My 3 month old baby has ear pain, what should I do? Ear pain in a child

Why do children often have ear pain? Children often have ear pain. This is due to the special structure of children's ears and some anatomical and physiological characteristics of the child.

Children have a shorter and wider (compared to adults) external auditory canal and Eustachian tube (the passage connecting the nasopharynx and middle ear).

• • In children, adenoid vegetations are more developed. They can partially or completely close the opening of the Eustachian tube in the nasopharynx, which contributes to frequent inflammation of the Eustachian tube and middle ear.
  • Babies have shorter and narrower nasal passages. Small children do not know how to blow their nose.
  • Children under 4-5 years of age do not have a developed immune system. Children more often than adults suffer from acute respiratory viral infections, including a runny nose (or rhinitis). And rhinitis in children often leads to otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear).

As we grow, these problems are gradually resolved. The ear grows, and with it the external auditory canal and the Eustachian tube, and the nasal passages. The adenoids undergo reverse development. (This is provided that the child does not get sick too often and does not overuse flour and sweets). The immune system is formed and the child is less likely to suffer from a runny nose.

The older the child, the less often his ears hurt. Most often, ear pain occurs in children aged 1 to 6 years.

A child is often unable to explain to an adult that his ears hurt.

How can you tell if your child has ear pain?

• If a child under 1 year of age has ear pain, he becomes capricious, may refuse to eat, and may experience causeless bouts of crying and screaming during sleep. While suckling, your baby may suddenly drop the nipple or bottle and scream.
• A child from one to three years old is also not always able to explain to adults that his ear hurts. He can point to the cheek, to the teeth, to the neck. This baby also becomes capricious and eats worse.
• Parents of young children need to know that ear pain is often accompanied by a runny nose and fever.
• If you suspect that your baby has ear pain, you can try pressing on the tragus (the protrusion in front of the auricle). If the ear hurts, the baby will cry, scream, make a grimace of pain, and try to move your hand away.
• If the baby is capricious while awake and does not allow you to touch his ears, you can try to do this while sleeping.

When parents encounter the problem of ear pain for the first time or when pain occurs at night or on a weekend, they are lost and do not know what to do. The family begins to panic.
In such a situation, it is very useful to know what you can do before visiting a doctor to relieve your child of ear pain.

What to do if a child has an earache?

Apply ear drops

For acute pain in the ear, the most suitable drops are those that contain not only an antibiotic, but also a local anesthetic. For example, otpax (contains lidocaine), otinum (contains a substance from the salicylates group that has a local anesthetic effect). Be sure to check the instructions At what age can you use drops?. Otipax is approved from birth, and Otinum is recommended to be used with caution in children in the first year of life.
Others may contain only an antibiotic; before use, you must carefully study the instructions. If the composition does not contain a local anesthetic, ear pain cannot be quickly relieved with ear drops.

Drops should not be used if the integrity of the eardrum is damaged.(flowed from the ear)

How to put drops in the ear

• Ear drops should be kept in the refrigerator. But before use, they need to be slightly warmed up (hold in your hand or put in warm water for a few minutes).
• Before instilling ear drops, the child should be placed on his healthy side so that the sore ear is on top.
• Pull the auricle down and back.
• Place 2 drops from the bottle into your ear.
• Make sure the child remains in the same position for several minutes. And then insert a cotton swab into the ear and let the baby stand up.

Give your child pain medication

If there are no ear drops at home, if the ear drops do not contain a local anesthetic, or if drops alone cannot relieve ear pain and save the baby from suffering, this can be achieved by giving the child: paracetamol, nurofen or nimulid. These medications will allow you to relieve or reduce ear pain for several hours and wait for a doctor’s examination and his appointments.

Show the child to the doctor

This item is required for ear pain.. It is best to show the child to an ENT (otorhinolaryngologist). Ear pain can be caused by acute purulent otitis media, which without treatment can be complicated by a rupture of the eardrum, hearing impairment, and even purulent meningitis and meningoencephalitis.

