How To Relieve Ear Infection Pain

When To Call The Doctor

Theres nothing wrong with waiting out an ear infection for a few days with supportive home treatment. But sometimes an ear infection clearly needs antibiotics or further treatment. You may need further medical treatment if you have a fever above 102.2 or if your symptoms seem to be getting worse.

If you have an ear infection and need answers, were always available to help. Contact us at either our Schererville or Chicago, Illinois, office.

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What Should I Do If I Have Earache

If you feel well in yourself and have an earache, you may be able to treat yourself with simple painkillers. Paracetamol or ibuprofen, if you can take it, usually works well for ear pain. However, a person with earache should see a doctor if:

• They are unwell with other symptoms such as a high temperature , a rash, being sick , confusion or drowsiness.
• They are younger than 3 months.
• They are younger than 6 months and have a temperature of more than 38°C.
• They are younger than 2 years and have pain in both ears.
• The earache has not improved after four days.
• The ear is discharging.
• There is something stuck in the ear.
• The pain is very severe and simple painkillers are not helping.
• They have other illnesses which might affect their ability to fight off an infection.

Monitor Your Cats Progress

While your cat is recovering from their ear infection, watch for these signs that your cats ears are responding to the treatment:

• Improved redness, odor and discharge while cleaning

If you are noticing any of the following warning signs, discontinue treatment and contact your vet:

• Your cat is fighting harder against the cleaning and application of medication

• Red discharge from the ear

• Red and white blisters in the ear or ear canals

• An increase in odor or debris in the ear

• Increased temperature or swelling of the ear

While its not common, some cats can develop sensitivities to the medication, and the above signs may be indicative that your cat has developed an allergic reaction.

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What’s The Outlook For A Person With Chronic Earaches And Ear Pain

• Often ear infections resolve without medical intervention.
• Individuals that require antibiotics also resolve the infection quickly, and pain relief should occur within a couple days.
• Associated symptoms, such as hearing loss or the feeling of ear fullness, may take longer to improve.
• Referral to an otolaryngologist may be needed for people with continuing infection, or those who get frequent, recurring infections.

Infections In The Middle Ear

Infections in the middle ear often clear up on their own. Antibiotics make little difference to symptoms, including pain.

Antibiotics might be prescribed if:

• an ear infection does not start to get better after 3 days
• you or your child has any fluid coming out of their ear
• you or your child has an illness that means there’s a risk of complications, such as cystic fibrosis

They may also be prescribed if your child is less than 2 years old and has an infection in both ears.

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Five Tips To Help Relieve Ear Infection Symptoms At Home

If your little one is cranky, unusually fussy and tugging at his or her ear or is feverish and having difficulty sleeping, chances are it may be due to an ear infection.

Five out of six children experience an ear infection by the time they are 3 years old, according to the National Institutes of Health. The odds are that your child will have an ear infection before kindergarten.

What causes an ear infection?

Ear infections can be caused by either bacteria or a virus, often following a cold. The common cold can cause the middle ear to become inflamed and fluid to build up behind the eardrum. The Eustachian tube, which connects the ears, nose and throat, can also become swollen.

Children are more susceptible to ear infections than adults because they have shorter and narrower Eustachian tubes, and it is easier for germs to reach the middle ear and for fluid to get trapped there, says Kara Hutton, MD, a pediatrician at Scripps Clinic Rancho Bernardo. Babies and children also have weaker immune systems, so it is more difficult for their bodies to fight an infection.

The onset of ear infections is often on day three of a cold. Ear infections peak at age 6 months to 2 years, and are a common problem until age 8, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What is the best treatment for ear infection?

Some ear infections require antibiotic treatment, but many can get better without this medicine.

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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How Can I Manage My Symptoms

• Apply heat on your ear for 15 to 20 minutes, 3 to 4 times a day or as directed. You can apply heat with an electric heating pad, hot water bottle, or warm compress. Always put a cloth between your skin and the heat pack to prevent burns. Heat helps decrease pain.
• Apply ice on your ear for 15 to 20 minutes, 3 to 4 times a day for 2 days or as directed. Use an ice pack, or put crushed ice in a plastic bag. Cover it with a towel before you apply it to your ear. Ice decreases swelling and pain.

Is It Safe To Use

While olive oil is generally safe, there are a few precautions you should take when using it in your ears.

Dont use olive oil or any other product in the ear if you have a ruptured ear drum. If youre not sure if you have a ruptured ear drum, see your doctor before using any remedy in your ear, including natural remedies.

