DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE AN EAR INFECTION? HOW TO TELL.

Your child has a bothersome cold for a week. Her nasal discharge turns a little green and her cough starts to keep you all up at night. Then one night she is up every hour extremely fussy with a fever. You take her into the doctor in the morning almost certain she has another ear infection.

Ear infections are one of the most worrisome illnesses for both parents and children to go through, especially if they frequently recur. They also are the most common reason for antibiotic prescriptions. Here’s a guide to help you understand why ear infections occur, how to best treat them, and most importantly, how you can prevent them from happening too often.

EIGHT MAIN SYMPTOMS OF AN EAR INFECTION
Your child may have 2 or more of these symptoms:

Cold symptoms – keep in mind that ear infections are almost always preceded by a cold. Often a clear runny nose will turn yellow or green before an ear infection sets in.

Fussiness during the day or night

Complaining of ear pain or hearing loss

Night-waking more frequently

Unwillingness to lie flat

Fever – usually low grade (101º – 102º); may not have a fever.
Sudden increase in fussiness during a cold

Ear drainage – if you see blood or pus draining out of the ear, then it is probably an infection with a ruptured eardrum. DON’T WORRY! These almost always heal just fine, and once the eardrum ruptures the pain subsides.

YOUR CHILD IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE AN EAR INFECTION IF:
1. No cold symptoms – if your child has some of the above symptoms but does not have a cold, an ear infection is less likely, unless your child has had an ear infection in the past without a cold.

2. Pulling at the ears or batting the ears in infants less than 1 year of age. Infants less than one are unable to precisely localize their ear pain. This means that they cannot tell that the pain is coming from the ear or from structures near the ear. Infants can pull on or bat at their ears for two other common reasons:

Teething – Baby thinks the pain from sore gums is coming from the ears

Because they like playing with their ears – Infants are fascinated with these strange appendages that are sticking out of the side of their head. They love to explore them, play with them, and especially to stick their finger into that strange hole in the middle.

3. No complaints of ear pain in a child who is old enough to tell you, usually by age two or three.