Personal experience

I have two children. The eldest has already outgrown the period when his ears often hurt. For the younger ones, this problem is still relevant. Quite often, his runny nose leads to ear disease. But the temperature does not always rise.

My youngest son (he is already 5 years old) knows that if his ear hurts, he needs to put drops in it. But he really doesn’t like this, so for now he can endure it and doesn’t tell me anything.
His ear pain is most intense at night. First, my son starts fiddling around in his sleep and I notice that he cannot lie on one side (if one ear hurts). and if both hurt, he can only sleep on his back. Then he begins to roar in his sleep and kick his feet on the crib.
Moreover, to my questions: what hurts you, he answers - nothing, continuing to sob. Then he falls asleep for a few minutes. At this moment, I gently press on the tragus of the “suspected” ear - this is where the cause of the roar is revealed. My son immediately wakes up and starts crying.

In such situations, I always give him Nurofen syrup as a pain reliever and drop Otipax Otinum or other ear drops into his ear (we always have them in our first aid kit). And in the morning we go to an appointment with an ENT specialist.

Now you know what to do if the child has an earache. I wish you good health!

Children's colds and acute respiratory viral infections are accompanied by inflammation, covering different parts of the head. The most common cause of a child's ear pain is infections of the oropharynx and upper respiratory tract. It is necessary to relieve symptoms at the very beginning with the help of an anti-inflammatory agent and a compress.

The Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear and nasopharynx, is shorter in young children and located at a smaller angle. In addition, babies do not know how to sneeze and blow their nose correctly. Therefore, the infection more easily passes from the nasopharynx to the middle ear. Ear pain occurs - otalgia - a typical sign of an inflammatory process.

If a usually calm baby behaves differently or is capricious, then parents should check the baby’s ears. The reason for the change in behavior may be associated with the onset of the inflammatory process. How can you tell if your child has ear pain? It is necessary to pay attention to the complex of symptoms.

Signs of otitis - inflammation of the ear:

1. sharp or aching pain;
2. discharge from the ear;
3. poor appetite;
4. dizziness;
5. sleep disorders;

If your baby has severe ear pain and a high temperature, you should call your pediatrician at home.

Otitis externa is manifested by swelling and redness of the skin of the auricle and ear canal, and the formation of boils. These signs are easy to notice and can be used to determine the cause of the pain. The formation of pus behind the eardrum in the middle ear cavity is accompanied by an increase in pressure. Therefore, the child’s ear hurts more when the head is in a horizontal position, blood flow and swelling increase. The baby wakes up crying and reaches his hand to his head. After the pus leaves the ear canal, the discomfort subsides.

Causes of ear pain in a child (except otitis media):

• diseases of teeth located close to the ear canal;
• irritation from chlorinated water after swimming;
• complications of ARVI, tonsillitis or sinusitis;
• foreign object in the ear canal;
• rupture of the eardrum.

Inflammation occurs when a foreign body enters the external auditory canal. Then the child’s ear hurts more when moving his head, chewing, or talking. If a foreign object is visible, parents can try to remove it themselves. It is better to use tweezers with rounded “legs”.

Home treatments and remedies

Before using any pharmaceutical drug or folk remedy for ear pain, you should consult a pediatrician or pediatric otolaryngologist. It is important not to harm the child’s health through improper actions.

A solution of boric acid in ethanol is used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Place 1 drop of boric alcohol into the ear opening twice a day. It is recommended to first heat the bottle with the solution in your hand. Small gauze flagella are moistened with boric alcohol and inserted into the ear canal overnight. This remedy is not used to treat children under one year of age.

Painkillers and anti-inflammatory solutions can be instilled into the ears only if there is no perforation of the eardrum.

