Can You Have An Ear Infection Without A Fever

Can You Have A Bacterial Infection Without A Fever

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How Is Chronic Middle Ear Infection Or Inflammation Treated

• Initially, antibiotics may resolve the ear infection.
• If a tympanic membrane perforation also is present, topical antibiotic drops may be used.
• If eardrum or ossicle scarring has occurred, that will not be reversed with antibiotics alone.
• Surgery often is indicated to repair the tympanic membrane and remove the infected tissue and scar from the middle ear and the mastoid bone.
• Long-term prophylactic antibiotics are not recommended.

What Are Other Causes Of Ear Pain

Other causes of ear pain include:

• A sore throat.
• Teeth coming in in a baby.
• An infection of the lining of the ear canal. This is also called swimmers ear.
• Pressure build up in the middle ear caused by allergies and colds.

Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 04/16/2020.

References

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What Should I Expect If I Or My Child Has An Ear Infection

Ear infections are common in children. Adults can get them too. Most ear infections are not serious. Your healthcare provider will recommend over-the-counter medications to relieve pain and fever. Pain relief may begin as soon as a few hours after taking the drug.

Your healthcare provider may wait a few days before prescribing an antibiotic. Many infections go away on their own without the need for antibiotics. If you or your child receives an antibiotic, you should start to see improvement within two to three days.

If you or your child has ongoing or frequent infections, or if fluid remains in the middle ear and puts hearing at risk, ear tubes may be surgically implanted in the eardrum to keep fluid draining from the eustachian tube as it normally should.

Never hesitate to contact your healthcare provider if you have any concerns or questions.

Can A Toddler Have An Ear Infection Without Fever

Your toddler can have an infection without fever as a symptom.

While fever is a well-known symptom of ear infection, its not a must, and other signs could be present to let you know about it.

Fever even might come and go, and so if you see other symptoms pointing towards an infection, you should consult your healthcare provider to further start the treatment.

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How Is Acute Middle Ear Infection Diagnosed

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians have determined the criteria needed to diagnose acute otitis media , acute onset, middle ear effusion , and middle ear inflammation.

• The new guidelines describe this as “moderate to severe bulging of the tympanic membrane or new onset of otorrhea not due to external otitis or mild bulging of the ear drum, and recent ear pain or intense reddening of the ear drum.”
• The guideline also strongly recommends that clinicians should not diagnose AOM without the presence of MEE.
• Recurrent acute otitis media is defined as at least three well-documented and separate acute otitis media episodes in 6 months or four well-documented and separate AOM episodes in the past 12 months with at least one in the past 6 months.
• There is no definitive lab test for acute otitis media.

Identification of the three criteria is dependent on clinical observation middle ear effusion and middle ear inflammation are the most difficult to observe and as a consequence there are studies that suggest acute otitis media is overdiagnosed.

• One method that helps determine acute otitis media versus otitis media with effusion is pneumatic otoscopy and the appearance of the tympanic membrane .
• However, not everyone is skilled at this technique pediatricians, family practice physicians, ENT specialists, and ER doctors who work in pediatric ER’s are likely to be skilled in the diagnostic procedure.

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• The most common cause of body aches without a fever include stress and sleep deprivation.
• If you have body aches without a fever, it could still be a sign of a viral infection like the flu.
• If your body aches are severe or last more than a few days, you should see your doctor.

Body aches are feelings of pain or soreness all over your body. They are a common symptom of viral illnesses like the flu. If sickness is the cause of your body aches, you’re likely to also have a fever, but in some circumstances, you may have body aches without a fever.

Here are the most common causes of body aches without a fever.

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Longer Term Effects Of Inner Ear Infections

Generally, the symptoms will clear up as soon as the infection is gone. However, the effects can sometimes last longer.

You might still feel dizzy and off-balance even when the other symptoms caused by the infection have gone. This can be a sign that the balance organs were damaged. Your brain can usually learn to work with these changes, so your sense of balance should usually come back by itself. However, if youre struggling to cope or the problem persists, you should see an ENT specialist. The doctor can check for any underlying causes and may refer you for vestibular rehabilitation therapy to help you to recover your balance.

Inner ear infections can also have a longer term effect on your hearing. This is more likely if you had bacterial infection, so your doctor might recommend a hearing test to check on your ears after the infection.

How Do You Know If Your Sinus Infection Is Getting Better

Lets say you do have a fever and thick, yellowish mucus. Odds are its a sinus infection. But how do you know whether or not its a bacterial sinus infection?If youre on day 3 or 4 of an infection, it will be difficult to ascertain what kind of infection you have on your own.

However, if youre somewhere between day 7 and day 11, this is what you should be on the lookout for:

• Fever is completely gone or noticeably improving
• Your congestion and discharge is obviously lessening
• You dont feel as fatigued as you did a few days ago

The theme here is obvious improvement. If your situation is improving, then you probably have a viral sinus infection and do not need antibiotics. If your situation is not improving , schedule an appointment with your doctor.

