Many parents are constantly faced with the fact that their child very often gets otitis media. This disease is quite common. Often, without timely treatment, it goes into a more severe form, and then it becomes more difficult to cure. Parents are wondering if the child has frequent otitis media, what should I do?
About the disease
In children, this disease can be of three types. Depending on where the inflammation is concentrated, otitis media can be:
- external;
- medium;
- internal.
The inflammatory process is diffuse, in which the eardrum and other structures of the ear are affected, as well as concentrated. By the duration of this disease is acute and chronic. Otitis is divided into two types: catarrhal, in which there is no pus, and exudative.
Some children get this disease often, while others rarely. It depends on the immunity and anatomical features of the structure of the ear. Children whose auditory tube is short are more likely to suffer from otitis media. It should be borne in mind that with age, its size returns to normal, otitis media happen less and less, and sometimes disappear altogether.
Symptoms
With an external ailment, the auricle reddens, sometimes you can see an abscess, due to which a throbbing pain appears. Slight hearing impairment occurs when the abscess opens, pus enters the auditory tube.
Otitis media is manifested:
- backache in the ear;
- increased pain;
- fever;
- disorder of the vestibular apparatus;
- dizziness
- lack of appetite;
- headache;
- slight hearing loss.
A kid who is not yet talking will constantly cry, touch and rub his ear. At the slightest suspicion of otitis media in a newborn, you must consult a doctor.
Internal otitis media most often occurs as a result of improper treatment of otitis media, an advanced form of this disease. It can also manifest as a complication after meningitis. Makes itself felt unexpectedly severe dizziness, hearing loss and noise in a sore ear.
Causes
Parents do not understand why the child has frequent otitis media, and the reasons are very different. Often the problem is provoked by diseases previously transferred:
- flu or SARS;
- pharyngitis and laryngitis;
- tonsillitis and dental caries;
- common cold and hypothermia;
- chickenpox and measles.
While swimming in dirty ponds, water can enter the organ of hearing, as a result of infection in the middle ear, inflammation begins. Also the reason is improper hygiene of the ears, a strong blow to the ear. Frequent otitis media in a 3-year-old child can be caused by a foreign body entering the canal of the organ of hearing. Young children often push various small objects into their ears. In infants, such a disease is mainly caused by improper digestion. According to Dr. Komarovsky, the causes of frequent otitis media in a child may be a strong pressure of the washing solution used for the common cold, as well as improper blowing.
Congenital problems
The appearance of this ailment is sometimes associated with a hereditary predisposition and other congenital problems:
- weak immunity;
- deviations in physical development;
- complications of pregnancy and childbirth;
- the presence of congenital diseases.
If frequent otitis media in children are associated precisely with these factors, then only strengthening immunity and a reverent attitude to the child’s health will help.
Provocative diseases
Most often, otitis media becomes a complication after viral and colds. Sometimes it is associated with allergic reactions. If after about a week the child again has this ailment, then the inflammation has not been treated. Re-infection is also possible due to weakened immunity.
In children, the risk of developing otitis media against the background of an infectious disease is great, because it is much easier for pathogenic bacteria to penetrate the middle ear due to the simple structure of the Eustachian tube. Relapse can occur due to the protracted course of a viral disease. Every irritant is able to start pathological processes again.
Chronization of the disease
Incorrect treatment can lead to frequent otitis in a child of 7 years old, as well as a different age. This ailment becomes chronic when antibiotic treatment is interrupted. The course of treatment with such drugs is from a week to 10 days. The disappearance of the main symptoms is observed after 3 days, but this does not mean that the infection is eliminated, just the microbes under the action of the drug became less active.
Improper treatment
Parents, whose children are often sick with otitis media, sometimes do not go to the hospital, but treat on their own with the help of folk remedies, warming and burying all kinds of drops in the ears. However, such treatment is very dangerous, especially for infants. This attitude leads to the fact that the disease becomes protracted and will have to be treated much longer in the future.
There are cases when parents, after three days of inpatient treatment, while improving the well-being of the child, take him out of the hospital under his personal responsibility. But it must be borne in mind that the drugs have just begun to act and only slightly muffled the symptoms. Interrupted treatment ends with complications.
Treatment
If the child has constant otitis media, what to do, the doctor will tell. Proper treatment is possible only under his direct supervision, although this applies only to a mild form, or in a hospital. When a child has such a disease 3 times or more in a year, it is necessary to conduct an additional more detailed examination to determine the cause.
It must be borne in mind that in addition to the main methods of treatment, it is desirable to take vitamins that will help strengthen immunity. In the hospital, after a visual examination, tests, the doctor will begin treatment, but after the diagnosis is confirmed. The course of drugs is selected individually, while the characteristics of the body are necessarily taken into account. Most likely, you will have to lie in the hospital for about 10 days.
Komarovsky treatment
As Komarovsky warns, frequent otitis media in a child can not be treated with folk remedies and alternative medicine recipes, as they can cause an allergic reaction. Its main recommendation is the timely request for medical help.
With a purulent form of the disease, it is prohibited:
- alcohol and warming compresses;
- warming up;
- instillation of warm oil.
With frequent otitis media in children, what should I do, according to Komarovsky, at the beginning of the disease? The doctor advises starting treatment of sudden otitis media with instillation of vasoconstrictive drops in the nose. Such drugs as Nazol Baby, Nazivin Sensitive and Nazivin will help reduce the lumen of the vessels in the nasal mucosa and relieve swelling in the auditory tube. It must be borne in mind that you can use them no more than 5 days. The use of these drops will help prevent the development of the disease. However, no ear drops should be instilled into a child without a doctor’s permission. The doctor after an appropriate examination may prescribe the passage:
- UHF therapy;
- warming with ultraviolet light;
- electrophoresis.
These physiotherapeutic procedures will help to avoid complications, and their implementation also helps to speed up the recovery process. They should be carried out daily for 10 days.
With otitis media, when there is an increase in temperature, it is required to use painkillers and antipyretic drugs. To relieve pain, various drops with anesthetic are used. However, they can be used exclusively for their intended purpose, since many of them are contraindicated in case of damage to the membrane. But only a doctor can see this with a thorough examination.
External otitis is treated with antiseptic treatment, and internal otitis needs symptomatic treatment. According to Komarovsky, with frequent otitis media in children, the antibiotic regimen is prescribed individually. It is very important to comply with the timing and dosage, this will help reduce the risk of relapse.
Complications
If the treatment is incorrect or untimely, as well as otitis media begins to develop rapidly, there is a chance that he will become chronic or complications will develop. They can be:
- hearing loss;
- damage to the vestibular apparatus;
- paresis of the facial nerve;
- irritation of the meninges;
- inflammation of the mastoid process of the temporal bone (mastoiditis).
Disease prevention
With frequent otitis media in children, parents need to be more careful about their health. You need to make sure that he is dressed for the weather. In hot weather, you do not need to wrap up your ears, because in this case the head will sweat, and the auditory organs can blow out. In the cold, ears should be well covered.
It is necessary to pay attention to strengthening the immune system of a growing organism. To do this, periodically give vitamin-mineral complexes, which should be selected by a children's doctor, preferably someone who has been observing a child from birth knows the features of his body. You should watch that the baby does not fall and does not hit his head. He must not be allowed to have contact with sick children. Frequent otitis media in babies occurs, as a rule, in the cold season, as well as during the period of mass incidence of respiratory viral infections. Doctors recommend avoiding being in crowded places.
It is very important to teach a child to blow his nose properly from childhood. During the procedure of washing the nose, damage to the mucous membrane should not be allowed. Particular care should be taken when breastfeeding. It is necessary to ensure that he does not overeat, and after feeding it is necessary to hold him for a while in an upright position. One of the likely causes of frequent otitis media is very dry air in the apartment, so regular ventilation is necessary. Non-compliance with the rules of hygiene of the child can lead to the fact that otitis will give a relapse.
It is necessary to ensure that the baby does not put anything in his ear, nose or mouth, as there is a chance of infection and injury to the external auditory organs. In order to prevent a recurrence of otitis media, parents need to properly perform hygienic cleaning procedures, monitor how and with what the child plays. Of great importance is the hygiene of the ears. Everything must be done so that as little as possible and less water gets into the ear canal. For children, it is important to prevent the effects of pressure drops and loud sounds. Otitis media refers to a serious illness that children often experience. Timely treatment started will help relieve pain and relieve inflammation.