Ear infection after cold is the most common disease of children. In fact, three-quarters of children have an ear infection before they reach the age of 3.Symptoms:Pain is the first symptom. Your child may say he has an earache, or you may notice it yourself. He pulls his ear. A recent cold or sinusitis is also helpful in diagnosis. He may have a fever or no fever at all.Decreased appetite. An ear infection may make chewing and swallowing painful. Slow.Change in sleeping habits. Lying down and sleeping may increase the pain on the side of the affected ear and cause sleep disturbances.diarrhea and vomiting.Yellow or relatively white fluid coming out of the ear. Of course, it does not happen in most children, but it can be a sign of a small hole in the eardrum through which pus and infection are drained out. In most cases, after the ear heals and clears the infection, this hole will repair itself.Unpleasant smell. You may feel an unpleasant smell of infection from the infected ear.Disorders in hearing sounds. Fluid accumulation in the middle ear may prevent hearing sounds.Creating a disturbance in maintaining the balance of the body. The ear helps in maintaining the balance. Therefore, you may feel that your child is not able to maintain his balance and has a little trouble compared to before.
Ear infection It is usually caused by bacteria. But viruses can also cause it. This condition occurs when fluid accumulates behind the eardrum and then becomes infected. Naturally, any fluid that accumulates in this area is drained by the eustachian tube (the tube or duct that connects the middle ear to the pharynx). But if the eustachian tube becomes blocked - which happens commonly in colds, sinusitis, and even allergies - this liquid gets stuck in the middle ear and does not drain.
Microbes like dark, warm and moist environments, so the middle ear, which is filled with liquid, is considered a good place for their growth and nutrition. As the infection worsens, the inflammation in the back and eardrum increases and causes pain. A fever occurs when your child's body is trying to fight off an infection. In such conditions, when inflammation of the middle ear occurs with fluid accumulation, pain, redness of the eardrum, and sometimes fever, it is called acute otitis media or acute otitis media in medicine. (AOM)Because in children, the Eustachian tube is short (less than one and a half centimeters) and is horizontal, they are very prone to middle ear infections. As they grow, the tube becomes longer and more vertical, and the outflow or drainage of fluid is easier. takes.
Contact your pediatrician at the first signs of an ear infection. He will ask you to come in and examine your child's ears with an instrument called an otoscope. If the child's eardrum looks red, swollen and moist, it is very likely that he has a middle ear infection. He may want to examine your child's ears with a device called a pneumatic otoscope. In this examination, the movement of the eardrum is observed in response to small streams of air released by the device. If the eardrum does not move in front of these air currents, it means that there is fluid accumulation in the middle ear and the middle ear may be infected.
Treatment:
Treatment depends on the symptoms. It is recommended to give antibiotics if the child is between 2 and 12 years old. The sicker the child seems, it is necessary to take more precautions and start the medicine earlier. After a week, take him to the doctor for another visit to make sure that the drugs are effective.Remember that antibiotics do not reduce pain in the first 24 hours, in fact, its soothing effect starts gradually and after the first 24 hours. To reduce the pain, it is better to use the right amount of acetaminophen or ibuprofen. (Never give your child aspirin because it predisposes them to Reye's syndrome, which is rare but fatal). It can help.If you have started antibiotic treatment or have not yet started and his general condition does not improve after a few days, if he still has a fever, or any of the symptoms are still present and his condition has worsened, tell his doctor. He may need to change your child's antibiotic.
Prevention :Ear infection itself is not contagious and infectious, but the infection of the device Breathing that precedes or accompanies it is contagious. School-aged children are more susceptible to ear infections because they are in contact with more germs. To reduce the spread of germs, always wash your hands after going to the toilet and before preparing food. Also, teach your children to wash their hands every time before eating.If your child has frequent ear infections, especially after catching the flu, talk to your doctor about it, he may consider it necessary for your child to receive a flu vaccine. (Although the flu vaccine is not recommended for all children)Keep your child away from all types of tobacco smoke and cigarettes. Cigarette smoke increases the risk of ear infections. In fact, if he is regularly exposed to smoke, he is at the highest risk for recurring ear infections. Do not allow anyone to smoke in your home and keep your child away from environments contaminated with cigarette smoke.