Traditional treatment for ear pain in children:

1. Fill a cloth bag with dried chamomile flowers and lightly heat in the oven. Apply to the affected ear as a dry compress.
2. Brew 2 tbsp. l. chamomile 1 liter of boiling water. After 10–15 minutes of infusion, the child is asked to carefully inhale the healing fumes for 5–10 minutes.
3. Drink as tea, gargle for pain in the ears due to a cold, ARVI, sore throat, infusion prepared from 1 tbsp. l. flowers and a cup of boiling water.
4. Apply cold to the area above the eye for 5–10 minutes to relieve inflammation and pain in children over 5 years of age.

If a child has an earache and the baby is already 2 years old, then camphor oil can be used for treatment. Directions for use: insert a cotton swab soaked in oil into the ear canal. Do not use the product if a child is allergic to camphor, or if the skin of the ear canal or eardrum is damaged.

How to make a compress with camphor oil on a sore ear:

• the oil is heated in a water bath to body temperature;
• soak a bandage or cotton cloth with oil;
• placed around the ear without covering the ear opening;
• cover the top with wax paper and cotton wool;
• The compress is fixed with a bandage.

Unfortunately, not all mothers and fathers know what to do if a child has an earache and a sharp rise in temperature. The task of parents is to provide first aid to the baby correctly and in a timely manner. If a child has ear pain due to a cold or ARVI, then the nasal cavity should be cleared of mucus.

Rinse the child’s nose with saline solution or Miramistin liquid from the pharmacy. Older children can use Aqualor, equipped with a special spray nozzle. It is more convenient for the baby to rinse his nose with an aspirator or a disposable syringe without a needle. Nazivin is instilled into the nose, helping with a runny nose and reducing swelling of the mucous membrane of the auditory tube.

First aid for ear pain and fever

In a situation where a child complains of ear pain and fever, antipyretics with paracetamol, ibuprofen are given: Panadol, Nurofen. These drugs, in addition to their anti-inflammatory effect, have an analgesic effect. Available in the form of syrup, suspension, soluble tablets and rectal suppositories.

If the ear hurts and the baby’s temperature rises, then it is preferable to administer baby rectal suppositories with ibuprofen or paracetamol. A child who is 2–4 years old is given syrup or suspension. Children over 3–5 years of age can take the tablets.

Antihistamines enhance the effect of using Nurofen or Panadol. For infants under one year of age, Fenistil or Zyrtec drops are more suitable. A child aged 3 years and older is given liquid Zodak and Erius products. Dosages for children and adults are usually indicated in the instructions for the drug. The ear pain subsides after several days of treatment with an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory drug.

Helping a child with otitis externa

The pinna and ear canal direct sound to the eardrum and middle ear cavity. With external otitis of a limited type, only the pilosebaceous follicle in the area of ​​the ear canal becomes inflamed. With the diffuse nature of the disease, the infection affects the auricle and ear canal. Discomfort and pain are felt more strongly when turning the head, while eating, talking, coughing and sneezing.

Why inflammation of the outer ear develops:

1. the sebaceous gland or hair follicle in the skin of the ear canal is damaged;
2. eczema or other skin disease spreads to the ear area;
3. complications of viral infections, including influenza, arise;
4. the skin is injured if the earwax is removed incorrectly;
5. water gets in when a child bathes, swims in a lake or river;
6. mechanical damage;
7. reaction to an insect bite;
8. a foreign body enters;
9. chemical burn.

The doctor will determine the cause of the pain after examining the child and receiving test results. Parents can ask their pediatrician how to treat inflammatory ear disease.

How to relieve pain from otitis externa in children:

1. Otinum, Otipax or Anauran ear drops are instilled with an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect.
2. Apply anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial ointments Levomekol, Sofradex, Balsamic Liniment (according to Vishnevsky).
3. Antimicrobial drops Normax, Otofa, Candibiotic, Polydexa, Sofradex, Tsipromed are instilled into the ear.
4. They give an antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug for oral administration (Naproxen, Nurofen, Acetaminophen).

