For advertising information visit www.samplerpublications.com or call 859.225.4466 | March 2014
Ear
Infections
By Jamie Lober, Staff Writer
If you have a child, you may be
all too familiar with the nuisance of
ear infections. “Earaches are more
common in children than they are in
adults because the Eustachian tube
in children is shorter and it does
not drain as easily,” says Lois Davis,
public health nursing manager at the
Lexington-Fayette County Health
Department. In kids the tube is more
horizontal instead of vertical and as
they grow it tends to lean down and
drain better. “A lot of times fluid gets
stuck in the Eustachian tube and that
can be the cause of an earache if a
child has congestion, a cold, allergies,
or is around cigarette smoke,” says
Davis.
Most earaches occur in the middle
of the ear because of fluid buildup. Davis explains, “Sometimes it
becomes a bacterial infection and
doctors choose to treat it with antibiotics to alleviate the pain. They
may give the child Tylenol or ibu-
profen. But other times it is a virus.”
if you get the flu you have nasal conSometimes you can get an infection
gestion which can lead to an earache
in the outer ear but that is more com- or sinus infection. Washing hands and
monly caused by swimmer’s ear or
staying away from other sick children
an infection or irritation in the outer
is key to prevention.
canal in front of the eardrum. Some
Treatment varies and pediatricians
people are able to communicate that
will avoid treating with an antibiotic
they have an ear
as much as possible
infection better
because prescribthan others. “When
ing antibiotics too
babies are little and
often will make
they cannot talk
them ineffective.
it is hard to know
Ear infections
what is wrong with
fortunately do not
Most earaches
them but if they are
last long. “Usually
pulling at their ear,
within 2 to 3 days
occur in the
there is redness, the
they are better espenose is congested
cially if you start on
middle of the
and they are cranky
an antibiotic,” says
or running a fever
Davis. “If a child is
ear because of
above 101.4 it is
crying with pain,
good to take them
complaining and
fluid build-up.
to the doctor and
running a fever after
let the doctor look
a couple days they
at their ear,” says
need to go back to
Davis.
the doctor.”
Certain times of
The American
year are worse than others. Ear infecAcademy of Pediatrics is updating
tions are “more common in winter
its guidelines for treating acute otitis
because kids are indoors more and
media, the type of ear infection that is
the same air is circulating and they
one of the most common illnesses in
may be visiting with others they have
U.S. children. The new recommendanot been around who may be sick
tions offer more rigorous diagnostic
with a cold,” says Davis. A lot of times criteria to reduce unnecessary antibi-
&
39
otic use. Taking into account patient
age and symptom severity, acute otitis
media may be managed with antibiotics and analgesics or with observation alone. Antibiotics should be
prescribed for bilateral or unilateral
acute otitis media in children aged
at least 6 months with severe signs
or symptoms and for non-severe,
bilateral acute otitis media in children
aged 6 to 23 months. Amoxicillin is
the antibiotic of choice. Clinicians
should reevaluate kids whose symptoms worsen or do not respond to
the initial antibiotic within 48 to 72
hours and change treatment if indicated. Clinicians should recommend
pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
and annual influenza vaccine to all
children according to updated schedules and should encourage exclusive
breastfeeding for 6 months or longer.
Some kids have bad luck when it
comes to ear infections. “If a child
has persistent ear infections or several
over a period of a year, sometimes
the doctor will do a procedure where
they put little tiny tubes in the ear
canal that keeps it open so fluid does
not build up,” says Davis. The tubes
usually take care of the ear infection
issue but the good news is that as you
become an adult, ear infections rarely,
if ever, occur.