It is proven that children are often more often injured than adults. Therefore, no mother or father will reject the fact that they face injuries to the child more than regularly.
Traumatization of the ears is no exception. Therefore, basic information about ear injuries will provide prompt and effective assistance, if any.
The child's ear turns red
Sudden redness of the ears usually does not cause a particular panic in the parents. In most cases, it passes independently as quickly as it appeared. But there are special cases when redness may not go off for several hours or days. What should be done in this case and how to correctly identify the cause that provoked a similar problem.
Swelling of the ear
Redness of the earlobe is one of the most common phenomena that can appear in the child. Due to natural curiosity and moments of excessive mobility, children are not specifically injured. It can happen for the following reasons:
- injury;
- insect bite;
- animal bite;
- allergic reaction;
- a puncture of the auricle( if the child has a puncture).
Sink
In case of a reddening of the shell in a child, one should also be guided by additional symptoms. This includes not only the pain inside the ear, the temperature, but also the general well-being of the baby, appetite and level of hearing.
Causes of reddening of the shell and its slight swelling may be caused by:
- ingress of water into the ear canal;
- mechanical injury;
- is an inflammation;
- insect bite;
- teething;
- cyst;
- of the lipoma.
To more accurately characterize the state of the ears of your baby, you should carefully consider it under the light and assess the area of redness. If a trauma is detected, the ear should be treated with a disinfectant and, if there are serious gaps, go to the doctor.
Child's reddened and swollen ear
Auditory Passage
Unpleasant pain in the inside of the ear canal and its pronounced redness almost always indicates infection. In some cases, redness can also be caused by a trauma of the tympanic membrane, which was formed due to the influence of loud sound on the ear membrane.
Do not exclude mechanical damage, falls and shocks, disturbing the harmonious work of the auditory ossicles. Also, redness can appear in such cases:
- an infectious disease( sinusitis, otitis media);
- sulfuric tube;
- supercooling;
- tumors;
- the presence of polyps.
First aid for the baby
The first measures of care that must be given to a child with a reddened ear are the detection of visible injuries and their removal. So, with obvious mechanical damage, it is necessary to treat the wound with hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or other disinfectant .If the drum membrane has been damaged, then the auditory passage should be closed with a sterile swab that will not allow the pathogenic bacteria to get inside.
In the presence of severe headache, the child can be given an anesthetic. The presence of high temperature is better to suppress antipyretic and immediately call an ambulance.
Independently to start treatment of the child - it is dangerous. Excessive self-activity and an incorrectly defined diagnosis in the future can cost your child's hearing and the health of his auditory system.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis in case of ear reddening in the child is a prerequisite. Subsequently, it is due to timely diagnosis that a doctor can prescribe a treatment that will save the baby from discomfort and redness. For the diagnosis and examination, it is worth turning to the otolaryngologist( he is also a children's ENT).
The doctor conducts a primary examination, but first clarifies the symptoms that torment the child. The main diagnostic methods are:
- Otoscopy - examination of the tympanic membrane and ear passage using a special tube. The procedure is painless.
- Computerized tomography of the inner ear.
- Examination of the discharge from the ear, if any.
At the initial examination the doctor determines the presence of purulent abscesses in the area of the auricle. Also, the examination can tell whether the child has otitis externa.
Sometimes an otolaryngologist can send a small patient to other doctors, such as a surgeon or infectious disease specialist. Do not be afraid, it can be said that the redness of the ear is caused by inflammation of the lymph node or injury.
Reddening of the shell with diseases of the external ear
Treatment
To treat the child it is necessary according to the doctor's prescription, and the doctor in turn must be based on the diagnostic results. Do self-medication in any case impossible. In addition, some parents are trying to address the problem of redness of the ear to a baby's apothecary and often buy expensive medications that do not help the child, but on the contrary-exacerbate the disease and its symptoms.
Doctors mandatory prescribe the child certain medications, the action of which is aimed at eliminating the cause of the disease. Often, a doctor can prescribe a combination therapy. In this case, some folk methods are added to medicines.
Medication
Drug treatment may include many drugs, the most common of them are:
- In case of redness due to an allergic reaction, the child must prescribe antibiotics. Also, the doctor attributes the intake of antihistamines, among them Suprastin, Diazolin, Fenkarol, Loratadin and others.
- To improve and maintain the immune system, immunomodulators are prescribed. Necessarily appointed vitamin complexes.
- If the child's ear reddening is caused by a rash, the doctor prescribes ointments and special solutions.
- In the case when the child suffers from an ear plug, the doctor can assign certain drops to soften it. After some time it is necessary to visit the ENT office for the procedure of removing the plug by washing out.
Also, if the baby has severe pain and itching, the doctor may prescribe sparing analgesics and sedatives.
What to do if the child turns red and aching ear in our video:
Complications of
Untimely treatment of ear redness in a child can lead to very sad consequences for the health of the baby. The triggered disease can cause severe complications, among them:
- Partial or complete hearing loss or so-called hearing loss.
- Trauma of the tympanic membrane, its rupture and filling of the ear cavity with pus.
- Transition of the disease from acute stage to chronic.
- Intracranial complications, including: meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscess.
Chronic forms of diseases of the ears significantly impair the quality of life of the child. Small patients suffer from pain, partial loss of hearing, sleep and appetite. Chronicles of some of the diseases lead to suppuration in the ears. To prevent these and more dangerous complications is possible only with the help of timely treatment.
Prevention
Prophylaxis of ear diseases is a very important moment in the health of the hearing organs. Observe very simple rules:
- You need to protect your ears from the cold. The hat is able to protect the child's ears and the wind.
- It is worthwhile to monitor the hygiene of the child's ears, regularly wash your ears with warm water and gently clean your ear with a cotton swab.
- At the first manifestations of the common cold and cold you need to start treatment. Guided is the appointment of a doctor. Complications on the ears can give flu, ARVI, sore throat and sinusitis.
- For prophylaxis, you should visit the otolaryngologist on a regular basis. You should visit a doctor in case the child began to feel not only pain and tingling in the ear, but also itching, as well as burning.
It is important to understand that if the cause of the redness of the ears becomes an allergic reaction, then the child must follow certain rules of nutrition. Parents should exclude from the diet any allergens and take care of the balance of nutrition of their child .