The child is placed on his side and in this position the medicine is instilled into the ear.

In the purulent form of the disease, the ear hurts greatly. The child cannot chew and swallow and behaves restlessly. It is noticeable that the external auditory canal is red and swollen. The discharge of pus begins, a skin rash appears on the face and neck. Occasionally, inflammation spreads to the tissues of the jaw, half of the face or throughout the body.

What to do if a 3-year-old child’s ears hurt:

• treat the ear canal with hydrogen peroxide;
• clean the skin of the auricle from dissolved wax and pus;
• insert a cotton swab with boric alcohol or sodium sulfacyl into the ear canal;
• pre-warm the bottle with the solution in your hand (15–20 minutes).

Levomekol ointment for external otitis is placed on a cotton pad in the child’s ear overnight. The procedure is performed daily for 1–1.5 weeks. To help with pain and inflammation, Vishnevsky ointment is used. Liniment is applied daily using a cotton swab and left for 3 hours. However, the child may not like this treatment due to the unpleasant odor of the product.

Ear pain relief and anti-inflammatory drops

Anauran is a combined drug that has an antibacterial and analgesic effect. It is used for inflammation of the outer and middle ear in children over 12 months of age.

Otipax - ear drops with phenazone and lidocaine. The drug has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect and is used to treat children from birth. Contraindication: perforated eardrum.

Otinum is a means for instillation into the ears. Quickly has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. Use no longer than 10 days.

Candibiotic - drops for ear pain and inflammation with the antibacterial substance chloramphenicol and the anesthetic lidocaine. The anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug is approved for use in children over 6 years of age.

Pain with purulent otitis media

The development of ear disease is often associated with the spread of infection from the nasopharynx. Inflammation is provoked by a runny nose, adenoids, and sore throat. The child experiences acute pain in the ear, the temperature rises to 37.3°C and higher.

How to treat purulent otitis media:

1. Eliminate heat and inflammation with ibuprofen syrup or suspension.
2. A course of cephalosporin antibiotic: Ceftriaxone or Cefuroxime.
3. Rinsing the nose with saline and instilling Nazivin.
4. Instillation of Nomax or Tsipromed into the ears.

If a child’s ear hurts for several days and does not go away after treatment at home, then the child should be taken to a pediatrician or ENT doctor. The specialist selects the dosage of medications taking into account the age of the small patient and the cause of the illness. The doctor prescribes antibiotics for the child after determining the cause of the disease. Such drugs do not act on viral and fungal infections, but quickly help with bacterial otitis media.

Complications of ear diseases

Prolonged ear pain can lead to mastoiditis, abscess, meningitis, and hearing loss. Complications develop with inadequate and untimely treatment of otitis media, sinusitis, and chronic rhinitis. With mastoiditis, the mastoid process of the temporal bone behind the ear becomes inflamed. Pain and swelling appear in the area behind the ear, symptoms of general intoxication are observed, and the temperature rises to 39°C.

Almost every child experiences an ear infection at least once in their life. These infections are among the most common childhood diseases. The risky period is not only the cold season, but also summer. Children suffer pain, swelling and fever. The disease can occur in a child of different ages - 1 year, 2 years and older than 3 years. The problem is the situation when ear disease affects the youngest ages (up to 1-2 years), whose representatives cannot clearly explain their condition. What to do if your child succumbs to the disease? How to understand how a child’s ear hurts and check if there is an infection?

Middle ear infections are one of the most common infectious diseases in children. About 75% of children under the age of 1-2 years experience an ear infection at least once or twice in their lives.

Children who become ill before reaching 1-2 years of age are more likely to suffer from recurrent infections, often becoming chronic. Ear infections include various inflammatory processes, which according to symptoms, severity and duration can be divided into several categories:

• spicy,
• chronic,
• recurrent,
• inflammation accompanied by discharge.

