How Can I Tell If My Child Has An Ear Infection
Most ear infections happen to children before theyve learned how to talk. If your child isnt old enough to say My ear hurts, here are a few things to look for:
- Tugging or pulling at the ear
- Fussiness and crying
- Fever
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Clumsiness or problems with balance
- Trouble hearing or responding to quiet sounds
Can Ear Infections Be Prevented
Currently, the best way to prevent ear infections is to reduce the risk factors associated with them. Here are some things you might want to do to lower your childs risk for ear infections.
- Vaccinate your child against the flu. Make sure your child gets the influenza, or flu, vaccine every year.
- It is recommended that you vaccinate your child with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine . The PCV13 protects against more types of infection-causing bacteria than the previous vaccine, the PCV7. If your child already has begun PCV7 vaccination, consult your physician about how to transition to PCV13. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children under age 2 be vaccinated, starting at 2 months of age. Studies have shown that vaccinated children get far fewer ear infections than children who arent vaccinated. The vaccine is strongly recommended for children in daycare.
- Wash hands frequently. Washing hands prevents the spread of germs and can help keep your child from catching a cold or the flu.
- Avoid exposing your baby to cigarette smoke. Studies have shown that babies who are around smokers have more ear infections.
- Never put your baby down for a nap, or for the night, with a bottle.
- Dont allow sick children to spend time together. As much as possible, limit your childs exposure to other children when your child or your childs playmates are sick.
Identifying And Treating Ear Infections In Children
Your child has a bothersome cold for a week. Their nasal discharge turns a little green and their cough starts to keep you all up at night. Then one night they are up every hour extremely fussy with a fever. You take them to the doctor the next morning, almost certain they have another ear infection.Ear infections in children are one of the most worrisome illnesses for both parents and children to go through, especially if they are frequent. They also are the most common reason for antibiotic prescriptions. Heres a guide to help you understand why ear infections occur, how to best treat them, and most importantly, how you can prevent them from happening too often.
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How Do I Know If My Baby Has An Ear Infection
The onset of signs and symptoms of ear infection is usually swift. It all starts with a simple cold. No fear, everybody gets cold from time to time and they go away on their own. In fact, if you go to the doctor with a cold, all you get is a doctor bill and advice to go home and rest and drink lots of liquids.
However, this goes from being a simple cold to something more serious in children really fast. Youll see your little one acting more irritable than usual and possibly having trouble sleeping. You may see an increased clumsiness or loss of balance and a loss of appetite.
Shell get a fever, a sure sign that something is wrong, and finally may start having difficulty hearing or responding to sounds. If youve gotten to the ear drainage stage, youve already let it go too far.
The signs and symptoms that accompany an ear infection can indicate a number of different conditions. If you are concerned that what your child has is more than just a simple cold, it’s always okay to make a doctors appointment. And if it is something more dangerous, youll want to get an accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment for your little one.
Ear infections are painful . Dont hesitate to call your child’s doctor if your infant or toddler is having trouble sleeping or showing more than normal irritability after a cold or other upper respiratory infection.
The Truth About Ear Infections in Infants
The Truth About Ear Infections In Infants
Victoria is a stay-at-home mom, author, educator, and blogger at Healthy at Home. She currently lives in Colorado with her family.
The Truth About Ear Infections in Infants
Ear infections are one of the most frustrating illnesses for both parents and children to go through, especially if they occur frequently. They are also one of the most common ailments that affects young children. As WebMD shares, over 60% of colds in infants and toddlers result in an ear infection. And since babies can’t tell us what’s wrong with them, these infections are even worse to handle and try to diagnose as a parent.
I had frequent ear infections as a child and ended up having to have surgery done on my ears so that they would drain. Even as an adult, this is a frequent problem for me. I regularly watch children and lately, it seems that just about every family I take care of has a least one child that is currently suffering from an ear infection.
Ear infections are the second most commonly diagnosed illness in children in the United States, next to just a simple cold. About 50% of babies born in the United States have at least one ear infection by the time they turn one year, and 75% of them have at least one ear infection before their third birthday.
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What Are The Symptoms Of An Ear Infection
There are three main types of ear infections. Each has a different combination of symptoms.
- Acute otitis media is the most common ear infection. Parts of the middle ear are infected and swollen and fluid is trapped behind the eardrum. This causes pain in the earcommonly called an earache. Your child might also have a fever.
