Children are extremely prone to middle ear infections

Middle ear infections usually appear after common colds. One of middle ear infections is acute otitis media. If you have sudden pain inside your ear do not hesitate to consult your doctor or at least the nurse who will examine you with a special device. If you cannot see the doctor straight away, you can take paracetamol in order to relieve the pain. The treatment of otitis media may include antibiotics.

Middle ear infections are infections that develop in the internal part of the ear. The infections usually cause fever and pain. They are very frequent in children, especially in those who had cold recently.

The most common symptoms of middle ear infections are as follows. First of all, it is pain inside the ear. It happens that the eardrum bursts causing a fluid discharge out of the ear. As a rule, pain disappears after the burst because it lowers the pressure behind the ear drum. A lot of children can feel sick when they get middle ear infections. Hearing can get impaired as well. Sometimes people become dizzy.

Middle ear infections last during only several days. Nevertheless, repeating deafness is possible during some weeks after the condition.

There are certain tubes that drain our ears to the back of the throat. They are called eustachian tubes. We open the tubes while swallowing or yawning in order to stop hearing from getting blocked when we are on a plane or go up a hill. It is possible that a common cold can cause the tubes become swollen or filled with catarrh and mucus.

So, the swelling blocks the tubes thus stopping the normal fluid drainage from the ear to the throat's back. Stagnant water becomes foul. That is why sometimes germs are going to develop in the stagnant water in the middle ear. The result of this is acute otitis media.

As a rule, it is children who are prone to the disease. It can be explained by the fact that the eustachian tubes with children are narrower.

The diagnosis of the otitis media is put when the patient (a child) who had a sore throat or cold get worse and has fever and pain ear. Otitis media with effusion is a severer variety of acute otitis media.

But it can be the symptoms of some other condition as well. That is why it is necessary to consult the doctor or the nurse who will examine the ear with the help of a special device called otoscope or auriscope.

As soon as you experience certain symptoms of middle ear infections, it is necessary to consult the doctor. If you have to wait till daytime, you may take some medicines to reduce the pain. Paracetamol that comes as a tablet, a liquid or a soluble tablet is the best solution. Ibuprofen is a good alternative to it. Adults can take aspirin. But don't give the medicine to the children under 16.

A lot of countries use antibiotics to cure otitis media. Nevertheless, there are a lot of doctors against this kind of treatment.

It is difficult to define, which treatment is right and which is wrong. Your doctor will take into consideration all your personal factors while prescribing your treatment. Your doctor may also prescribe you antibiotics in case you have some other conditions, such as chest infection. It is possible that your doctor will prescribe antibiotics if there is no improvement after 2-3 days of treatment.

Sometimes, when children regularly suffer from otitis media, their parents suggest that their child's adenoids be removed. It is not of much help as the child is going to grow. So, his eustachian tubes are going to grow wider as well.