Otitis media, especially in children under 1 year of age, is not necessarily visible at first glance. The disease is sometimes not diagnosed even by a doctor, without suspicion regarding this diagnosis. This, in most cases, applies to children under 2 months of age. Such young children develop inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, runny nose, etc. On the other hand, a considerable percentage of children do not show these symptoms, and even a blood test cannot detect inflammation.

Sudden attacks of pain at night

Almost every parent of a small child has experienced a situation where the baby had an earache.

When child has ear pain, he rubs it with his hand and whimpers miserably, not understanding what is happening. Often the baby wakes up from pain at night and cannot sleep. He becomes restless, cries and does not allow his ear to be touched. This is a signal that the child has an infection, manifested by pain. Fever may, but should not, accompany inflammation. Sometimes vomiting or diarrhea occurs. Parents can give their child age-appropriate pain and fever medications and call an ambulance. The doctor will most likely refer the child to an otolaryngologist.

Symptoms of otitis media and its complications include:

For recurrent otitis media, vaccination, surgical incision of the eardrum and insertion of a sleeve (ventilator tube), adenoid removal, or temporal bone surgery may be considered.

A child’s ear is a vulnerable place, and usually it gets sick suddenly and at the wrong time. On vacation, after swimming in the sea or in a river, at the dacha, on weekends when clinics are not open. Often acute pain begins at night. The main thing is not to panic, says the famous pediatrician Evgeniy Komarovsky. There is an explanation for everything, and first aid for ear pain is not a very difficult task.

Why does my ear hurt?

There can be many reasons. This includes an insect that has gotten into the ear canal, a small foreign object, for example, a small part from a toy, and water that has gotten into the ear while swimming in nature. The cause of acute pain may be wax plug or inflammation in the hearing organs, which can begin with a cold or viral infection.

A child's behavior when dealing with ear pain will depend on age. Infants cannot convey their suffering to their parents in words; they will scream shrilly, and if you place them during feeding on the side on which the diseased organ is located, the baby will begin to calm down.

Children between one and three years of age can already indicate what is bothering them, but the pain is so severe that they cannot concentrate on it. They will cry and rub their big ear with their hand. If you notice that your baby is capricious, refuses to eat, sleeps poorly and scratches his ear, these are sure signs of incipient inflammation in the hearing organs.

After three years, children are able to explain to mom and dad where and what hurts them, and parents should not have any difficulties with diagnosis.

Dr. Komarovsky about ear pain

Evgeny Komarovsky considers otitis media to be the most common cause of severe ear pain. Moreover, one of the three parts of the ear can become inflamed - the outer, middle or inner.

A video episode of Dr. Komarovsky’s program on the topic of childhood otitis can be viewed below.

If the outer ear is inflamed, it is clearly visible to the naked eye, there is no acute pain, and helping the child is quite simple. Otitis media, as the name suggests, is an inflammation of the middle ear, the area on the other side of the eardrum. This disease causes severe pain. This is the diagnosis that doctors make in most cases for children who suddenly begin to experience shooting and pain in the ear.

Otitis of the inner ear, or as doctors also call it “labyrinthitis,” is the most serious of the variations of ear inflammation. Fortunately, such otitis media does not occur often. Komarovsky argues that internal inflammation quite rarely occurs as an independent disease; usually this condition is a consequence of untreated otitis media or its complications due to improper treatment or complete absence thereof. Labyrinthitis can also be a consequence of a severe infectious disease.

In the middle ear, which becomes inflamed in most cases and causes a lot of unpleasant sensations for children of all ages, there is a special space, the so-called tympanic cavity, in which the auditory ossicles are located. Without any problems, it can receive sound vibrations and transmit them further - to the internal compartment, the middle one can only when the pressure in this cavity is at the same level as atmospheric.

This level is “monitored” by the Eustachian tube, which performs a special mission. It connects the cavity to the pharynx. When a child swallows, this tube opens and allows air to enter, the pressure is maintained at normal levels, and the ear is ventilated.

