Ear Infections: Causes and Treatment - Essay Example

Running Header: Ear Infections Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Ear Infections 3 Introduction 3 Ear Related Infections and Treatment 3 Causes and Risk Factors of ear infection 3 Symptoms of ear infections 5 Ear Infection as a major issue 6 Preventative measures and treatment of ear infections 6 Conclusion 8 Work cited 10 Ear Infections Introduction Ear infections are common illness in young children especially those less than three years. Otitis media is such infections that occur in the middle ear. Young children are more prone to these middle ear infections. This is because of their Eustachian tubes which connect middle ear and the throat being shorter and softer. Middle ear section gets infected very easily because germs reach their middle ear section more easily compared to older children who have more vertical and longer tubes. Eustachian Tubes in younger children are prone to getting blocked hence less ventilation into middle ear space. Most of the ear infections in children takes place or occurs during cold months. They have no long-term consequences if better treatments are provided, however, they cause pain and fever in the short-term. In some cases, this ear problem recurs frequently in some children causing hearing loss and glue ear although its reasons are not clear. Glue ear is the term that describes secretions that are glue like and thick in the middle section of the ear mainly due to repeated ear infections. Child’s hearing may be affected as a result of glue ear and in some occasions may result to problems in language development in children (Doody 231). Ear Related Infections and Treatment Causes and Risk Factors of ear infection Otitis media as an infection of the ear is caused by blockage of Eustachian tube after some cold, throat infections or a nasal allergy in children. The blocked Eustachian tube causes fluid build up in middle section of the ear and consequently resulting to bacteria or virus infections causing eardrum swelling and pain in the ear usually referred to as otitis media. Ear infections are usually not very serious especially when they occur in the children but they need to be treated in order to avoid repeated infections that may be dangerous. They are several risk factors that are associated with middle ear infections especially among the young children. Several conditions like allergies, exposure to cigarette smoking, pacifier use, obesity, enrolment in day care, and bottle feeding of infants. Increased allergies are responsible for high number of infections in the ear. Enrolment of children in day care poses a risk to ear infections due to exposure to colds. Increasing attendance of small children to day care centers increases ear infections according to research. Smoking among the parents increases the risk of both otitis media with effusion and acute otitis media recurrent in their children. Smoke usually irritates Eustachian tube increasing the likelihood of ear infections. Bottle-fed increases risk of otitis infection among the young children than the case of breastfed babies. This is because bottle fed children swallow milk while lying resulting to milk entering the Eustachian tube increasing risk of infections in the ear. Use of pacifiers or soothers or thumbs sucking also increases the chances of ear infections. Sucking increases saliva production which assists the movement of bacteria up Eustachian tubes to the ear’s middle section (Finnello 29). If all above conditions are prevalent in a certain area, then there is likely to be a high infection rate among the children living in that region. Contributing factors may be prevalent among the indigenous children in some specific regions in Australia. Allergies are usually associated with certain regions hence may contribute greatly to the ear infections among indigenous children compared to other children in the metropolitan region of Adelaide. Risk factors may be higher in some areas of Australia compared to other regions hence varying the number of infections in Australia. Some dairy products, pest dander or dust mites are some of the things that make children get allergies hence leading to ear infections rate becoming extremely high. In case a family had other members suffering from ear infections may eventually result to infections being higher in children from those families. This may likely be a reason why some regions may have such a higher number of infections than the others in Australia. If such a case is not looked for critically, it may become a major problem to the children in those areas and may eventually result to higher number of infections and other serious results. Symptoms of ear infections There are several symptoms that are used to identify ear infections. The symptoms develop suddenly and include fever, irritability, loss of appetite, listlessness, nasal congestion, coughing, nasal congestion, sleepiness among others. Discomfort or pain in the ear is another major symptom associated with ear infections or otitis media. Pain in young children is usually notable when children are swallowing food and they indicate pain and eventually rejecting the food. This may as well as result to lack of appetite among young children. Diarrhea and vomiting may as well result due to infections in the ear. Fever associated with ear infections or otitis media results to temperature as high as 38 degree centigrade. Pulling of ear, fussiness and decreased activity among young children is another symptom of ear infection. Ear infection has other complications which include the rupture of tympanic membrane. Tissues on the middle section of the ear especially tympanic membrane may rupture due to fluid pressure that presses the membrane. However, the membrane may heal after sometimes although preventing it from bursting from such pressure is the better alternative (Jennifer and Gregory 345; Stamm 2010). Ear Infection as a major issue Ear infection or otitis media is a major problem because it exposes small children to major risks that endanger their life. Therefore, there is need to treat and correct this kind of infection quickly before it results to be a major threat to children’s life. The infections may lead to health problems that are chronic if not diagnosed or treated as quickly as possible. Ear infections