How to Recognize and Deal With a Child's Ear Infection

Ear infections, or "otitis media," are fairly common among young children. Here's how to recognize the signs, and what to do if you think your child may have an infection.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Aspirins

1. Listen to your child: If he's cranky and has trouble sleeping, or lets you know that he's in pain ' especially after a recent cold ' consider the possibility of an ear infection.

2. Watch for fever, a stuffy nose or even vomiting in some cases.

3. Consider sleeping and feeding patterns: If your child is still a baby, he may not be happy lying down, or may suckle differently when he nurses.

4. Watch for fluid or pus draining from your child's ear. This may signal a ruptured eardrum.

5. Visit the doctor immediately if you think your child has an ear infection. She will probably prescribe a 10-day course of antibiotics, plus at least one follow-up visit.

6. Attend the follow-up visit. This is especially important because many ear infections don't clear up after a single course of antibiotics.

7. Ask the doctor about preventative measures if your child gets recurrent ear infections. Some doctors will prescribe low doses of antibiotics or ear tubes to help prevent and treat frequent ear infections.

8. Offer your child some children's acetaminophen or other pain reliever approved by your doctor or pharmacist if he is in severe pain.

Tips & Warnings

• Nurse your baby as long as possible; breast-fed babies have significantly fewer ear infections than formula-fed babies.
• Feed or nurse your baby in an upright or semi-upright position if possible to help reduce pressure on the eardrum.
• Try to control allergens in your home. This can reduce the risk of ear infections.
• Never ignore a possible ear infection. If left untreated, it could lead to surgical intervention or even hearing loss.
• Always be sure that your child takes the full course of antibiotics, even if his symptoms clear up after just a day or so.

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[bevsue]

on 3/2/2009 Everyone please continue doing research on this. We are giving our kids soooo many antibiotics, starting at such early ages now. I am not sure we are doing them favors with the 'standard' treatments for this. When I was a kid they put a little warmed sweet oil in your ear and stuck a piece of cotton in it and you were well in two days. Now kids are sick all winter long with repeated courses of antibiotics and eventually tubes, etc. What's wrong with this picture???

[kiratrever]

on 3/1/2009 You recommend aspirin? Do you not know that aspirin is NOT recommended for babies and young children?

on 3/6/2006 Heating up Sweet Oil and putting a little bit in your ear will help.

on 2/23/2006 My 4 year old son has chronic ear infections, he has had 3 sets of tubes and his adenoids removed, and he still gets an ear infection about every 8 weeks. The first symptom is a moody, unhappy child. By the time your child says that their, ear, head, neck or throat hurt, it's a full blown infection and an antibiotic is the only treatment. Your child will usually wake up in the middle of the night crying in pain, to alleviate pain until you can get to the doctor in the morning, give your child, Motrin, Tylenol or Feveral. If they are vomiting or refusing to take medicine by mouth, then prop your child up (a recliner is great for this). Laying flat causes liquid and puss to pool in their ear and causes great pain. Hold a warm, dry compress or heating pad to their ear until they fall asleep, keep your child propped up all night or your child will wake up crying in an hour. Do not put any over the counter drops in your child's ear, drops are extremely painful to a child with an ear infection and cause additional waxy buildup in the ear and fungal infections. Your doctor will prescribe drops as well as an antibiotic that will not hurt the child as much. In fact, they usually prescribe a prescription eye drop because it treats ear infections without causing buildup in the ear canal. Do not try to clean the inside of your child's ear, even if is looks very waxy, you will only push the wax further into the middle ear which can harden and may have to be surgically removed, a dirty ear means the infection is draining, that is a good sign. Only wipe the outside of the ear. If your child has chronic ear infections go to an ENT who specializes in children. I won't get into it, but I learned this the hard way.

on 11/22/2005 If you are going to use eardrops, use a good brand name not the no name stuff. I used allergan drops for my daughters pain, I warmed it up slightly and dropped about 3 to 4 drops. It worked very well.