Acute pain in the child’s ear is always a big stress for parents. The child is crying, and we often do not know what to do and how, and instead of the necessary help, we make mistakes that lead to a complication of the disease. In order for you not to be in a similar situation, we have collected all the necessary information in this article.
Causes of a child’s ear pain
The cause of the pain can be both external and internal factors:
- Otitis - inflammation of the ear canal as a result of a viral or bacterial infection, can also be a complication after an illness. You can also bring a fungal infection into your ear, for example, when visiting the pool.
- Foreign object in the ear. Kids can accidentally stick a small object into their ears during a game: a coin, a mosaic, parts from designers and toys. During warm periods of time, a small insect can also get into the ear.
- Mechanical injury. The ear may become sick after being hit or damaged by any object, including a cotton swab, which is strictly prohibited for children.
- Sulfur cork. Usually in a physiologically correctly formed passage, plugs do not form. The reason for their formation may be an anatomical feature or the use of cotton buds to clean the ears.
- Also, pain in the ear may not be symptomatic, but may feel like an echo of toothache, headache, or other pain.
Self diagnosis
At 3-4 years old, the child complains of earache on his own, at a younger age parents should guess about it. The most informative in this case is a thorough inspection.
It is necessary to gently pull the baby’s ear to the side and slightly down to examine the ear canal. This is done under the light of a lamp. For better visibility in the ear, you can shine with a regular flashlight, for example, built into the phone.
If you observe swelling of the ear canal, redness, wet or purulent discharge, you need to contact the otolaryngologist. Before contacting, it is necessary to provide the child with first aid.
An indication for contacting a doctor is the detection of a foreign object in the ear. It is forbidden to remove it yourself; you can cause a child injury that will entail serious consequences, up to partial or complete hearing loss.
Also, the indication for treatment is pain when pressing on the tragus and adjacent areas. This is the most important sign that you should focus on, even if the ear canal looks healthy. Perhaps inflammation occurs at a depth not accessible for visual inspection.
First aid
First aid for a child with earache should not be unnecessary. The main thing is not to harm before the examination of the patient by a specialist. No need to look for what to bury in the ear when the child is in pain. In some cases, for example, when the tympanic membrane is damaged, this is strictly forbidden.
Vasoconstrictor drops in the nose
The first thing to do is to check the freedom of nasal breathing. Older children can be asked to breathe through their noses. The smaller ones should be warned that you will check the nose and ask to cover your mouth with your hand. Put your finger in your nostrils and check if air comes out of both nasal passages.
You can check the nose in very young children by giving a sucking lollipop, a pacifier or a bottle of water. If the child does not have difficulty with nasal breathing, continue to the next steps.
If the nose is still blocked, you need to instill vasoconstrictor drops from a runny nose. The nose and ears are strongly connected, and the stuffy nose creates increased pressure in the ears, which, with inflammation, only intensifies the pain.
Analgesic and antipyretic
After vasoconstrictive drops, it is necessary to give the child an analgesic. Read the instructions to find a medicine that is suitable for age, as well as give the right dose.
Now you need to calm the child, hug, sit next to him, measure the temperature. Explain to the baby that now you will go to the doctor who will help you and cure everything.
If the body temperature is normal, you can go to the doctor, if not, you need to give a suitable antipyretic, and then go to the hospital. Ear pain in a child is a fairly serious symptom that requires an immediate visit to a specialist.
Call to a specialist
You need to get an appointment with an otolaryngologist. If you need help with pain in the ear in a child during the daytime on a weekday, contact the clinic at the place of registration, or the one closest to you. With acute pain you will be accepted in anyone. Just before the visit, call and specify the time of reception.
Before leaving, take care to protect your sore ear. If there is a strong wind outside, you should wear a thin hat even in summer.
If severe pain in the ear in the child has made itself felt in the evening or at night, then the on-call ENT will examine you. If you intend to travel by yourself, then call an ambulance and find out in which hospital the specialist you need is on duty today. You can also call in a children's emergency room at home, they will take you to the doctor on duty. But in this case, take care of how you will get back, because the ambulance will leave for the next call.
At the reception you will be examined by a qualified specialist, carry out all the necessary manipulations and prescribe the necessary medicines.
What can not be done?
With a child’s ear pain, parents often want to help only do more harm. We will try to explain what and why in this case it is impossible to do.
- Do not wet your sore ear. The cause of the pain can be a sulfur plug, which, when wet, can swell and bring more pain, the more difficult it is to extract it. Also, fluid in the ear is very dangerous if the eardrum is damaged. If this barrier is broken, fluid will enter the inner ear and cause hearing problems. Therefore, in no case do not rinse and bury a sore ear before examining a doctor. You yourself will never see the eardrum.
