Your Childrens Health

Next to the common cold, ear infections are one of the most common ailments children experience.  Your child will almost certainly experience an infection of the middle ear, or Otitis Media, at some time or another, especially during the first two to four years of life.  The most common type of ear infection in children occurs in the middle ear and carries symptoms of pain and redness of the eardrum, possible fever, and usually the presence of fluid or pus in the middles ear. 
 

If you suspect that your child has an ear infection, do see the doctor.  It is important to get a proper diagnosis since some ear infections require no treatment at all, while others require a course of antibiotics.  Ear infections are not contagious, so there is no reason for your child to miss school, unless he or she is experiencing symptoms of nausea or other real discomfort.  If the doctor does not prescribe an antibiotic for your child, don’t panic.  Often they are unnecessary, have negative side effects, and do not relieve pain caused by ear infections.  Also, if your child starts a course of antibiotics without finishing it, they may become susceptible to antibiotic resistance.  Keep in mind that when a doctor is a making a diagnosis he or she takes into account several factors:
 

·       The child’s age

·       The type and severity of the ear infection

·       Whether your child’s hearing is affected

·       How long the infection has lasted

·       How often your child has had infections

·       Other risk factors that could affect your child’s health

In order to relieve your child’s pain, there are a few things you can do at home.  Use over the counter acetaminophen (ex Tylenol) or ibuprofen (ex Advil) as needed for pain and fever.  You could also ask a pharmacist about using pain-relieving eardrops.  Finally, try a 50/50 solution of rubbing alcohol and vinegar inserted in the child’s ear canal by rubber dropper twice daily (10 minutes each time) for ten days.  The child should sit with head tipped to the side, or lie down to keep the mixture from spilling.  This is a home remedy that actually works for bacterial ear infections.  Bacteria love a warm, moist place to grow.  The rubbing alcohol kills existing bacteria, while the vinegar makes the ear canal an acidic, hostile environment; effectively preventing the regrowth of bacteria.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 10th, 2006 at 1:18 am and is filed under Infections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.