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When Do Children Need Tubes In Their Ears

If your child has frequent ear infections, or if he has trouble hearing because of ongoing fluid in the middle ear, he may need a tube inserted through the ear drum and into the middle ear. The tube helps to keep air pressure normal on both sides of the ear drum and helps fluid drain from the middle ear.

Putting tubes in requires a brief operation by an ear, nose and throat surgeon. Children usually go home the same day.

How Are Ear Infections Treated

To treat an ear infection, health care providers consider many things, including:

• the type and severity of the ear infection
• how often the child has ear infections
• how long this infection has lasted
• the child’s age and any risk factors
• whether the infection affects hearing

The type of otitis affects treatment options. Not all kinds need to be treated with antibiotics. Because most ear infections can clear on their own, many doctors take a “wait-and-see” approach. Kids will get medicine for pain relief without antibiotics for a few days to see if the infection gets better.

Antibiotics aren’t routinely prescribed because they:

• won’t help an infection caused by a virus
• won’t get rid of middle ear fluid
• can cause side effects
• usually don’t relieve pain in the first 24 hours and have only a minimal effect after that

Also, overuse of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which are much harder to treat.

If a doctor does prescribe antibiotics, a 10-day course is usually recommended. Kids age 6 and older who don’t have a severe infection might take a shortened course for 5 to 7 days.

Some children, such as those with recurrent infections and those with lasting hearing loss or speech delay, may need ear tube surgery. An ear, nose, and throat doctor will surgically insert tubes that let fluid drain from the middle ear. This helps equalize the pressure in the ear.

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What Other Symptoms Are Commonly Associated With An Ear Infection

Other symptoms of ear infection include:

• Ear painThis symptom is easier to diagnose in older children and adults because they can verbalize whats bothering them. For infants and toddlers who are too young to speak, watch for signs of pain like rubbing or tugging on the ears, more crying than usual, difficulty sleeping, and increased irritability.
• Loss of appetitePressure in the middle ear changes when swallowing, which can lead to increased pain and therefore a decreased desire to eat. This may be most noticeable in babies and very young children, especially during bottle or breastfeeding.
• Poor sleepPressure in the middle ear may also intensify when laying down, which can lead to increased pain and difficulty sleeping.
• Drainage from the earYellow, brown, or white fluid may seep from the ear during an ear infection. This often means the eardrum has ruptured . A ruptured eardrum usually heals within a few weeks without treatment, but always check with your primary care physician or local urgent care because surgical repair may be required to facilitate proper healing.
• Difficulty hearingBones of the middle ear connect to nerves that send electrical signals to the brain. When fluid builds up behind the eardrums, the movement of these electrical signals slows down making it more difficult to hear clearly.

Can I Do Anything To Prevent Ear Infections In My Child

It is not easy to prevent ear infections, but the following may help reduce the risk:

• making sure your child’s environment is smoke-free.
• breastfeeding your baby for at least 3 to 6 months is thought to be protective against the early development of ear infections – this may be because breastfeeding boosts the infection-fighting system
• keeping your child’s room warm and dry
• making sure your child has all their immunisations on time

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How To Treat Ear Infection

• Tylenol or Ibuprofen for pain or fever
• No medications for our babes < 3 months old
• No Ibuprofen for our babes < 6 months old
• No Aspirin for our kids < 18 years old
• Warm compress or cold packs to infected ear
• Most of us have a preference to warm or cold, let your child decide or even alternate both! 20 minutes max for either option â we want to avoid burns and frostbite.
• Sleep with the painful side up. Sometimes pressure on the ear hurts more.

How Is A Middle

Your health care provider will take a medical history and do a physicalexam. He or she will look at the outer ear and eardrum with an otoscope.The otoscope is a lighted tool that lets your provider see inside the ear.A pneumatic otoscope blows a puff of air into the ear to check how wellyour eardrum moves. If you eardrum doesnt move well, it may mean you havefluid behind it.

Your provider may also do a test called tympanometry. This test tells howwell the middle ear is working. It can find any changes in pressure in themiddle ear. Your provider may test your hearing with a tuning fork.

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Key Points To Remember About Ear Infections

If you think your child has an ear infection, take them to your family doctor.

