First aid: the child has an earache - what to do?

For sure, every mother at least once in my life experienced pain in the ear, which is most likely to affect children of preschool and primary school age. The most common cause is otitis - an inflammatory process that, in diseases of acute respiratory viral infection or influenza, initiates penetration through the Eustachian tube connecting the nasopharynx and the middle ear, microbes and bacteria, but sometimes an unpleasant sensation is caused by the foreign body or water entering the auricle. In all these cases, caring parents are worried about what to do and how to provide first aid if the child has a very sore ear.

Symptoms of pain in the ears

A kid can not always say that he is worried, so if he gets a viral infection, mom and dad should be very careful and pay attention to the condition of his ears.

Do not worry about how to understand that the child hurts the ear : usually such symptoms are pronounced. To sound an alarm and urgently to address to the doctor costs or stands, if at your detainee are observed:

• a decreased appetite, a refusal to eat or a noticeable anxiety during a meal. The fact is that chewing movements significantly increase the pain in the ears;
• the child cries, pulls himself by the ear, presses his hand to it, tilts his head in one direction, lays down on the sore ear to reduce discomfort;
• the symptoms described above are accompanied by an increase in temperature to a point of 39 degrees and higher, which is characteristic of otitis;
• To make sure that the child has an earache and timely to give him first aid, gently press on the tragus - a small bulge, located at the external ear canal. If the child screamed, cried or showed excitement, then you correctly assumed the diagnosis.

First aid for pain in the ears

When a child has a very sore ear, many parents do not know what to do and fall into a real panic. Consider how you can alleviate the condition of the baby:

1. An excellent remedy is a warming compress. To do this, we prepare a solution of water with vodka in a ratio of 1: 1, warm it up a little and moisten in it a dense napkin or gauze, folded into 5 layers. Skin around the auricle is lubricated with vaseline or oily baby cream, squeeze the napkin a little and apply it so that the external ear canal and the ear canal itself remain open. On top of the ear and compress itself, put on a circle, cut from compress paper, with a slit inside. Then apply a layer of cotton wool, tie up all the bandage and leave the compress for an hour. If a child has a very sore ear, then you can figure out how to help him most effectively if you do not have the opportunity to compress. To do this, the auricle is completely covered with a large piece of cotton wool and a warm handkerchief is tied on top.
2. If the pain in the ear is accompanied by an increase in temperature, a tampon moistened in boric, or levomycetinic alcohol or a calendula solution that is inserted into the external auditory canal, has a good effect.
3. It is very important to restore nasal breathing, since penetration of mucus from the nasopharynx into the auditory meatus often causes otitis media. To do this, instilled children's vasoconstrictive drops such as Sanorina, Nazivin, Vibrocil, etc.
4. In cases when the child has a very sore ear and relatives are lost in conjecture, what to do and what first aid to give, doctors recommend giving an anesthetic, for example, Nurofen or Efferalgan.
5. If there was a foreign body in the ear passage, it is better to immediately consult a doctor, and in case of water ingress during bathing, the ears are carefully dried with a swab or a cotton swab.