Dont place cotton swabs or any other object inside the ear to remove wax or relieve itching. This can easily damage your ear drum or push wax deeper into your ear. Putting cotton swabs in your ear also increases your risk of developing an ear infection. Its also responsible for sending thousands of children to the emergency room with ear injuries each year.

Finally, make sure to use only room-temperature or just slightly warmed olive oil to avoid burning the delicate skin in your ear.

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How To Care For An Ear Infection In Infants & Kids

What is an ear infection?

Ear infections often start with a cold or other illness. This can lead to redness, swelling and fluid in your childs middle ear . Ear infections can be very painful for your child and sometimes cause high fevers with temperatures up to 104°F.

What causes earaches in children?

A middle ear infection , one of the most common illnesses in children, is generally associated with fluid that builds up in the middle ear when a child has a common cold or throat infection. A middle ear infection typically follows a cold or accompanies existing allergies.

Another reason for ear pain is an infection that affects the ear canal or the part of the ear that leads to the outside . Commonly known as swimmers ear, this condition is typically brought on by excess moisture, especially if the water is polluted or chlorinated. Occasionally, ear pain can be the result of a ruptured eardrum or earwax build-up.

Signs to look for

If your child has a painful ear infection, he or she may have a hard time eating or sleeping. Babies may rub their ears, have trouble sleeping or cry more than usual. If you think your child has ear pain, or you see fluid coming out of the ear, call your doctor for an appointment.

If your baby tends to get a lot of ear infections, feed him or her in a relatively upright position to prevent milk entering the eustachian tubes.

Keep your child away from cigarette smoke.

How soon can you use Infants or Childrens TYLENOL®?

S For Cat Ear Cleaning

There are a variety of cat ear cleaning methods, I recommend this one because its less time consuming and more feline-friendly:

• Heavily moisten a cotton ball with the ear cleaner.

• Apply the cotton ball to the base of the ear and fold the ear flap over onto the cotton ball.

• Massage the base of the ear , and then allow your cat to shake his head.

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Living With An Ear Infection

If your child suffers from several ear infections each year, youll want to look out for symptoms every time they have a stuffy nose or congestion.

Never stick anything in your childs ear to relieve the pain of an ear infection, to remove the tubes or remove a foreign object. See your childs doctor to have it removed.

Sleep In An Upright Position For Earache:

Sleeping in an upright position can actually reduce your ear pressure. You can use several pillows or wedge pillows and place between the bed mattress and box springs.

What you need:

• Prop your head using several pillows to clear off Eustachian tubes

• Sleep in an upright position. Lie down straight to reduce ear pressure

• Also, place five to six inch wood blocks under your bed feet

How it works:

Keeping an upright position using pillows can help to clear Eustachian tubes.

Note: Lying down straight can increase ear pressure, and by sleeping in an upright position, you can reduce middle pressure.

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Foods With Healing Power: The Benefits Of Garlic

• Garlic power

Try this power food

The Cleveland Clinic puts garlic on its list of 36 power foods, and for good reason. Garlic is a rich source of phytochemicals. These plant chemicals are thought to ward off disease and help boost your immune system.

So-called power foods provide loads of nutrients but little calories. That translates into lots of potential benefits for your body and overall health. Eating nutrient-rich foods as part of your regular diet can help lower your risk of many health conditions, including heart disease and certain kinds of cancer.

, garlic has traditionally been used to treat many health conditions, including:

• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• different types of cancer

Some of these folk uses for garlic have been supported by modern scientific studies, while the jury is still out on others.

NCCIH . Taking garlic supplements may be especially helpful if you have chronically high blood pressure, or hypertension.

Raw garlic and garlic supplements contain the compound allicin. This compound may help relax the smooth muscles in your blood vessels. When those muscles relax, your blood vessels dilate and blood pressure drops.

NCCIH reports that garlic may slow the development of atherosclerosis. This is a condition in which cholesterol-containing plaques build up in your arteries. They harden and narrow, which raises your risk of heart attack.

How To Relieve Ear Pain Due To The Common Cold

The sneezing and coughing caused by a runny nose may be uncomfortable, but when your common cold is causing an earache, the pain can go from uncomfortable to unbearable. The feeling of an earache caused by a common cold can feel dull, sharp, or burning, and this can be located inside or around the ear. Its common to feel like your head and ears are stuffy. Earaches are especially common in children.

