In children, ears hurt much more often than in adults. The reasons for this are different. Pain in the ear in children occurs both as a complication of a cold, and as a reaction to cold weather. As a rule, if the reason is the second factor, then the pain goes away as soon as the child enters a warm room.
Until about seven years of age, pain in the ear in children manifests itself very often against a cold. Usually, the temperature rises, some swelling and redness behind the ears develop. At this stage, a certain inflammation of the eardrum can be observed . If the disease is diagnosed in a timely manner, the necessary treatment is prescribed, and the disease is completely eliminated. However, it is important to remember that you can not self-medicate: in order to take measures, you first need to correctly establish the causes of pain in the ear, i.e. timely treatment to the doctor is required.
To protect their child from this ailment, parents need to make sure that the child is wearing a hat (if the season requires it) or at least warm headphones.
When the pain in the ear in children is caused by an infection of the middle ear, as a result, the temperature rises, nausea or vomiting is possible. If the child is old enough, he may describe pain in the ear. It is possible that children even temporarily lose their hearing (a sore ear stalls). Unfortunately, the kids cannot explain what hurts them: they just cry and scream. In order to exclude pain in the ear in children of this age, you need to press your fingers on the tragus. If the child cries, it is most likely that the cause of his concern is precisely the inflammation of the organs of hearing.
Parents should remember that treatment of this inflammatory process should be carried out only after consultation with an otolaryngologist. As a rule, inflammation of the middle ear can only be treated with antibiotics, which only a doctor can prescribe. There may be situations where the opinions of experts are divided. Some believe that there is no need to take medicine to treat earache in children. Treatment in this case consists only in the appointment of antipyretic drugs.
Sometimes a fluid forms in the middle ear, which usually resolves when antibiotics are taken. But this does not always happen. Therefore, one and a half to two months after the detection of inflammation, you need to take the child to a specialist so that he checks the level of liquid removal from their ear. The whole problem is that the presence of fluid residues can lead to deafness.
According to the observations of doctors, many children are predisposed to otitis externa. Sometimes the reason for this is established very quickly (water from the pool or bath), but it is often difficult to determine. In such a situation, the doctor may prescribe specialized ear drops or cleaning the ear canal of dead epithelium or pus (this procedure is prescribed when the drops do not help). Cleaning is carried out in a hospital setting.
External otitis media, of course, brings a lot of trouble, but it, unlike inflammation of the middle ear, does not harm the hearing of the child in the future.
If your baby has discharge from the ears, this may indicate inflammation of the middle ear, rupture of the eardrum, and may also be a result of otitis externa or indicate the presence of a foreign object in the hearing organ.
Sometimes, when the baby is concerned about the discharge from the ear of a semi-liquid consistency and a brown tint, which are not accompanied by pain, this can be quite normal. Thus, the ear can get rid of excess sulfur. This is considered acceptable, but consulting a doctor in this situation will not be superfluous.
Remember that treating a child’s earache on their own is dangerous for their health.