- If you want to check for wet or purulent discharge in your ear, do not use a cotton swab. It is better to use cotton flagella. About cotton buds, perhaps, it is worth saying separately. Subject to the rules of child hygiene, it is strictly forbidden to use them. The fact is that thanks to them, sulfur plugs form in the ear. The auditory passage of the child is much narrower than that of an adult, therefore, wielding a cotton swab in it, you kind of tamp the earwax, creating the prerequisite for the occurrence of cork.
Proper ear hygiene in children is the usual way to wash them with soap. If necessary, the use of gauze and cotton flagella is allowed. Understand that the auricle is designed so that it does not need any additional cleaning.
Folk remedies
The child has a sore ear, how to relieve pain? When young parents turn to a similar question with the older generation, they often receive recommendations from the field of traditional medicine in response. To the question of what to instill in a child’s ear in pain, traditional medicine has many answers. From onion juice to baby urine.
About the last option is not even worth talking about. It is not only unhygienic, but also dangerous to health. As for the juices of vegetables, be it onion, garlic, radish or something else, it is possible that they actually contain substances that help relieve irritation. But in addition to the necessary substances, in these organic solutions there are many others that can cause irritation and allergies.
Herbs decoctions are less aggressive in this regard, but they are also better to use after consulting a doctor.
Warming up
The child complains of ear pain - what to do? One of the first things that parents come to mind is to warm them.
The idea is very bad. In the case of inflammation, a foreign body or sulfur cork, it will not do much harm, as well as benefit. But there is the possibility of a bacterial or fungal infection. In this case, heat is absolutely contraindicated. Indeed, a warm and humid environment is ideal for the growth and reproduction of bacteria.
A clear symptom of a bacterial infection is purulent discharge from the ear canal. But even in their absence, you should not take risks on your own.
Compresses
As for compresses, in this case their benefit is extremely small. The fact is that the skin is a protective barrier of the body that prevents the penetration of substances from the outside. And the ear canal, moreover, is rather deep. So the likely benefit of the compress for ear pain in a child is minimized.
Ear drops
Ear drops are perhaps the most popular remedy. The child has a sore ear, how to relieve pain? Of course, drip the medicine. But drops, too, are different. For example, with inflammation caused by a viral infection, some are suitable, with bacterial damage, they are completely different.
It is not easy to choose the best medicine for yourself. But despite this, drops are the safest way to self-medicate. The main thing is to be completely sure that the ear is not damaged and there is no sulfur plug in it.
- For very young children, Otipax drops are often prescribed. They relieve pain and inflammation. But they should be used with caution, since lidocaine, which is part of them, can cause allergic reactions.
- If the child is older than one year, then the use of Otinum ear drops is allowed. In addition to relieving pain and inflammation, the drug has an antifungal effect, it is used when washing the ear canals.
- For inflammation resulting from a bacterial infection, Garazon drops are used. Contraindication to their use is the age of 8 years.
- A popular drug for removing sulfur plugs at home is Remo Wax. Its use in accordance with the instructions is allowed for children from the first days of life.
It is worth noting that both ears are always instilled. This is done as follows. First you need to warm the drops, holding them in your hand, to body temperature. The child is laid on its side and, according to the instructions, 2-3 drops of medicine are instilled into the ear. After this, lie down for several minutes. The ear canal must be closed with a cotton swab so that more medicine remains in the ear. The same thing is done with the second ear. Cotton swabs can be removed after an hour.
Antibiotics
Self-treatment with antibiotics is extremely undesirable. Any drugs of this type are prescribed in the treatment complex. An illiterate approach can only harm the body. Reception of antibiotics begins after confirmation of the bacterial nature of the infection and their appointment by a doctor.
Prevention Recommendations
- Maintaining general immunity: prolonged breastfeeding, hardening. It is worth noting the importance of creating a low-allergenic environment, without dust and other allergens that cause nasal congestion. It is also worth monitoring the maintenance of a healthy children's team, the less a child communicates with sick children, the better.
- Treat all respiratory diseases at an early stage, avoiding the appearance of yellow-green discharge from the nose. This is a signal that a bacterial infection has developed in the nose that easily transfers to the ear canal. Treat all illnesses until complete recovery, do not rush to bring the child to the team immediately after the cessation of fever. Complications most often occur with untreated diseases.
- Observe hygiene of the nose and ears. Do not neglect the water-salt solutions for cleaning the nose. His daily morning toilet is an inviolable rule not only for healthy children, but also for adults.
- Remember that washing your ears is only cleansing the auricle without penetrating it.
Following these simple rules will help you stay healthy and avoid the problems associated with inflammation of the ear canal. And if the trouble does happen, remember three simple steps: restore free nasal breathing with nasal drops, give the patient anesthetic and antipyretic if necessary, consult an otolaryngologist.
Already in consultation with a doctor, you can discuss your preferences in treatment, together build a picture of how and with what means it will flow. No one prohibits traditional medicine, you just need to remember that these are the same medicines as in traditional medicine, and you need to start using them also after consulting a specialist. Now, faced with the problem of ear pain in a child, you will be fully equipped and quickly defeat the disease.