If you have a cold, how to treat? This is a common question. We will understand it in more detail. Otitis media in the acute form of the course is a pathological process, which in everyday life is often called a cold in the ear. This disease gives a lot of discomfort, sometimes painful. And in a neglected state, otitis media can provoke serious pathological changes. What are the symptoms of a cold ear?
Symptoms
The main sign of his infectious lesion is pain. Soreness can be acute or dull, intensely expressed, and sometimes unbearable. In the cold ear, fluid begins to accumulate. The pain appears as a result of the fact that the accumulated fluid presses on the eardrum.
Other manifestations
Other manifestations of a cold ear disease are the following symptoms:
- Headache.
- Impaired appetite.
- Interruptions in sleep, up to insomnia.
- A significant increase in body temperature.
- Irritability.
- Accumulation of yellow or greenish mucus in the ear.
- Stuffy ear.
- Painful swallowing.
- Impaired hearing as a result of perforation of the eardrum.
- Isolation of white, yellow, or brown fluid from the ear cavity.
- Itching
- Purulent discharge, especially characteristic in advanced cases.
If you find the symptoms listed above, you should immediately seek help from a doctor, since delay in treating otitis media can have serious consequences for the whole body.
Risk factors
What to do if you have a cold ear is interesting to many, but it also depends on the cause of the disease. Otitis is characterized by an inflammatory process localized in the middle ear. Most often, pathology is a complication after a cold or an infection of a viral nature. It is especially common in those who do not observe bed rest during illness.
Other factors that can provoke the development of otitis media can be:
- mechanical damage to the ear ;
- advanced diseases such as rhinitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, etc .;
- hypothermia of the body;
- allergic reaction;
- pathogen of fungal infection;
- non-observance of personal hygiene.
Types of the common cold
The ear can become cold in both children and adults. There are two main variants of otitis media:
- Catarrhal acute otitis media. At the initial stage of development, the disease is characterized by an inflammatory process and swelling of the mucous membrane.
- Purulent acute otitis media. In this variant of the disease, purulent contents begin to stand out from the ear, and the inflammatory process affects all parts of the middle ear. This type of otitis occurs in mild or severe form, and is also able to go into a chronic type.
Initial symptoms of the pathological process appear after a while. If purulent type otitis is diagnosed, then discharge from the ear begins after a few days. The patient's condition during the disease is unstable, with periodic improvements. A very dangerous situation is when pus does not go outside. This indicates its accumulation, which can cause inflammation of the brain.
Conservative treatment
When revealing the first signs of a cold ear, you need to contact the ENT. It is impossible to undertake any treatment on your own, as this can have unpredictable consequences. Treatment of otitis media is aimed at solving problems such as pain relief and relief of inflammation. If the patient complains of severe pain, he is prescribed drugs that have antibacterial and analgesic effects: Sofradex, Otinum, Albutsid, etc. And to narrow the blood vessels and reduce the severity of inflammation in the ear, special drops are required, and also liquid paraffin.
Purulent form
If the patient has a purulent form of the disease, he is prescribed Etonius, Rivanol, Polymyxin, etc. The action of these drugs is aimed at eliminating pus from the eardrum. By the way, they need to be buried only in a warm form. And if the pipette is not disposable, it must be disinfected to prevent the further spread of infectious pathogens.
The ear is inextricably linked with other ENT organs, namely the nose and throat, therefore, it is possible to treat a cold ear at home, but therapy should be prescribed and controlled by a specialist. The treatment is usually carried out comprehensive, including the preparations "Nazol", "Lysocin", "Glazolin", etc. They are able to calm the mucous membrane, eliminate swelling and reduce the pressure exerted on the eardrum.
In case of advanced otitis media, patients are prescribed antibacterial drugs. Local antibiotics can also be used. Before applying them, it is necessary to clean the sore ear from accumulated pus.
Home treatment
But in addition to these medicines, there are other ways to help if a person has a cold ear. How to treat otitis media at home, they know, it seems to them, those who have a blue lamp. It is often used to treat this disease. The affected ear warms up for 5 minutes every half hour. But treating purulent inflammation in this way is categorically impossible! In addition, with a cold ear, it is recommended to follow the standard recommendations for the treatment of a common cold - drink more warm liquid and take vitamins, especially C.
Many experts allow a combination of drugs with some recipes of traditional medicine for the treatment of otitis media. So, at home you can prepare a variety of drops, tinctures, compresses and ointments.
The most popular home treatments for otitis media are:
- Ear compress with boric acid. A contraindication for using this method is high body temperature. A solution is applied to a cotton swab and inserted into the ear. Boric alcohol is also sometimes used. It must be handled carefully to prevent skin burns. For this, the ear is smeared with a thick layer of cream or petroleum jelly. Before use, alcohol must be warmed up in a water bath and used as a compress, applying a heated solution to gauze and applying to the ear. To fix the compress, the head is bandaged, and removed immediately after cooling.
- An alternative to boric alcohol is camphor or vegetable oil. It is also allowed to make a compress with them, and you can hold it on your ear for up to five hours.
- Onion juice. In a juice squeezed from chopped onion, a cotton swab is moistened and placed in the affected ear. You need to keep it for about half an hour.
- Flaxseed and onion oil. The mixture is made in equal proportions. Cotton wool with oil can be left in the ear for three hours.
- A decoction of bay leaves. A glass of water takes 5 leaves of laurel. The broth is brought to a boil and left for several hours. Take the resulting liquid inside 2 tablespoons, and also use in the form of ear drops.
- Propolis. Use either a ready-made tincture, or prepared independently at home. For the latter option, propolis granules are soaked in vodka for one day. Next, the ear is wiped with a cotton swab dipped in the resulting tincture several times a day.
- Tincture of calendula. It must be diluted with water, and then used as a compress. Cotton wool with tincture can be left in the ear for the night.
- Chamomile. The infusion is used for washing the ear. To do this, dry flowers are poured with boiling water and insist for 30 minutes.
- Geranium. If you attach a fresh leaf to your ear, it will help relieve inflammation and pain. You can also chop the sheets or place a coiled plant in your ear.
- Salt. It is heated in a frying pan and poured into cloth bags. A compress is applied to the ear every few hours until it cools.
- Essential oil. It can be instilled directly into the ear. This will help relieve pain.
Everyone should know how to cure a cold ear, but it should be borne in mind that any heating should be coordinated with the attending physician, since in the case of purulent otitis media, applying warm compresses will provoke an aggravation of the condition.
Prevention
It's pretty easy to catch an ear. How to cure him at home, we told. But how to prevent this?
Otitis is an unpleasant and painful phenomenon. To prevent its occurrence, each person needs:
- Immune System Support. A balanced diet, hardening, maintaining an active lifestyle, as well as the rejection of bad habits, helps to strengthen the body as a whole.
- Prevention of influenza diseases. Influenza is considered the most common provocateur of an ear cold. One solution is vaccination.
- Avoidance of smoking, even in a passive form.
- In childhood, it is important to vaccinate against pneumococcal infections.
- Avoid hypothermia, wear a hat in the cold season.
- Breastfeeding is recommended for at least six months.
- Ventilate the room regularly and carry out wet cleaning.
- Timely carry out therapy of ENT diseases.
Conclusion
It is necessary to seek the help of a medical specialist at the first manifestations of a cold in the ear. Timely treatment will reduce the risk of complications. It is important to remember that any method of treatment of otitis media from traditional medicine should also be agreed with the attending physician.
We hope that if you caught a cold in your ear, you already know what to do at home.