Diagnosing is a difficult, responsible task that requires the high qualification of the attending physician and the complete frankness of the patient. The situation becomes more complicated several times when an unknown ailment disturbs an infant who, due to his age, cannot yet tell about his feelings, and there are no external signs of the disease. One of such problematic conditions for diagnosing is ear pain. In order not to miss a dangerous disease and provide the baby with timely assistance, you need to know how to check if the child’s ears hurt.
Causes of ear pain in children
The causes of pain in the ears can be both external irritants and various diseases of a viral or bacterial nature.
External factors:
- foreign body in the ear;
- traumatic injury (strike);
- burn;
- animal bite;
- stung insect;
- ruptured eardrum (often caused by improperly cleaning ears with cottonstick);
- strong wind;
- sulfur accumulation (sulfur plug);
- water getting into the ears (often there are complaints that the child's ear hurts after bathing).
Diseases that cause ear pain:
- viral, fungal and bacterial infections;
- cold;
- chronic respiratory diseases (tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia);
- complications after previous illnesses of the upper respiratory tract, oral cavity (caries, tonsillitis);
- impaired cerebral circulation;
- low or high intracranial, blood pressure;
- inflammatory processes in the Eustachian tube;
- otitis media;
- violation of the structure of the nerve endings responsible for hearing.
Any of these conditions are dangerous to he alth, so it is important to know how to determine if a child has earache in order to prevent complications.
Signs of ear pain in a nursing baby
A newborn baby cannot tell his parents and doctor what exactly is bothering him. Therefore, an inexperienced mother often has a question about how to check if a child’s ears hurt before a year.
Signs of ear pain in a baby:
- poor appetite;
- anxiety, crying while feeding;
- possible discharge of yellow fluid from the auricle;
- hyperthermia;
- poor, interrupted sleep;
- the baby is constantly scratching, rubbing his ear, trying to lie on it.
There is a sure way to check if they hurtwhether the ears of a child who cannot communicate his problem himself. It is necessary to slightly press the cartilage near the beginning of the ear canal with your finger. If the baby's crying intensifies and he tries to move his hand away, then it really is in the ears.
How to understand that an older child's ear hurts
It is much easier to diagnose a baby who can talk and can complain about pain and discomfort. But in such a situation, it is also important to distinguish ear pain from toothache or headache.
Symptoms of ear pain in a child who can speak:
- complaints of tingling or severe pain in the ears (depending on the cause);
- sometimes the localization of pain is not fully understood, the child may indicate pain in the area of the teeth;
- pain occurs when turning the head sharply;
- a baby, like a newborn, can wake up several times at night, complain of itching in the ear, try to rub it;
- capricious behavior.
Parents should remember that ear pain feels like toothache, so you should see a doctor right away to avoid making your baby suffer.
Ways to alleviate the condition
If a child has one of the above signs, the only right decision is to immediately seek help from specialists. But what if the alarming symptoms showed up on a day off or late in the evening? In the most critical situations, when there is an increase in temperature,severe pain and purulent discharge, it is recommended to call an ambulance. In other cases, you can try to temporarily relieve the baby's condition on your own.
First steps for child's ear pain:
- give the baby an anesthetic and antipyretic (at a temperature above 38-38.5 ° C);
- drip the nose with vasoconstrictor drops even in the absence of a runny nose (necessary to relieve swelling);
- give baby water regularly;
- insert tampons moistened with boric acid or special drops into ears (for example, "Otipax");
- contact ENT.
If a child's ear hurts, pain medication should not be used as a treatment, but as a temporary measure to alleviate the condition before going to the doctor.
Prohibited manipulations
In the desire to help a child get rid of suffering, the main thing is not to harm him. Doctors give some advice on what not to do in order not to aggravate the problem.
What not to do if your child has earache:
- refuse to see a doctor;
- take painkillers just before going to the doctor or the ambulance - this will not allow the doctor to see all the symptoms in full;
- try to get a foreign body on your own, if the cause of the pain is in it;
- warm up the ear, make alcohol compresses when pus is discharged from the ear;
- ignore prescribing antibiotics andother medications;
- to be treated exclusively by traditional medicine.
Self-medication is not acceptable even for adult patients. In the case of a child, the refusal of traditional methods of treatment can lead to irreparable consequences, including hearing loss.
Diagnostic Methods
Most often, doctors do not have the question of how to understand if a child's ear hurts. In medicine, there are a number of diagnostic procedures for this.
For diagnosing ear pain, use:
- taking an anamnesis (the doctor must understand the state of the patient's immunity, know what he has been ill with recently);
- examination of the auricle (in the case of a foreign body, this manipulation is enough);
- examination of the ear using a special otoscope device (relevant for assessing the condition of the tympanic membrane, external ear, auditory canal);
- temperature measurement (for infectious diseases, the thermometer readings may exceed 39 ° C);
- blood and urine tests (to determine the inflammatory process in the body);
- examination of the oral cavity, nasal passages;
- in case of traumatic injury, additional diagnostic methods (X-ray, computed tomography) can be used.
When the doctor confirms that the baby's pain is caused precisely by a problem with the ear, it is necessary to strictly adhere to all prescriptions and continue treatment even if the condition improves in order to avoid relapses.
Medicated treatment
If there is any infection or a cold in the child's body, such a common ear disease as otitis media can develop as a complication. It is this disease that often requires medical treatment.
Medicines used to treat ear pain:
- antibiotics (for infectious disease, inflammatory process);
- vasoconstrictor drugs in the nose ("Nazivin", "Nazol" and so on);
- ear drops (selected by the attending physician depending on the symptoms);
- alcohol compress and warming procedures on the ear (in the absence of purulent discharge);
- when cleansing the ear from sulfuric plugs, peroxide, vaseline oil are used;
- fungal infections are treated with hydrogen peroxide, Vishnevsky's ointment.
It is important to remember that any, even the most harmless, drug should be prescribed by a professional.
Traditional medicine
After agreement with the doctor, traditional treatment can be combined with traditional medicine methods. Independent use of folk remedies can lead to serious complications.
Unconventional ways to treat ear pain in children:
- cedar, walnut or sea buckthorn oil instill one drop three times a day in a sore ear;
- dig in the ears with a composition of honey and propolis mixed in a 1:1 ratio (also three times a day, but two drops each);
- wash your ears with chamomile decoction.
In order for the treatment to bring the desired result, it is important not to stop it if the symptoms disappear, but to continue the treatment for a few more days.
Preventive measures
All parents want to protect their child from pain and suffering. Ear pain is no exception.
To prevent the occurrence of pain in the ears of the baby and avoid complications, you must:
- know how to check if your child's ears hurt so that you can see a doctor in a timely manner;
- strengthen the child's immunity;
- Support breastfeeding whenever possible (formula feeding in infancy more than doubles the risk of otitis media);
- avoid head injury;
- treat the most minor colds in time to avoid complications;
- protect baby's ears with a hat in windy weather;
- carefully dry the ears after bathing;
- Use cotton swabs to clean your ears with caution (not recommended for ear canals).
In order to see a doctor in time and prevent dangerous consequences, parents need to understand how to find out if their child's ear hurts. In case of confirmation of fears, it is necessary to call a pediatrician or an ambulance, and while waiting for the specialists, try to calm the baby by watching cartoons together, reading books.