When the pressure changes, otitis media occurs. An imbalance within the tympanic cavity occurs when a child dives into water, but this is not the most common cause. More often, the patency of the connecting Eustachian tube is disrupted, and the pressure can no longer be maintained at the same level as atmospheric pressure. This happens during inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx, for example, with a cold or viral infection.

Children often sniffle because they cry more often, and also with a runny nose, if some of the mucus from the nose penetrates into the nasopharynx, and from there into the Eustachian tube. And this also causes the development of otitis media.

As soon as the pressure in the cavity changes in a negative direction, the cells that form the basis of the cavity begin to produce a specific fluid. The child develops severe pain. In most cases, hearing is reversibly affected. If urgent measures are not taken, after two or three days the inflammation becomes purulent; sometimes, under pressure, the eardrum cannot withstand it and ruptures, and pus begins to leak out.

It is much more difficult, according to Komarovsky, to determine otitis media in an infant. Unreasonable crying, restless behavior, and sleep disturbances can arouse suspicion among parents. But you can confirm your guess with a simple manipulation.

You need to lightly press on the tragus (small protrusion in front of the auricle). If the baby is suffering from otitis media, then such pressure will greatly intensify the pain and the baby will burst into a heart-rending roar. If, when pressed, the child does not change his behavior, you need to look for the cause of his anxiety not in his ears, but in something else.

If pain in a child’s ear is accompanied by a symptom such as the appearance of a lump behind the ear, which hurts when pressed, a more thorough examination and additional diagnostics will be needed, as this may be a sign of mumps, rubella and other acute infectious diseases.

Treatment

Evgeny Komarovsky tells parents in detail about the processes that occur in the child’s ear, not at all so that mothers and fathers can practice their medical wisdom to their heart’s content. Only a doctor should make a diagnosis for ear pain! The specialist will carefully examine the condition of the eardrum and find out all the necessary information about its integrity or perforation (violation), the degree of otitis media, its type and the presence of purulent or catarrhal forms. All these factors will be decisive when prescribing drugs for treatment and will determine the duration of the course of therapy.

Komarovsky does not recommend treating otitis media with folk remedies; this can lead to serious complications - complete hearing loss. And this is not the worst consequence. It is worse if purulent meningitis begins.

Evgeniy Olegovich recommends including vasoconstrictor nasal drops in the standard set of medications for otitis media.. They are quite effective not only for a runny nose, but also help relieve swelling in the area of ​​the Eustachian tube. The main thing, the famous pediatrician reminds, is not to forget that such drops are persistently addictive, and therefore they cannot be used for more than three days.

Such nasal instillation should precede any manipulation of the child's ears, such as topical treatment. From ear drops, Evgeniy Komarovsky recommends antiseptics that will help quickly relieve inflammation. It could be the good old boric alcohol, which has been tested for many generations, but it is better if you take more modern drugs, since there are now several dozen items to choose from in any pharmacy. Komarovsky considers drops with a pronounced analgesic effect to be a good choice; they allow you to help your baby faster. These could be “Otinum” or “Otipax”, as well as “Sofradex” and many others.

Usually, Komarovsky says, the difficult task of treating otitis cannot be done without antibiotics. The optimal means are those that effectively destroy the causative agent of the disease, and at the same time penetrate well into the cavity. Such drugs include Amoxicillin.

The case when a child complains of ear pain is far from uncommon, and few parents can say that this problem is unfamiliar to them. Ear pain, like toothache, is unbearable; it deprives the child of sleep, makes him restless and capricious. According to statistics, about 74% of children under the age of 8 suffer from ear pain, the causes of which can be both infectious and non-infectious. The culprit of ear pain in a child under 3 years of age is often the anatomical and physiological structure of the nasopharynx and eustachian tubes, which in children are at the same level as the nasopharynx. This structure of the child’s nasopharynx allows liquids or microbes to easily penetrate its mucosa and form inflammatory processes. As the child gets older, the Eustachian tube narrows and lengthens, making it difficult for fluid or germs to easily enter. Therefore, the risk of developing ear diseases decreases every year.

