Медицинские услуги
© 2017-2021 Сайт «БЕЛМЕД.БАЙ», info@belmed.by
Next to the common cold, an ear infection is the most common childhood
illness. In fact, most children have at least one ear infection by the time they
are 3 years old. Most of the time, ear infections clear up without causing any
lasting problems.
In order to understand how ear infections occur, it’s
helpful to know how our ears work. The ear has three parts — the outer ear,
middle ear and inner ear. A small tube (eustachian tube) connects the middle ear
to the back of the nose. When a child has a cold, nose or throat infection, or
allergy, the eustachian tube can become blocked, causing a buildup of fluid in
the middle ear. If bacteria or a virus infects this fluid, it can cause swelling
and pain in the ear. This type of ear infection is called acute otitis
media.
Often after the symptoms of acute otitis media clear up, fluid
remains in the ear. Acute otitis media then develops into another kind of ear
problem called otitis media with effusion (middle ear fluid). This condition is
harder to detect than acute otitis media because except for the fluid and
usually some mild hearing loss, there are often no other noticeable symptoms.
This fluid may last several months and, in most cases, disappears on its own.
Hearing then returns to normal.
Your child may have many symptoms during
an ear infection. Talk with your pediatrician about the best way to treat your
child’s symptoms.
· Pain. The most common symptom of an ear infection is pain. Older children can tell you that their ears hurt. Younger children may only seem irritable and cry. You may notice this more during feedings because sucking and swallowing may cause painful pressure changes in the middle ear.
· Loss of appetite. Your child may have less of an appetite because of the ear pain.
· Trouble sleeping. Your child may have trouble sleeping because of the ear pain.
· Fever. Your child may have a temperature ranging from 100°F (normal) to 104°F.
· Ear drainage. You might notice yellow or white fluid, possibly blood-tinged, draining from your child’s ear. The fluid may have a foul odor and will look different from normal earwax (which is orange-yellow or reddish-brown). Pain and pressure often decrease after this drainage begins, but this doesn’t always mean that the infection is going away. If this happens it’s not an emergency, but your child will need to see your pediatrician.