Otitis is not a rare disease in childhood. Many parents, as well as grandparents, are confident that the child will become sick with otitis media after being "puffed in his ears." This motivates the need to wear hats, even in fairly warm weather. But in fact, the likelihood of otitis media "out of the blue" is quite small, and, as a rule, it is a complication of a viral or bacterial disease, as well as a consequence of a banal prolonged runny nose. This is largely due to age-related structural features of the nasopharynx - the Eustachian tube (which connects the nasopharyngeal cavity and the ear) in children is quite wide and short, so it’s easy for microbes to penetrate the middle ear and cause an inflammatory process.
With otitis media, the child may have a headache, a fever, but the main symptom is pain in the ear, which can be either constant or periodic. If the child already speaks well, he often describes the pain as shooting or stitching. The most difficult thing is to recognize the signs of otitis media in children of the first year of life, which can not only say, but also show where it hurts. Therefore, unreasonable crying, refusal to eat, attempts to touch the ear all the time, poor sleep, especially against the background of fever and any, even not very pronounced SARS, are very alarming symptoms that make it possible to suspect that the child has otitis media.
Treatment of otitis media in children
How does treatment of otitis media in children begin? From a visit to the otolaryngologist, who will diagnose and determine the type of otitis media (catarrhal or purulent), as well as recommend certain procedures and medications. For example, with purulent otitis media, it is strictly forbidden to warm the diseased ear, as well as to drop drops on it based on alcohol, while with catarrhal otitis, such manipulations can significantly speed up recovery. If the child has a pain in his ear, and it takes time to get to the doctor, you can give him an age-specific dosage of paracetamol or ibuprofen, which will help relieve the pain a little, as well as drip the nose with a vasoconstrictor. You can also alleviate the condition of the child with special analgesic ear drops (for example, otipax), but only if he does not have purulent discharge from the ear. If pus flows from the ear , nothing can be dripped into it! And if in such a situation it is not possible to immediately get an appointment with an otolaryngologist (for example, he only accepts on certain days), you need to call an ambulance, which will take the child to the medical institution where they can be provided with emergency assistance.
Treatment of otitis media in children does not always involve the use of antibiotics - for catarrhal otitis media, when the inflammation is not clearly expressed, the child does not have a high temperature and is not too impaired, the disease can often be overcome with more gentle methods. But if pus is secreted from the abalone, then antibiotics cannot be dispensed with. Parents need to follow the doctor’s prescriptions and in no case stop taking antibiotics ahead of time, because with irrational treatment, otitis can go into a chronic form, which is fraught with various complications up to irreversible hearing loss.
Treatment of otitis media in children is inextricably linked with the restoration of free nasal breathing. To do this, special vasoconstrictor drops are used for children (for example, nazivin or vibrocil), as well as rinsing with saline (saline, aquamaris, etc.), with which it is possible to get rid of thickened mucus. Also, the doctor can prescribe a child various drugs that reduce swelling and promote thinning of mucus. Directly, special drops are most often buried directly in the ear, or the medicine is applied to turundas (flagella from a bandage), which are inserted into the ears for several hours.
Many parents are concerned about the question: is it possible to treat otitis media in children with traditional medicine? Indeed, in many families, recipes for miraculous compresses or drops are transmitted from generation to generation that quickly help cure sore ears. There is a simple rule - before applying this or that folk remedy, you should consult your doctor (especially with regard to various compresses and drops). One of the interesting and safe “grandmother's” methods of treating otitis media is the use of a leaf of ordinary room geranium, which must be crushed, rolled up, inserted into a sore ear. After this simple manipulation, pain in the ears quickly passes.
Prevention of otitis media in children is, first of all, in the fight against prolonged rhinitis. Parents should remember that if the snot in a child does not go away within a week, and especially if they become yellowish-green, this is an excuse not to delay a visit to a doctor (good pediatrician or ENT specialist). Also, for the prevention of otitis media, it is necessary to teach the child to blow his nose properly as early as possible - closing each nostril in turn and without exerting excessive effort. And if the child is prone to otitis media, priority should be given to the prevention of various respiratory diseases.