• ear infections are very common in young children
• they can cause pain, and often fever
• if you think your child has an ear infection, take them to your family doctor
• pain relief is important
• antibiotics are often not needed
• always take your child to your family doctor for an ear check 4 to 6 weeks after an ear infection, to make sure the ear fluid has gone
• most children outgrow ear infections and will have perfect, undamaged ears and normal hearing

Can An Ear Infection Be Prevented Or Avoided

Although an ear infection is not contagious, the bacteria or virus that caused it is often contagious. Its important to:

• Vaccinate your child with a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to protect against several types of pneumococcal bacteria. This type of bacteria is the most common cause of ear infections. Get your childs vaccinations on time.
• Practice routine hand washing and avoid sharing food and drinks, especially if your child is exposed to large groups of kids in day care or school settings.
• Avoid second-hand smoke.
• Breastfeed your baby exclusively for the first 6 months and continue breastfeeding for at least 1 year. Place your baby at an angle while feeding.

Common allergy and cold medicines do not protect against ear infections.

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Possibility Of Ear Infection

Often the common issue toddler could suffer from with a symptom of earache is to have an ear infection.

It happens when theres an inflammation in the middle area, the part of the ear that connects the back of the nose and throat, known as the Eustachian tube. Also known as a middle ear infection.

This infection could also stem from getting a cold or other respiratory infections such as a sore throat.

Studies show that toddlers exposed to secondhand smoke are up to three times more likely to develop an ear infection.

The most common infection is otitis media, affecting the eustachian tube, and bacteria or viruses are usually the cause.

Earaches can become more and more painful if not recognized and treated within time, but therere several other symptoms of ear infection such as:

• Being fussy or irritable
• Fluid draining from the ear
• Fever

While fever is a symptom, its not always the case. Your toddler could be suffering from an earache but may not necessarily have a fever.

They may also show signs of losing balance as the infection grows more in power without being treated, which means the infection is getting to a severe stage.

The urge to treat the infection using antibiotics can be vital in parents, but without consulting a doctor can cause the condition to become resistant to those antibiotics in the future.

Using pain medicine is helpful for the toddlers severe pain.

The treatment would differ depending on the toddlers age, degree of pain, and symptoms.

How Long Do Ear Infections Last

The duration of an ear infection depends on how severe the infection is. If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, most earaches should feel better by 2 days and resolve in 3 days. The accompanying fever should resolve in 2 days. If you are not sure what you are dealing with and if the ear pain doesnât feel better after 2 days, call your doctor.

If your doc starts your kiddo on an antibiotic , itâs very important not to miss any doses and continue the full course of antibiotics so the ear infection doesnât return. While the antibiotics begin kicking in , your child may still need some medication to help with pain. If your child has been on antibiotics for 3 days but they are still having ear pain and/or fevers, call your doctor back. Some kids will have recurrent ear infections and the discussion of ear tubes might come up to allow better fluid drainage. This is typically discussed after 4 months of fluid in the ears and multiple rounds of antibiotics, so donât worry about this too soon in the game. One ear infection at a time!

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Fluid Or Pus Draining From Your Child’s Ear:

While not very common, this is a definite sign of infection, so call the doctor right away. Yellow, white, or green drainage from the ear can signal a perforated eardrum, a condition that can develop if the fluid in the middle ear puts so much pressure on the eardrum that it bursts.

Although a burst eardrum may sound scary and can be very painful for your child, the hole is not serious and will usually heal by itself. And the good news is that your child may start to feel better as fluid drains and pressure decreases.

When Should I Call The Doctor About An Ear Infection

• You or your child develops a stiff neck.
• Your child acts sluggish, looks or acts very sick, or does not stop crying despite all efforts.
• Your childs walk is not steady he or she is physically very weak.
• You or your childs ear pain is severe.
• You or your child has a fever over 104° F .
• Your child is showing signs of weakness in their face .
• You see bloody or pus-filled fluid draining from the ear.

• The fever remains or comes back more than 48 hours after starting an antibiotic.
• Ear pain is not better after three days of taking an antibiotic.
• Ear pain is severe.
• You have any questions or concerns.

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Looking For The Signs Of An Ear Infection

How to recognize and prevent it in young children

Ear infections are very common in children, especially those younger than 2. A parent should suspect an ear infection when a child becomes ill with a fever, is irritable and complains of pain in the ear. Ear infections are not contagious, but the colds that result in ear infections are. Colds are spread when germs are released from the nose or mouth during coughing or sneezing. Anything that can reduce the spread of germs will help reduce ear infections.

A parent should not solely diagnose an ear infection. A physician should examine the child. Usually, the child should be seen within 24 hours. An emergency room visit is not necessary unless ordered by your physician. To help control pain before a doctor’s visit, you can give the child a non-aspirin pain reliever, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

There are two main types of ear infections in children, outer ear infections and middle ear infections. Outer ear infections usually occur when water gets in the ear, which may lead to inflammation and infection. Your child will have symptoms of an earache, which is worse when the outer earlobe is touched. The child may also have discharge from the ear and should not have a fever. These infections are usually treated with antibiotic eardrops.

Because most ear infections occur in children under the age of 3, often they can be prevented. Here are some things parents can do to help prevent ear infections: