How To Treat Baby Ear Infections

 

Ear Infections in Babies

Have you ever seen a baby fussing all day and looking uncomfortable with his ears? This most likely indicates that there is an infection problem in the baby's ears.

Even though it is common and usually mild, an infection that is left unchecked can affect your baby's hearing function. Find out various facts about this health problem in the following review.

What is an ear infection in babies?

Ear infection is an inflammatory condition in the middle part of the ear or called middle ear infection.

One of the commonly known ear infections is otitis media. In short, babies and children can experience ear infections with similar symptoms.

Ear infections often cause inflammation and fluid blockage, causing the eardrum to become swollen and appear reddish.

In fact, ear infections can happen to anyone from parents to babies.

However, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), children (including babies) experience it more often than adults.

What causes ear infections in babies?

The causes of ear infections, including in babies and children, are viruses, bacteria, or both that infect the ear.

Exposure to this virus or bacteria causes fluid to build up behind the eardrum, resulting in various symptoms.

Quoting from the Baby Center, ear infections from viruses, bacteria, or both in babies and children can occur when they have a cold.

Germs that infect the respiratory tract can enter the ear through the Eustachian tube, which is the tube that connects the top of the throat to the middle ear.

As for babies and children, the shape of the Eustachian tube is shorter, wider and more horizontal than in adults.

That is why mucus from the throat containing bacteria can pass easily and reach the middle ear, making it more likely to cause ear infections.

What are the symptoms of ear infections in babies?

In general, ear infections can cause a number of symptoms, such as the following.

• Earache.
• Irritation and itching in and around the ears.
• Difficulty hearing.
• A feeling of pressure in the ear.
• Fluid comes out of the ear.
• Scaly skin in and around the ears.
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However, in babies, signs of an ear infection can be difficult to recognize because they cannot say what they are feeling.

As a parent, you need to recognize the signs that babies and children have ear infections.

Various signs and symptoms of ear infections in your little one that you can pay attention to are as follows.

1. Fever

It is very common for infectious diseases in children and babies to cause fever. High body temperature can make it difficult for bacteria and viruses that cause infections to survive.

When an ear infection occurs, the child will experience a fairly high fever, which is around 38 degrees Celsius.

2. Tugging at the ears

The habit of tugging at the ears that babies and children may have been doing recently can be caused by various reasons. One of them is an ear infection.

This is usually done because babies and children feel pain, soreness, or discomfort in one or both ears.

3. Reduced appetite

Pain in a baby's ears that occurs due to an ear infection can make sucking, chewing and swallowing painful.

This condition can make the baby reluctant to eat or breastfeed. The pain can also make the baby pull the nipple or bottle in the middle of the breastfeeding process.

4. Difficulty sleeping

Lying on the side of the infected ear causes pressure on the middle ear.

This condition makes ear pain more painful. This will make it difficult for children to sleep because their sleeping position is more limited.

5. Fussy and crying

If a baby cries unusually, for example whining or continuously and doesn't stop, this could be a sign that he is in pain.

This is why babies generally become fussy and cry when they have an ear infection.

6. Difficulty hearing and maintaining balance

When infection occurs and mucus builds up, your little one's hearing can be affected. This is why ear infections in babies and children make them unresponsive to sound.

Then, the function of the middle ear, which is responsible for maintaining body balance, is also disrupted. As a result, your little one's balance becomes disturbed.

This condition will make the child walk unsteadily or have difficulty maintaining the correct body position.

7. Fluid comes out of the ear

Another sign of ear infection in babies is fluid coming out of the ear. The discharge occurs naturally to help relieve pressure that builds up in the ear due to infection.

The fluid that comes out is generally odorless, but can develop a foul odor in the baby's ears.

However, if the fluid coming out of the ear is yellowish or pus-like, this could be a sign that your little one has a perforated eardrum.

How to treat ear infections in babies?

Most cases of ear infections in babies can heal on their own within a few days. Even so, the following home treatments can help reduce symptoms.

1. Warm compress

To reduce pain, you can apply warm compresses to the ears of babies and children. Do this for approximately 10-15 minutes.

2. Giving paracetamol

If your baby is six months or older, you can give acetaminophen (paracetamol) to reduce pain.

However, still follow the instructions given by the doctor and read the instructions regarding administration.

3. Give the baby enough drink

Give the baby enough drink to swallow which can help drainage of fluid in the Eustachian tube.

If your baby is still breastfeeding, providing additional breast milk can also help.

4. Raise the baby's head

When the baby sleeps, make sure the baby's head is raised using a pillow. This can help reduce excess fluid in the Eustachian tubes.

When should you see a doctor?

If the methods above are not enough to relieve symptoms, medical treatment is highly recommended. Therefore, when symptoms of ear infections occur in babies and children, you should immediately consult a doctor.

You also need to take your little one to the doctor if you experience the following conditions.

• Your little one doesn't look well, for example like he's in pain or has a high fever or is vomiting.
• Symptoms or pain have not improved after 1-2 days.
• Frequent ear infections.
• Redness, swelling and pain appear behind the ear.
• Fluid discharge from the ear.
• Having hearing loss.
• Your baby is under 3 months old.
• Your baby has another medical condition.
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Generally, the doctor will prescribe medication in the form of antibiotics if necessary.

If the infection persists, surgery is necessary in the form of installing a ventilation tube in the eardrum.

This treatment is carried out to remove trapped ear fluid and improve air flow.

Consult a doctor to get the right treatment according to your little one's condition.