- Otitis media with effusion sometimes happens after an ear infection has run its course and fluid stays trapped behind the eardrum. A child with OME may have no symptoms, but a doctor will be able to see the fluid behind the eardrum with a special instrument.
- Chronic otitis media with effusion happens when fluid remains in the middle ear for a long time or returns over and over again, even though there is no infection. COME makes it harder for children to fight new infections and also can affect their hearing.
Do You Know The Condition Of Ear Infection In Your Baby
Every mom gets a question like, how to know if the infant has ear infection.
Immediately you can observe a great change in your infantâs mood if he/she has an ear infection or any other illness.
Your baby starts crying more than usual.
Usually ear infection strikes your infant after a common cold or sinus infection. You can notice some symptoms in your infant if he got ear infection:
- Usually the baby grabs, pulls or tugs at his ears. This indicates that your infant is in some trouble.
- Diarrhea viruses that affect ear infection also affect the gastrointestinal tract and triggers diarrhea.
- Whitish or yellow colored fluid comes from the ear, but this is not the case with every baby. Leakage from the ears is a sure sign of infection. Sometimes, it also indicates a hole in the ear drums.
- Reduced appetite and ear infection can lead to gastrointestinal upset. The condition makes your baby very difficult to swallow and chew.
- A foul smell emanating from the babyâs ear.
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How To Treat An Ear Infection At Home
Ear infections can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or rarely yeast. There are three areas in the ear where ear infections can occur in adults and children.
Which parts of the ear can become infected?
How To Treat Ear Infections
How to treat your babys ear infection might vary depending on how old he or she is. If your infant is less than 6 months old, or if the infection is quite severe, antibiotics might be required.
However, most of the time, symptoms will simply start receding after a couple of days. Full recovery generally happens after one to two weeks.
In the meantime, you can ease your babys pain by applying a warm, humid compress over your infants infected ear for 10 to 15 minutes. You can also facilitate sinus drainage by elevating your childs head.
If you dont notice any amelioration in your infants symptoms after a day or two, call your doctor.
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When Should I Call The Doctor
- has other serious medical problems,
- seems ill,
- vomits over and over,
- is younger than 6 months old,
- is older than 6 months old and has had a fever for more than 48 hours,
- has swelling behind the ear,
- is very sleepy,
- has a skin rash,
- isnt hearing well or at all,
- remains in a lot of pain despite at least one dose of acetaminophen or ibuprofen, or
- still has an earache after 2 days of treatment with acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Did I Do Something To Cause Them
Its not likely that you did anything to cause an ear infection in your little one. Ear infections are usually caused by bacteria or a virus, when fluid builds up in the area behind your baby’s eardrum and then becomes infected.
There are many factors that may make your child more susceptible to ear infections though. I doubt any of them will surprise you. One of them is simply their age. Between the ages of 6 months and 2 years old, your little one is more prone to get ear infections simply because of the size and shape of the eustachian tubes in their ears , and because of their still developing immune systems.
Children who attend daycare or preschools in their infant and toddler years are also more likely to get colds and ear infections due to their exposure to so many more infections. It has been proven that those children that stay at home for their care during this fragile time are much less likely to develop sicknesses altogether.
Little ones who are bottle-fed, especially those lying down when eating, tend to have more ear infections than do babies who are breastfed. Much of this is due to the position of the baby when eating as much as it is the immune system building nutrients that they are getting from the breast milk.
Although ear infections themselves are not contagious, those respiratory illnesses that precede and accompany ear infections are very contagious, and may easily be passed on to infants and toddlers.
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How To Help Prevent Ear Infections
While most children get ear infections, there are a few things parents can do to try to prevent them:
- Breast feeding infants until at least age 6 months may help to lessen the number of ear infections.
- Keep your child away from cigarette smoke. Do not smoke or allow smoking in your home or car.
- Always hold your baby with his head up during feeding time . Babies should not be fed by propping the bottle or while lying flat.The formula can get into the middle ear and cause an infection.
- Do notleave a bottle in the crib for the baby to drink at bedtime.
- Make sure your childs immunizations are up to date.
- If your child is diagnosed with acute otitis media, avoid giving him a pacifier.Dress your child properly in cold and rainy weather.
What Else Do You Need To Make Your Decision
Check the facts
- Sorry, that’s not right. Most ear infections clear up on their own.
