend time relying on luck - they say, and so it will pass. Yes, and endure ear pain, in general, is unpleasant.
So, the first sign by which it is easy to recognize inflammation in the ear is an unexpected severe pain, similar to shooting pain. In addition, otitis media is accompanied by an increase in temperature to fairly high rates. Usually - unless, of course, in time to make the necessary manipulations for treatment - a few days after the pain started and the temperature rose, pus breaks out of the ear. This is considered a favorable development of the disease - which means that everything is going right, as it should. All accumulated pus will come out, and after a while the wound will heal, the disease will go away. In the same case, if the pus does not break free, it is necessary to help him: it is very dangerous, because he will still look for a way out and can find it inside his head, which is fraught with very terrible consequences.
The causes of the disease
The causes of any otitis media are diverse. For the outside, this is damage, some kind of trauma, and hypothermia on the street, and the removal of sulfur from the ear. However, otitis externa is less common. But otitis media is very common. As a rule, most people who have caught ear inflammation suffer from this particular species. Its causes are complications after an external ear disease, as well as, as mentioned above, previous infections like flu, pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, rhinitis and other diseases of the ear-nose and throat.
Internal otitis media, or, in other words, labyrinthitis, is the most dangerous of these three. It can lead to complete hearing loss, and is also fraught with other complications, such as meningitis, encephalopathy, and even death. Induced otitis media can be complications of otitis media or simply untreated middle ear inflammation.
Treatment methods
There are several ways to treat otitis media. They directly depend on which otitis media in humans and how serious it is. With a mild form, at the very beginning of the disease, you can do just ear drops (with external otitis media), when the situation is more complicated, antibiotics are prescribed to drink. If everything is very bad, even operations are performed.
Another method, and quite effective, is warming up. However, many are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to warm the ears with otitis media. It is possible, but it must be remembered that it is strictly forbidden to do this if pus has already begun to come out of the ear. But if pus is not observed, however, other signs of otitis media are present, warming up is quite able to relieve inflammation and reduce pain, and also help pus to release faster. We will talk about how to warm your ears and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this method.
Warming up: the pros and cons
Physiotherapeutic procedures are often used to treat ear inflammation. Warming also refers to them - this is the most effective of the methods. What is good for warming up? By the fact that when exposed to heat, blood circulation improves - once, tissue regenerates faster - two, the most positive result is observed when combining heat therapy and drug treatment - three.
However, warming up is by no means only positive. This procedure requires great care and attention. If it is produced incorrectly, then it can only harm a person, and not alleviate his condition. Therefore, many do not risk warming themselves up, being afraid to screw up.
How to warm your ears
There are two options: either do it on an outpatient basis in a clinic or in a hospital, or on your own at home. However, it must be remembered that there should not be any methods of self-medication. If the doctor allowed me to warm my ears, then of course, if not, I should not risk it. Any action should be first agreed with a specialist.
How to warm your ear at home
So, warming up is allowed. How to do it? There are several ways to warm your ears: using a blue lamp, alcohol, salt, and so on. Let's try to talk in more detail about some methods.
To warm your ears with alcohol, you need to make a special warming compress. If there is no alcohol at home, it’s scary - vodka will do. Also for the compress you will need: a bandage or gauze, oilcloth, cotton wool and any dense fabric.
If the heating will be carried out using alcohol, then it must first be diluted with water in a ratio of one to one. Dense tissue must be taken so large that it carefully covers the area behind the patient’s ear. It should be thoroughly soaked in a solution of alcohol or in vodka. Then squeeze and put in the right place. Oilcloth is placed on top, it should be two centimeters larger in size than the fabric. The third layer you need to put cotton, and you can press all this stuff to the head with a bandage or gauze. By the way, it is permissible to fully use the scarf or bandana. Warming the ear in this way is necessary for at least two hours. The ideal option is to make such a compress at night to immediately lie down and fall asleep. It is very important that the second layer, that is, the oilcloth, rests on the head as tightly as possible - if it lags behind the head, chills can begin.
An easier way to warm up is a blue lamp. It is not difficult to warm the ear with a lamp; just turn it on near the ear and keep it in this position for about five to ten minutes. It is important that it does not burn: if it gets hot, you need to move it away, if heat is not felt - on the contrary, bring it closer to you. This procedure should be done at least three to four times a day. It is important to remember: eyes should be kept closed during the procedure. In addition, there are some requirements for using a blue lamp. Firstly, you can not carry out the procedure at temperatures above 38 degrees. Secondly, immediately after the procedure, you can not go out and generally be exposed to any cold exposure.
By the way, in addition to the blue lamp, there is also a red one. She can also warm her ear. It differs from the blue lamp only in that it has a deeper wavelength, that is, penetration into the tissue.
You can warm the ear with boric acid using the appropriate drops. Before this, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the ear with hydrogen peroxide.
How else can you warm your ear? You can use a bag of salt, sand or a heating pad. It is also permissible to use flax seeds, and alternative methods include baked onions, oil, and even ordinary warm water.
How to warm your ears with salt
First, you need to remember that heating with salt is possible only in the absence of temperature. This method works most effectively at the very initial stage. At the same time, if the child’s ears hurt, it is important to pay special attention to his condition - in children the disease progresses faster than in adults. By the way, if ever there were head injuries, heating with salt is strictly prohibited.
It is best to take salt for warming sea or table salt, while preferably large. In addition to salt, cotton socks are also needed. Half a glass of salt must be warmed up in a pan to about 80 degrees, then pour into one sock and put on the other. This design is applied to the sore ear. When the salt begins to cool, cover with a dense cloth on top - so the heat lasts longer. It is necessary to warm the ear for twenty to thirty minutes twice a day.
Ear Disease Prevention
Everyone has long known: the best way to cure a disease is to prevent it, that is, to prevent it from developing. What is the prevention of ear diseases?
First of all, it is necessary to immediately treat all respiratory infections. Do not throw a runny nose, do not wave your hand at a cough, and so on. If you tighten with the usual ARVI, it can give a complication to the ears.
Also, as a preventive measure, it is recommended to maintain the temperature in the room no higher than 20-22 degrees, regularly ventilate, drink plenty of water. In case of a disease with a high temperature, drink antibiotics and antipyretics in a timely manner so that the disease does not progress. If there is a runny nose and nasal congestion, it is necessary to use such drugs that constrict the blood vessels in order to reduce swelling of the mucous membrane. Humidity in the room should also be kept at 50%.
But the most important thing: with the slightest symptoms or even suspicions of inflammation, you should immediately contact a doctor. Only he can help in time and prescribe the right treatment.
Interesting facts about the ears
- Ears grow our whole life.
- A person perceives his voice differently than others.
- You can be deaf at any age.
- Women hear better than men.
- Even excessive accumulation of earwax can lead to hearing loss, although partial.
- Human ears hear differently.
- The earlobes never age: this is the only organ that is not subject to this irreversible process.
So, now it’s clear what otitis media is and how to warm your ears. We hope that this information will remain useful only at the level of theory and will not be useful to anyone in practice. Health to you!