The day went perfectly, the baby was cheerful and healthy, but by the evening he was sad, and at night - temperature, fever, runny nose and earache. Pretty typical situation. And, alas, not every mother decides to call an ambulance or call a doctor in the middle of the night. So, the child’s ears hurt - what should I do?
Ear pain is one of the most common complaints of babies. Often, a child’s ear hurts at night, this is accompanied by intoxication and colds. What are the reasons? There are several of them, and the most common is inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media), which arose as a continuation of the common cold. Especially often this happens in newborns. During a cold, the baby lies all the time, mucus flows abundantly into the middle ear through a special channel - the Eustachian tube, which connects the nasopharynx and the ear cavity.
In children over one year of age, the cause of pain in the ear can be injuries, ingress of water or a foreign body (for the prevention of such cases, warning signs are written on the toys about the presence of small parts!).
If the child’s ears often hurt, a possible cause is a chronic inflammatory process in the nasopharynx. Ear pain can cause a boil in the ear canal, inflammation of the tonsils (tonsillitis, tonsillitis). Also, toothache can give or, as doctors say, radiate to the ear.
A common cause of earache in newborns is otitis media, caused by the ingestion of breast milk during feeding from the nasopharynx into the middle ear, all along the same Eustachian tube.
The child has a sore ear - what should I do before a professional examination by a doctor?
First of all, try to find out if the ear really hurts. The older child himself will indicate the place of pain, and the baby will only cry. But! The pain in the ear is, as a rule, shooting in nature, so the baby will cry in attacks, all the time reach for the sore ear with a pen. And you can independently establish the source of pain by simply clicking on the tragus - a tight protrusion on the bottom of the auricle. With otitis media or another painful process, it is in the ear that this action causes acute pain, which means crying and the corresponding reaction. If there is any discharge from the ear (purulent, mucous, bloody), then, as they say, the cause of the disease is obvious.
If a child has a sore ear, what to do
It is necessary to lubricate the skin around the auricle with baby cream, and put a compress from a gauze napkin with a weak aqueous solution of vodka on top. Caution - the auditory opening must remain open! Top compress can be insulated with a handkerchief or cotton wool. If the nose is stuffed up, then vasoconstrictive drops can be used , and at high temperature (more than 38 0 ) give an antipyretic. Then you should seek medical help!
If your child has a sore ear, what should not be done
Do not apply any bandages and compresses, especially covering the ear canal, if the child has any discharge from the ear. You can not prescribe ear drops and antibiotics on your own. The use of UHF is contraindicated. Tampons and turundas should not be placed in the ear cavity, no matter how “medicinal” the substance they are lubricated.
In conclusion, we can say: if a child’s ears hurt, what to do - the doctor will tell.