A child's ear aches: what to do at home?

The structure of the children's ear has physiological features. The Eustachian tube is narrower and thinner. As a result, even minor external influences cause all sorts of inflammatory processes in all parts of the ear. According to statistics, up to 75% of children are found with the first ear diseases at an early age.

Parents of these children know how painful earache can be. It manifests itself in the evening or at night and prevents the child from falling asleep. The situation is complicated by the fact that at this time of day, no clinic. A quick inspection by a specialist is not possible. In such cases, adults should independently take steps to alleviate the condition of the child.The first step is to determine what contributed to the occurrence of pain.

Parents can find out the causes of the disease on their own, if they analyze what the child was doing during the last day, and what diseases were diagnosed for him during the last week. Having identified the cause of discomfort, parents can choose the appropriate treatment methods, which will quickly help the child.

Factors causing ear pain

External:

1. A typical reason for families staying at a water reservoir is water entering the ear. Dirty and cold water has a negative effect on the baby’s delicate ear organ. Also quite often the ear of the baby begins to hurt after a while after home bathing in the bath. This routine procedure can result in water entering the auricle. Also it is worth paying special attention to the children's washing cosmetics, which the child uses. You should refuse shampoos based on aggressive surfactants such as SLS / SLES, PEG, MEA. It should not contain chemical dyes. If ingested, such substances can cause severe irritation and cause significant discomfort.
2. Penetration into the auditory meatus of a foreign body. Often, parents of very young children who put small objects in their ears are found with this.
3. Mechanical injury to the ear.
4. The occurrence of sulfuric plug. Due to the physiological characteristics of the structure or enhanced production of earwax.
5. Lack of caps during walks in cold weather.

Internal:

1. Most often, children with otitis or eustachitis have experienced ear pain.
2. Reproduction of the fungus.
3. Virus.
4. Consequences of ARI and ARVI.
5. The pain can be given in the ear with mumps, sore throat, toothache.
6. Diseases of closely located organs.
7. Arterial or intracranial pressure.

The factors that led to ear pain, it is recommended to find out before the arrival of the doctor to help make the most accurate diagnosis. It is important to list all the symptoms observed. In most cases, parents, having correctly analyzed the situation, can help the child themselves.

Symptoms to pay attention to

After the first complaint of the child about the earache, adults should begin to closely monitor its behavior and make an initial examination of the auricle.

In the case of detection of a foreign body that is shallow, you can try to get it. This should be done very carefully, without using tweezers, so as not to push the object further.

You should press your fingers on the trestle - hryashik in front of the external auditory canal. If pressing provokes increased pain, then with a high degree of probability it can be argued that the child develops inflammation and requires urgent medical attention. The absence of pain when pressed indicates that there is no inflammation.

Be sure to measure the body temperature of the child. An increase in temperature indicates an inflammatory process - otitis or eustachitis. In such a situation, it is desirable for the child to take antipyretic medication in a dosage and form appropriate for age (candles, syrup, tablets) so that he can more easily defer the time of waiting for the doctor.

The absence of elevated temperature confirms that the cause of the indisposition is external exposure. Such symptoms may also occur due to sudden pressure surges. Therefore, in the absence of temperature, a pressure measurement becomes a necessary procedure.

The appearance of purulent discharge from the ear canal indicates the development of a viral or bacterial infection.

Auricular swelling, discoloration to red or bluish is an obvious symptom of an insect bite or severe bruise.

With the defeat of the fungus of the child will pester severe itching.

Frequent symptoms of severe ear pain in children, especially young children, are whims, crying, turning into cry, lack of appetite, insomnia. In order to cope with them, parents should give the child an anesthetic for a short time in order to save him from suffering. The intensity of ear pain is often fairly compared to a toothache. Most people who have ever come across it know how unpleasant it is. Adults should be patient, remain calm until the arrival of medical personnel. Panic moods of an adult will be passed on to a child, which will only lead to a deterioration of his condition. A small child needs to be reassured by hugging, swaying and humming a song. It is advisable to treat more adult children indulgently, to allow the child to do what he likes, for example,longer watch TV or read him an interesting book. Calm all family members will benefit a sick baby.

