Diseases of the ears

Light ear disorders are common in young children. In some children, the ears become inflamed at the same time as a cold, others never do. The probability of an ear infection is especially great in the first three or four years of life. In fact, with colds at this age, there is always a slight inflammation of the ears, but usually it does not manifest, and the child does not have any symptoms.

Usually, after several days of colds, the ear becomes inflamed not so much as to cause pain. A child in two years can say that it bothers him. The baby will constantly rub his ears and shriek crying for hours on end. The temperature may rise, but it may not be. The doctor in this case is likely to find a mild inflammation of the upper part of the eardrum. This is not an abscess. Many ear infections of this degree safely pass for several days of stay in bed in a warm room, even if no treatment is applied. But in a few cases, especially when the temperature rises from the very beginning, the situation may become worse and if there is no treatment, an abscess will occur. By the way, many light ear inflammations cause pain behind the ear, near the mastoid process of the temporal bone, but this does not mean inflammation of the temporal bone and is not a symptom of a serious disease. I mention this, so that you do not suspect an abscess or inflammation of the temporal bone at the first appearance of pain.

With the timely use of modern medicines, ear inflammation rarely leads to an abscess and inflammation of the temporal bone is even less common.

If your child's ears become ill, contact the doctor on the same day, especially if the temperature rises. Medicines give the greatest effect in the early stages of the disease.

Let's say a doctor can appear only after a few hours. How to relieve pain? In some cases, a water or electric heating pad helps. But small children do not like a hot-water bottle. Pain can remove aspirin: one tablet of children's aspirin( gran and a quarter) for a child up to a year, two tablets( two and a half grains) for a child from one to five, three tablets( three and three quarters of a grain) for a child from six totwelve years. Even better if you have at your fingertips, drops of cough, containing codeine and prescribed by the doctor to this particular child( medications prescribed for older children or adults may contain too much codeine).Codeine not only softens the cough, but also very effectively relieves pain.

Sometimes at the very beginning of the disease the tympanic membrane bursts and pus is released. Even if the child does not complain of pain and does not have a fever, you can find out in the morning the discharge from the ear on the pillow. Usually, however, the membrane bursts after several days of illness, when an abscess is formed, and this is accompanied by a temperature and severe pain. In any case, if you found ear discharge, you need to collect a piece of sterile cotton in your ear, pus, rinse pus behind your ear with water and soap and contact a doctor. If the secretions continue to flow and irritate the skin, wash off pus and oil the skin with petroleum jelly.

Quite often after a few days even an average ear infection the baby stalls. In almost all cases, deafness passes if the inflammation is quickly and correctly treated.