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What is otitis media?
Otitis media is one of the most common reasons for visiting an otolaryngologist. This disease is more common in young children due to the more horizontal position of the Eustachian tube (the tube that connects the middle ear to the nose) compared to adults so https://www.awarmnest.com/medicine/294-how-to-treat-otitis-media-by-traditional-chinese-medicine .
The function of the Eustachian tube is to drain fluid from the middle ear into the nasopharynx. If for any reason it is blocked, fluid will accumulate and may cause an infection.
What causes otitis media?
There are several reasons why the Eustachian tube can become blocked, such as allergies, upper respiratory infections, including sinus infections (sinusitis), excess mucus and saliva produced during teething, adenoiditis (growth of the adenoids), exposure to tobacco smoke, and other. irritants, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and even feeding in an uncomfortable position (lying face up) while bottle feeding.
There are certain risk factors that make a child more likely to develop acute otitis media, such as kindergarten attendance, changes in altitude, cold climates, exposure to smoke, not breastfeeding, and frequent upper respiratory tract infections.
What are the most common symptoms of otitis media?
In a young child, the most common manifestations are inconsolable crying, fever (greater than or equal to 38 C), or trouble sleeping. Older children or adults may experience otalgia (ear pain), a feeling of fullness in the ear, malaise, and hypoacusis (hearing loss) of the affected ear.
We can also find a variant of otitis media, which is otitis media with effusion, which is a sudden discharge of a yellowish or greenish fluid, thick, sometimes bloody, accompanied by a decrease in ear pain, which may indicate a ruptured eardrum. .
How to diagnose a patient with otitis media?
Diagnosis is made when a doctor examines the ear with an otoscope or ear endoscope. What is seen in these cases is known as a "bulge" of the tympanic membrane, which includes fluid or vesicles behind the tympanic membrane, blood or pus, and in some cases a perforation of the tympanic membrane can be seen.
What is the best treatment for otitis media?
With otitis media, one of the most important things in treatment is pain relief. Depending on the origin of otitis media, antibiotics and painkillers (paracetamol, ibuprofen, etc.), as well as antihistamines and analgesics, orally or topically, may be prescribed.
As a general rule, all children under 6 months of age with a fever or the symptoms described above (and especially if they do not improve) should be seen by a doctor to determine the best treatment.
The trend now is to try to determine if the cause of an ear infection is due to a virus or a bacterial infection, since antibiotics do not work on viral infections. For this reason, antibiotics should not be prescribed for EVERY ear infection.
However, all children under 6 months of age with an ear infection should be given antibiotics.
If the treatment does not seem to be working within the first 48-72 hours after starting the medication, check with your doctor again as he/she may need to change the treatment or add other medications.
When should surgery be considered?
If the infection does not go away with conventional medical treatment, or if the child has repeated infections within a short period of time, ventilation tubes should be considered.
This procedure consists of inserting a very thin tube into the eardrum that allows air to enter the middle ear so that the fluid that accumulates in it can easily drain through the Eustachian tube.
These ventilation tubes usually fall out on their own. If this does not happen within 6 months after installation, the doctor should remove them.
If the cause of otitis media is adenoid hyperplasia (overgrowth of the adenoids), then adenoidectomy (surgical removal of the adenoids) should be considered.
Usually, ear infections are a minor medical problem that resolves without any complications, however, it should be noted that during an infection, children may have a slight and temporary hearing loss. This is due to the presence of fluid in the middle ear.
What are some of the complications of otitis media if not treated properly?
Sometimes, otitis media can get worse and develop into serious infections such as mastoiditis (infection of the bone behind the ear) or meningitis (infection of the meninges).
Other complications include tympanic membrane perforation, chronic and recurrent ear infections, adenoid and tonsil hyperplasia, otitis media with effusion, cholesteatoma formation (secondary to chronic infection), speech delay (because they do not understand words properly). with fluid in the ears).
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