First aid for a child with earaches

1. If you find the first symptoms and complaints from the child, you must immediately call a doctor. If the pain occurred at night - it is better to immediately contact the "First Aid". Only a specialist can correctly diagnose and prescribe the necessary treatment.
2. In anticipation of professional help, you can give your child a proven anesthetic in a dosage appropriate for age.
3. Proven popular way to facilitate the state, is a spirit compress on the ear. It is made quite simply. In a gauze napkin and a piece of cellophane make a cut. Gauze must be soaked with alcohol, diluted with water (pure sport can cause a burn) and impose so that the auricle is not closed. Similarly, cover the gauze with cellophane. All this is wrapped up with a warm scarf. Important! Alcohol compress can not be done if the child has a high temperature!
4. With a critical temperature increase and a severe deterioration of the condition, it is possible to give a child antipyretic.
5. A fleece dipped in warm boric acid and laid in the auricle, but not in the ear canal, has a good therapeutic effect.
6. If the child’s ear diseases are repeated regularly, then surely the medicines prescribed by the doctor earlier are at home. In case of emergency, you can drop the tested ear drops - Otipaks, Otinum. First you need to check the expiration date of drugs.
7. The standard recommendation of doctors, which consists in providing the child with abundant warm drink, is also appropriate in the event of earache, since the dehydrated body is worse at coping with any disease.

Ear pain medication

In case of inflammation (otitis, eustachitis) and bacterial infections, the use of penicillin antibiotics for 7–10 days is mandatory. The form is chosen depending on the complexity of the disease and the age of children - injections, pills, suspension. In no case can one neglect such treatment, despite the fact that antibiotics alone can cause negative consequences in the form of intestinal upset.Otitis treatment without antibiotics can turn into serious complications.

Ear drops are local pain relievers. Show antibacterial action, may contain an antibiotic.

1. "Otipaks" - a drug for the treatment of otitis media, which has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Pain relief due to lidocaine contained in the composition. But it is worth remembering that this component is a strong allergen.
2. "Otofa" - removes acute conditions, as part of the presence of the antibiotic rifampicin.
3. "Otinum" - a strong painkiller, designed for children over 1 year.
4. "Remo-Vaks" - is used to liquefy and gently remove sulfur plugs.

In the case of severe fungal lesions, additional physical procedures may be required, for example, flushing the ear canal.

Along with drug treatment, doctors recommend proven folk remedies that can significantly improve the condition of the child and speed up his recovery.

Examples of folk remedies

1. Almond oil in the form of heat instilled 1 drop 3 times a day in a sore ear.
2. Wash chamomile infusion affected ear 2 times a day. To prepare the infusion, pour dry chamomile flowers hot, but not boiling water (1 teaspoon per glass of water) and let stand. Before use, the infusion must be filtered. This washing is especially useful when there is purulent discharge.
3. You can apply to the sore ear a compress of beets boiled in water with the addition of honey.
4. You can wash the ear and infusion prepared from fresh lemon balm (1 sprig per cup of warm water). If the child is not prone to allergies, this infusion can be offered to him as a warm tea.
5. Effectively combats inflammations with a mixture of honey and alcohol in equal quantities. It is necessary to drip such self-made medicine on 1 drop 3 times a day.

It is important to understand that folk remedies are not a panacea for all diseases, and they are used as an adjuvant therapy. In the treatment of folk remedies, especially children, you must be very careful, since the effects of some components may be too aggressive or cause an allergic reaction.

In any case, before using folk remedies, you should consult with your doctor, and if he does not mind, start treatment.Otherwise, with the abuse of self-treatment methods, the most complicated pathologies can develop, up to and including hearing impairment and deafness.

Preventive measures

1. Do not allow strong mechanical effects on the ear and penetration of foreign bodies into the ear canal.
2. You should always wear a hat, which in cold windy weather will reliably protect children's ears.
3. It is useful to strengthen the child’s immunity so that numerous viral and bacterial infections do not result in complications such as otitis.

When these simple rules are followed, the child has a chance to never know how unbearable the pain in the ears is.

Video: what to do if a child has a sore ear?