Ears in children are one of the most vulnerable organs. Their structure is quite complex, and they develop as the child develops. As a rule, the ears begin to hurt due to the development of inflammatory processes in them. There are several types of inflammation, which, in turn, indicate the place of their localization: otitis externa, otitis media and internal (the most severe).
Otitis externa is characterized by the following symptoms: there is redness around the ear canal, sometimes even swelling, body temperature rises to 39 degrees, and sometimes higher, there is no appetite.
Otitis media is manifested by completely different symptoms: throbbing ear pain in a child, high fever, diarrhea, vomiting. Soreness of the ear increases with swallowing and pressure on the tragus (a tragus is called a tubercle of the ear, with its help the external auditory meatus opens). Sometimes pus appears from the diseased ear, which indicates the deformation of the eardrum and the need for urgent medical intervention. Even if the pain subsides significantly, you should not postpone going to the doctor. If a child has an earache, only an otolaryngologist will tell you how to treat him.
With internal otitis, the patient develops dizziness, vomiting, nausea, hearing loss and imbalance. If you notice these symptoms in your child, call your doctor immediately. In the treatment of otitis, antibiotics are usually used to help avoid complications. In addition to treating a sick ear, you will also have to treat your nose in parallel to clear the nasal passages of mucus. The method of treatment and drugs will be selected by the attending physician, and in each case individually. Self-medication can lead to disastrous results, up to hearing loss.
If a child has earaches, what should I do?
In the treatment of otitis, undoubtedly, a doctor's consultation is necessary, but what if this insidious ailment took you by surprise, and there is no way to immediately consult a doctor? If the night is in the yard, and the child's ears hurt, what should I do? It's unlikely to endure until the morning. To do this, parents should take into service a few tips that can somehow alleviate the suffering of the child. Some parents use the "grandmother's method" and instill boric alcohol into the child's sore ear. This is strictly prohibited.
When a child's ears hurt, what to do in this situation, the old and proven method will tell you. For ear pain, a hot compress will be an emergency. To prepare it, you need to fold a piece of gauze or other soft fabric in five layers, wetting it with a solution of water and vodka in a one-to-one ratio. Lubricate the skin with baby nourishing cream or petroleum jellyaround the auricle and attach the squeezed gauze to the sore ear so that the ear canal itself and the auricle remain open. Cut out a circle from thick paper, and make a small cut inside it and put this circle on your ear. Put a large layer of cotton wool on top and carefully fix everything with a bandage. It is recommended to keep such a compress for about an hour. If it is not possible to make such a compress, you need to warm the sore ear in another way. You can put a large piece of cotton wool to your ear and tie a scarf around your head. But if there is a temperature or purulent discharge from the ear, then warming procedures and compresses are strictly prohibited. And if the child's ears hurt at the same time, what to do in this case? You can moisten a swab with boric alcohol and insert it into a sore ear, apply cotton wool on top. At the same time, alcohol cannot be heated, since there will be no benefit. After that, the pain should subside a little, and you should see a doctor as soon as possible.