- You’re right. Most ear infections clear up on their own.
- It may help to go back and read “Get the Facts.” Most ear infections clear up on their own.
- Sorry, that’s not right. Antibiotics do not relieve ear pain immediately. Your child may need to take an over-the-counter medicine for pain.
- That’s right. Antibiotics do not relieve ear pain immediately. Your child may need to take an over-the-counter medicine for pain.
- It may help to go back and read “Get the Facts.” Antibiotics do not relieve ear pain immediately. Your child may need to take an over-the-counter medicine for pain.
- That’s right. Antibiotics can have bothersome side effects, such as vomiting, diarrhea, and an allergic reaction.
- No, that’s not right. Antibiotics can have bothersome side effects, such as vomiting, diarrhea, and an allergic reaction.
- It may help to go back and read “Compare Your Options.” Antibiotics can have bothersome side effects, such as vomiting, diarrhea, and an allergic reaction.
1.How sure do you feel right now about your decision?
3.Use the following space to list questions, concerns, and next steps.
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Home Remedies For Your Babys Ear Infection
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What is an ear infection?
If your baby is fussy, cries more than usual, and tugs at their ear, they may have an ear infection. Five out of six children will have an ear infection before their 3rd birthday, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
An ear infection, or otitis media, is a painful inflammation of the middle ear. Most middle ear infections occur between the ear drum and the eustachian tube, which connects the ears, nose, and throat.
Ear infections often follow a cold. Bacteria or viruses are usually the cause. The infection causes inflammation and swelling of the eustachian tube. The tube narrows and fluid builds behind the eardrum, causing pressure and pain. Children have shorter and narrower eustachian tubes than adults. Also, their tubes are more horizontal, so its easier for them to get blocked.
Approximately 5 to 10 percent of children with an ear infection will experience a ruptured eardrum, according to the Childrens National Health System. The eardrum usually heals within one to two weeks, and rarely causes permanent damage to the childs hearing.
Still Not Sure Head To The Doc
The only way to be sure that your child has an ear infection is to visit your pediatrician. Take a baby younger than age 2 to the doctor if a cold and apparent discomfort don’t go away in two or three days, or if a fever doesn’t go away in one or two days.
When your physician peeks in your child’s ear to check for signs of an infection, she’s looking at the eardrum to see if it is red, thick, or bulging.
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The Dreaded Ear Infection: Everything You Need To Know
I recently noticed my toddler tugging his left ear. Although he had been cranky the whole morning, this quickly got my attention that something was wrong. After some analysis, I realized that they actually have an ear infection. Well, research reports indicate that more than 50 percent of babies usually suffer from ear infections before they reach their first birthday. So, if you are a new mom, this is one of the hurdles that you should be prepared to handle. Ear infections are caused by various factors, but they are more prevalent in male kids. Besides exposure to lots of germs, having a family member who has a history of ear infections can greatly increase your childs probability. But how can you tell if your kiddo has an ear infection?
Signs That You Have An Ear Infection
Ear infections are one of the most uncomfortable common illnesses. They frequently appear in children, but they can occur in adults, too, especially if you wear hearing aids. Here are fifteen signs that you have an ear infection.
1. Pain in the ear;
One of the first things most people notice is a pain in the ear. Earache can be dull and throbbing or sharp and stabbing. Some people experience ear infection pain as a burning sensation. Ear infection pain doesnt usually last longer than three days.;
;2. Headaches;
Some ear infections can cause headaches. Blockages in the ear, such as from infection, could account for your headache. If an object or impacted wax is blocking your ear, though, this could be the problem instead.
;3. Nausea and vomiting;
Ear infections are often accompanied by nausea , loss of appetite, and vomiting. If you are vomiting, try to stay hydrated by taking small sips of water. Call your doctor if the vomiting doesnt stop.
;4. Dizziness;
The ears are the bodys center of balance. Some types of ear infections affect your balance and cause dizziness and vertigo. It may feel like things are moving or spinning. Be extra careful when youre standing, walking, or driving.;
;5. Itchiness;
Itching is one of the many signs of an ear infection. It can be in the ear canal itself, or on the lobe or outer ear. Its always best to refrain from scratching where possible, as you dont want to spread the infection or irritate your ear more.;
;6. Scaly skin in the ear;
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