Health tip - The cause of ear infections among children

The cause of ear infections among children

Health tips

Children and especially infants are extremely susceptible to diseases of the ear, nose and throat, in which otitis media is a very popular disease. handle when detecting a child with otitis media.

What is otitis media disease?

An ear infection in young children is an infection in the middle ear. This disease usually starts quickly in a short time, of course a buildup of fluid inside the ear. This is a sign of infection of the ear and eardrum, accompanied by pain and discharge of pus in the ear.

The middle ear is the space part behind the eardrum.

Parents probably do not need to acquire in-depth understanding of the structure of the ears. For simplicity, parents just need to visualize the middle ear as a part behind the eardrum, the inside of the ear, besides that there are other parts such as the non-recessive ear, the dome and the eardrum.

Other information

Otitis is a very diverse illness in babies and children. 75% of children under 3 have had at least one ear infection, of which up to 50% will experience it 3 times or more widely during their first three years. Although this is a common illness in children, it can also affect adults.

Up to 75% of children under 3 years old have had at least one ear infection.

Cause of otitis media:

Otitis can start with a cold that causes the middle ear to swell and mucus to build up behind the eardrum.

The cause of otitis media can be spontaneous or by a side effect. For example, by exposing the ear to dirty, damp or exposed to an infected environment.

This is a common disease all over the world, for example, failure to detect it early and timely treatment can leave serious complications, especially among children. all if the child has an ear infection due to a sore throat or rhinitis then becomes infested with bacteria or is very likely to cause the middle ear infection.

Several factors can make a child more susceptible to illness;

Infants between 6 months and 18 months are most susceptible;

Babies who have just been sent to kindergarten are also susceptible to diseases due to changing living environments and susceptible to infection.

Children living in an environment with cigarette smoke or polluted air are also susceptible to illness.

Due to inherited genes: if a parent or grandparent is more prone to ear infections, babies are also more prone to middle ear infections.

Due to race: Indians are more susceptible to ear infections than whites,

Seasonal weather: in autumn and winter, children are more susceptible to otitis media

It can also be attributed to the way it is lying down: Babies are more likely to be breastfed than babies who are supported to raise their heads while feeding.

Signs of children with otitis media

For an older child, the detection of otitis media will be simpler because the child will complain of pain. However, for some infants, the common description is that the child is fussy due to the pain, the child reacts slowly with sounds, or shakes his head and rubs his ear with his hand.

When the illness is severe, the child will have a fever of 39 degrees or more, leading to seizures

Babies are prone to carrying a runny or passing phenomenon except loose stools (presentation of diarrhea)

When the illness worsens, the phenomenon of discharge can be seen in the ears, posterior ears with swelling. Children often lose appetite, stop feeding, have trouble sleeping and are fussy.

Note, parents need to check often when a child has a runny nose or cold because this is the time when children are prone to middle ear infections.

Some complications from otitis media

Long-term and untreated middle ear infections can lead to other dangerous complications such as hearing loss, perforated eardrums, hearing loss, occipital inflammation or meningitis.

Acute otitis media in young children can cause perforation of the eardrum, affecting the child's hearing ability, causing hearing loss.

This is dangerous when children have not fully developed their language ability, leading to language disorders such as speech failure and lisp. From there, it directly affects the child's ability to socialize in the future.

In some examples, especially when the disease gets worse, it can lead to infection and danger to life. Acute otitis media can lead to super-dangerous cranial complications such as ear abscess, phlebitis, and facial nerve paralysis meningitis.

Handling methods when treating otitis media

Although otitis media doesn't need to be an emergency, it does make a child super uncomfortable. In older children, for example, from more than 2 years old, otitis media can cause the child to experience extreme ear pain as well as difficulty sleeping and crying at night.

Another difference in the treatment of otitis media and another medical secret in children is that otitis media has a slightly persistent duration of one week to three weeks and with a high risk of recurrence.

When seeing a child with these phenomena, it is best for the family to have the baby go to the ENT clinic or the nearest hospital. In addition, if you see that the child has pus discharge or bleeding in the ear, the child may have a perforation of the eardrum. Some babies, after the end of a cold, bring uncomfortable crying phenomenon, you must think about ear infections and send them to the doctor.