The common cold can cause an earache for one of three reasons:

• Congestion If you suffer from a cold, mucus and fluid from your sinuses can build up in the tubes in your ears. This would explain why your ears feel full when you are experiencing an earache.
• Middle Ear Infection The virus from a cold can cause a fluid buildup in your ear, and viruses can form in this fluid. This causes an ear infection, otherwise known as acute otitis media.
• Sinus Infection A sinus infection occurs when your cold goes untreated and your sinuses become inflamed.

An earache in Los Angeles can make it difficult to concentrate and even sleep, so its essential to start treating it as soon as the pain starts.

You dont always have the finances or time to visit an ear specialist in Los Angeles, so the ENT doctors in Los Angeles of Westside Head & Neck have compiled a list of simple home remedies for ear pain due to congestion and head colds.

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What Increases Your Risk

Some things that increase the risk for middle ear infection are out of your control. These include:

• Age. Children ages 3 years and younger are most likely to get ear infections. Also, young children get more colds and other upper respiratory infections. Most children have at least one ear infection before they are 7 years old.
• Birth defects or other medical conditions. Babies with cleft palate or Down syndrome are more likely to get ear infections.
• Weakened immune system. Children with severely impaired immune systems have more ear infections than healthy children.
• Family history. Children are more likely to have repeat middle ear infections if a parent or sibling had repeat ear infections.
• Allergies. Allergies cause long-term stuffiness in the nose that can block one or both eustachian tubes, which connect the back of the nose and throat with the middle ears. This blockage can cause fluid to build up in the middle ear.

Other things that increase the risk for ear infection include:

Things that increase the risk for repeated ear infections also include:

Olive Oil For Earache:

One of the main reasons for ear infection is the wax catching a fungal growth and blocking the Eustachian tubes. You can prevent this by using warm olive oil. It can easily help to remove the infected wax.

What you need:

• Pour the olive oil in a vessel and heat it slightly in low flame

• Turn off the flame and set it aside to cool off

• Dip a cotton swab when the oil is still warm

• Put few drops of the warm olive oil into the infected ear

How it works:

The oil will soften the infected wax. You can easily remove the infected wax using the cotton swabs.

Note: Do not push the swab too hard into the ear as it might damage the eardrums.

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Infections Inside The Ear

Antibiotics are not usually offered because infections inside the ear often clear up on their own and antibiotics make little difference to symptoms, including pain.

Antibiotics might be prescribed if:

• an ear infection does not start to get better after 3 days
• you or your child has any fluid coming out of the ear
• you or your child has an illness that means there’s a risk of complications, such as cystic fibrosis

They may also be prescribed if your child is less than 2 years old and has an infection in both ears.

How To Relieve Ear Pain

• Frequently Asked Questions

Ear pain can feel like a dull, sharp, or burning sensation. The pain may come on gradually or suddenly. It might be constant or come and go, depending on the cause. One or both ears can be affected. Though ear pain is more common in children, it can occur in adults as well.

Read on to learn more about ear pain causes, home remedies, and treatments.

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Earache Remedies For Kids

Since children are especially prone to ear infections, given their smaller eustachian tubes, there are some medications on the market specifically for earaches in kids. Drugstores sell pain-relieving eardrops that can help your child feel better if their earache is due to a cold or flu, swimmers ear, or allergies.

In addition, childrens formula acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be used as earache remedies to help ease discomfort from inflammation in kids 6 months or older. Be sure to consult your childs pediatrician before giving an kind ofanti-inflammatory medication and avoid aspirin for children under 16.

Schedule A Recheck Exam

Recheck examinations are one of the most vital steps in successful cat ear infection treatment. Most ear infections are treated for a minimum of two to three weeks, but this can be extended, especially if there are any underlying or predisposing factors such as allergies.

During this visit, another sample will likely be taken from the ear canal and examined under a microscope. For this diagnostic to be successful, do NOT clean or medicate your cats ears at least 24 hours prior to the exam.

Your veterinarian can check to see whether the infection has resolved, particularly if your cat has had ear infections in the past. If its not, additional testing and treatment may be required.

Remember, even if your cat stops scratching or their ears look better, the infection may not have fully resolved. Since a cats ear canal is shaped like the letter L, debris such as hair, impacted wax, or residual infection can be hidden despite a normal, healthy-appearing ear.

Once the issue is resolved, speak to your veterinarian about ways to prevent reoccurring cat ear infections and other ear issues, and how often to clean your cats ears going forward.

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