How to recognize ear pain in a child?

Unlike a big child, who can communicate his ailments, a small child expresses pain through his behavior. Therefore, if parents notice that their baby is shaking his head a lot, is capricious, crying, refuses to eat, or holds his ears, his ears may hurt. In addition, if the ear pain is caused by an infection, the child's body temperature will increase. In more severe cases, purulent discharge from the ears is noted.

Very often, in young children, ear diseases have a hidden course. You can determine whether your child’s ears hurt by pressing on the protrusion near the auricle (tragus). If the ear does not hurt, then the child does not react in any way, then the cause of the ailment must be sought elsewhere.

Ear pain is one of the symptoms signaling the presence of disorders. Therefore, parents should not self-medicate or let this matter take its course. If a child complains of ear pain, you should immediately consult a doctor - an otolaryngologist, who, after examining the child, will be able to identify the cause, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Causes of ear pain in children

Ear pain in a child is directly related to inflammatory processes in the ear, which manifest themselves during acute or chronic diseases, such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, sinusitis, etc. Ear inflammation can also manifest itself as a complication after illness. Ear pain often indicates the following disorders or diseases:

Symptoms of ear pain

Ear pain can be of varying intensity: acute, throbbing, aching, stabbing. It may get worse at night or when you cough or sneeze. In addition to pain, you may experience:

1. increased body temperature up to 39 degrees;
2. sudden cry of the child, crying, restlessness, refusal to eat;
3. the child holds his ear;
4. The child is capricious, sleeps poorly, and constantly rubs his head on the pillow.

In more severe cases, greenish or yellow discharge from the ear may be observed, which indicates perforation of the eardrum.

How to help a child with ear pain?

It is almost impossible to endure ear pain, so the first thing parents should do is help the baby and reduce his suffering. The only and correct way out is to see a doctor at any time of the day. Incorrectly indicated assistance can lead to various complications, including complete or partial hearing loss.

What to do if a child’s ear pain appears at night and there is no way to see a doctor? It will not be possible to wait until the morning, because a sharp pain in the ear causes severe suffering to the baby. Some parents instill boric alcohol to reduce pain, this is wrong. If a child has a damaged eardrum, then using alcohol or other alcohol-based ear drops can lead to complications.

An emergency solution for acute pain in the ear will be a warm compress of water and alcohol in a ratio of 1:1. Before making a compress, you need to treat the skin around the ear with Vaseline or alcohol. The alcohol compress should be placed so that the auricle and ear canal are open; to do this, you can cut a small hole. Keep the compress for no more than one hour, then apply a dry piece of cotton wool and wrap the child in a warm scarf. The child’s ear pain will subside within a few hours, and be sure to see a doctor in the morning.

It should be noted that a warm compress cannot be applied if the child has a high body temperature or if there is purulent discharge from the ears.

Treatment of ear pain in a child

After contacting a specialist in the field of otolaryngology, the doctor will examine the child, collect an anamnesis from the mother’s words, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Usually, in the presence of an inflammatory process, the child is prescribed the following drugs:

1. Pain relieving ear drops– have anti-inflammatory, analgesic effects: Otipax, Otizol, Otinum. After using them, the child is recommended to lie for 15 minutes on the opposite side to the sore ear.
2. Anti-inflammatory drugs– relieve inflammation, reduce pain, have antipyretic properties: Paracetamol, Panadol, Nurofen.
3. Local dry heat.
4. Warming compresses.
5. Vasoconstrictor nasal drops- improve swelling of mucus, prevent its accumulation in the auditory canal: Nazivin, Naphthyzin, Sanorin, Tizin.

If there is an infection or purulent discharge from the ear, the doctor will prescribe antibiotic therapy. The course of treatment and doses of drugs should be prescribed to the child in accordance with age and body weight.