If you have a cold ear, how to treat? This is a common question. Let's look into it in more detail. Otitis media in the acute form of the course is a pathological process, which in everyday life is often called a cold in the ear. This disease causes a lot of discomfort, sometimes painful. And in a neglected state, otitis media can provoke serious pathological changes. What are the symptoms of a cold ear?
Symptoms
The main symptom of his infection is pain. Soreness can be acute or dull in nature, be intensely pronounced, and sometimes unbearable. Fluid begins to accumulate in a cold ear. Pain is caused by fluid buildup pressing against the eardrum.
Other manifestations
Other symptoms of a cold ear are the following symptoms:
- Pain in the head.
- Disturbed appetite.
- Interrupted sleep, up to insomnia.
- Significant increase in body temperature.
- Irritable.
- Accumulation of yellow or greenish mucus in the ear.
- Ear congestion.
- Painful swallowing.
- Violation of hearing perception as a result of perforation of the eardrum.
- Discharge of white, yellow or brown fluid from the ear cavity.
- Itching.
- Purulent discharge, especially in advanced cases.
If you experience the symptoms listed above, you should immediately seek medical help, as delay in the treatment of otitis media can have serious consequences for the whole body.
Risk factors
What to do if you have a cold ear is interesting to many, but it also depends on the cause of the disease. Otitis is characterized by an inflammatory process localized in the middle ear. Most often, pathology is a complication after a cold or a viral infection. It is especially common in those who do not comply with bed rest during illness.
Other factors that can provoke the development of otitis media can be:
- mechanical ear damage;
- neglected diseases such as rhinitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, etc.;
- hypercooling of the body;
- allergic reaction;
- causative agent of fungal infection;
- poor personal hygiene.
Types of colds
Cold ear can be both in children and adults. There are two main variants of otitis media:
- Catarrhal acute otitis. At the initial stage of developmentthe disease is characterized by an inflammatory process and swelling of the mucous membrane.
- Purulent acute otitis media. In this variant of the disease, purulent contents begin to stand out from the ear, and the inflammatory process affects all parts of the middle ear. This type of otitis media occurs in a mild or severe form, and is also able to go into a chronic type.
The initial symptoms of the pathological process appear after a while. If purulent type otitis media is diagnosed, then discharge from the ear begins after a few days. The patient's condition during the disease is unstable, with periodic improvements. A situation is considered very dangerous when pus does not come out. This indicates its accumulation, which can cause brain inflammation.
Conservative treatment
When identifying the first signs of a cold ear, you need to turn to Laura. It is impossible to undertake any treatment on your own, as this can have unpredictable consequences. Treatment of otitis is aimed at solving problems such as pain relief and relief of inflammation. If the patient complains of a pronounced pain syndrome, he is prescribed drugs that have an antibacterial and analgesic effect: Sofradex, Otinum, Albucid, etc. And in order to narrow the blood vessels and reduce the severity of inflammation in the ear, special drops are required, and also vaseline oil.
Purulent form
If a patient has a purulent form of the disease, he is prescribed "Etony", "Rivanol", "Polymyxin", etc. The effect of these drugsaimed at removing pus from the eardrum. By the way, you need to bury them only in a warm form. And if the pipette is not disposable, it must be disinfected to prevent further spread of infectious agents.
The ear is inextricably linked with other ENT organs, namely the nose and throat, so it is possible to treat a cold ear at home, but the therapy should be prescribed and monitored by a specialist. Treatment is carried out, as a rule, complex, including drugs "Nazol", "Lyzocin", "Glazolin", etc. They are able to soothe the mucous membrane, eliminate swelling and reduce pressure on the eardrum.
In case of advanced otitis media, patients are prescribed antibiotics. Topical antibiotics may also be used. Before applying them, it is necessary to clean the sore ear from accumulated pus.
Treatment at home
But in addition to these medicines, there are other ways to help if a person has a cold in his ear. How to treat otitis media at home, they know, as it seems to them, those who have a blue lamp. It is often used to treat this disease. The affected ear warms up for 5 minutes every half hour. But it is categorically impossible to treat purulent inflammation in this way! In addition, with a cold ear, it is recommended to follow the standard recommendations for treating the common cold - drink more warm liquids and take vitamins, especially C.
Many experts allow the combination of drugs with somerecipes of traditional medicine for the treatment of otitis media. So, at home you can prepare various drops, tinctures, compresses and ointments.
The most popular home treatments for otitis media are:
- Compress on the ear with boric acid. A contraindication for using this method is high body temperature. The solution is applied to a cotton swab and injected into the ear. Sometimes boric alcohol is also used. It must be handled carefully to prevent skin burns. To do this, the ear is smeared with a thick layer of cream or petroleum jelly. Before use, alcohol must be heated in a water bath and used as a compress, applying a heated solution to the gauze and applying it to the ear. To fix the compress, the head is bandaged, and removed immediately after cooling.
- An alternative to boric alcohol is camphor or vegetable oil. They are also allowed to make a compress, and you can keep it on your ear for up to five hours.
- Onion juice. In the juice squeezed from the chopped onion, a cotton swab is moistened and laid in the affected ear. You need to keep it for about half an hour.
- Linen and onion oil. The mixture is made in equal proportions. A cotton swab with oil can be left in the ear for three hours.
- Decoction of bay leaf. 5 leaves of laurel are taken per glass of water. The broth is brought to a boil and left for several hours. Take the resulting liquid inside 2 tablespoons, and also use it in the form of ear drops.
- Propolis. Use either ready-made tincture, or prepared yourself at home. For the lastPropolis granules are soaked in vodka for one day. Next, the ear is wiped with a cotton swab dipped in the resulting tincture several times a day.
- Calendula tincture. It must be diluted with water, and then used as a compress. Cotton wool with tincture can be left in the ear overnight.
- Chamomile. The infusion is used to wash the ear. To do this, dry flowers are poured with boiling water and infused for 30 minutes.
- Geranium. If you apply a fresh leaf to your ear, it will help relieve inflammation and pain. You can also crush leaves or place a rolled plant in your ear.
- S alt. It is heated in a frying pan and poured into cloth bags. The compress is applied to the ear every few hours until cool.
- Essential oil. It can be instilled directly into the ear. This will help relieve the pain.
How to cure a cold ear, everyone should know, but it should also be borne in mind that any warming must be agreed with the attending physician, since in the case of purulent otitis media, applying warm compresses will provoke an aggravation of the condition.
Prevention
It's pretty easy to catch a cold in your ear. How to cure it at home, we told. How to prevent it?
Otitis media is an unpleasant and painful phenomenon. To prevent its occurrence, each person needs:
- Immune system support. A balanced diet, hardening, maintaining an active lifestyle, as well as the rejection of bad habits, which helps strengthen the body as a whole.
- Prevention of influenza diseases. Influenza is considered the most common cause of ear colds. One solution is vaccination.
- Avoiding smoking, even passively.
- Vaccination against pneumococcal infections is important in childhood.
- Avoid hypothermia, wear a hat in the cold season.
- Breastfeeding is recommended for at least six months.
- Regularly ventilate the room and carry out wet cleaning.
- Treat diseases of ENT organs in a timely manner.
Conclusion
You need to seek the help of a medical specialist at the first manifestations of a cold in the ear. Timely treatment will reduce the risk of complications. It is important to remember that any method of treating otitis from traditional medicine must also be agreed with the attending physician.
We hope that if you catch a cold in your ear, you already know what to do at home.