cause a great deal of discomfort and pain in young children hence need for urgent diagnosis before it causes a threat to the life of the child affected. Ear infection may results to trouble in hearing quiet sounds in the affected children as well as troubles in sleeping with severe fever. Therefore, it is crucial to look for immediate solution through diagnoses and treatment by qualified medical doctors (Nagano and Kurono 306; Stalpers, Smink-Bol and Verwelj 1658). Preventative measures and treatment of ear infections Ear infections require medical attention although it heals itself with time. Preventative measures are important in ensuring such cases are reduced drastically among the children in most prevalent regions. It is important for those who smoke avoid areas with children in order to reduce chances of ear infections. Preventing cold and flu infections is another safer way of reducing ear infections among the children. Diagnosis is usually done through the use of a special torch called otoscope. This enables the doctor to see clearly the infection and inflammations. Treatment should start immediately after being diagnosed in order to reduce pain and discomfort in the ear. An ear canal is usually red in color with inner swelling of the ear in case there are infections as well as smelly discharges. It is important for children to avoid areas and things that can expose them to allergies like pet dander, dust mites or even dairy products Arie and Grigs 123). Treatment usually involves ear-drops that contain antibiotics as well as oral antibiotics. Anti-inflammatory or paracetamol drugs are also advisable in order to reduce pain. Ear cleaning is also advisable in order to pay more attention to the ear condition. It is advisable that this be carried out by a doctor or an ear specialist. Home treatment is usually preferred in most middle ear infections treatment or otitis media. Antibiotics can be prescribed to the affected children although ear infections heal with time it is crucial to have checks persistently as well as follow-up exams with the doctor to ensure there are no persistent infections as well as accumulation of fluids behind the drum and repeated infections. Ear massage of the affected children who are frequently affected by ear infections assists in clearing out the fluids from the Eustachian tubes hence keeping them clear. It is advisable to push hand gently in order to release skin flap in the front of the ear severally. It is crucial to use thumb and massage gently a line along ear’s back and down on the back of jaw bone. These massage will assist in enabling release accumulated fluids and pains in order to ensure reduced pains. The initial treatment of ear infections focuses on pain relief. It is crucial to asses the child for any complications risks. The antibiotics are given depending on the level of complications. Use of pain relievers so as to make affected children feel more comfortable due to eased pains. Using of eardrops also assists in a great extent to ease the pain among the infected children. Doctors usually prescribe several antibiotics like amoxilin, pediazole or augumentin to the children affected with ear infections. It is important to consult doctors when infections persist for several days. It is important to have home treatment of ear infections in order to reduce the adverse effects of ear infections among the young children. It is crucial for all the ear infected children to have rest and good care at home. Most of the ear infections heal without treatment and this can be facilitated through rest that increases the body’s capability to fight such infections like ear infections. Consulting doctors is extremely significant in ensuring right type of medication is given to the children so as to reduce other complications (Wayne and Ellen 2010). Effusions continue with time with no treatment, there is need for quick treatment. Treatment decision is usually based on the effusion effects on the child’s hearing and the risk the ear infections poses to the children. The best treatment of an effusion is surgical procedure in case it does not resolve with time. Treatment procedure involves draining the fluid from middle section of the ear through making of a hole or a small opening in the tympanic membrane usually referred to as myrimgotomy. It also involves placing a tube (tympanostomy tube) so as to maintain the opening to discharge the accumulated fluids. This procedure is usually carried out by a qualified surgeon (Aneja and Rerh 604). Conclusion Ear infections may become prevalent among the young children depending on the environmental situation of the area. Therefore, the rate of infections may vary significantly from one area to another with no constant distribution in several areas. Although ear infections in most occasions are not severe, there is need for immediate treatment on the affected children. This is in particular vital when the infections persist with discharge accumulation because it can result to acute problems within the affected children. It is crucial not to expose children to such risks that may cause or increase chances of infections among the children that may increase chances of such infections. Conditions like smoking areas, colds or even baby care centers usually expose children to ear infections. Consultation from qualified medical doctors in order to prescribe drugs that can heal and reduce infections of the ear among children. Work cited Aneja, Sharma and Joshi Rerh. “Fungal infection of the ear: a common problem in the north part of Haryana.” International Journal of pediatric otornolaryngology 74.6 (2010): 604-607. Arie, Jangu and Paul Grigs. Principles and Practice of clinical Virology. Sydney:John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Doody, Regan. “Ear infections and health treatment.” Australian Journal of Nursing Education. 45.9 (2008): 231-239. Finnello, Kert. “How to tell if it’s an ear infection.” American Baby.” 70.4 (2008): 28-30. Jennifer, Christopher and Gregory Wailer. Evidence-Based Otolaryngology. New Delhi: Springer, 2008. Nagano, Yoshifuku and Kurono, Hart. “Efficacy of burrows solution in the treatment of chronic ear infection.” Oto-Rhino Laryngology Tokyo. 50.5 (2007): 306-312. Stalpers, Smink-Bol and Verwelj Shal. “Fatal consequences of an ear infection.” Lancet, 373.9675 (2009): 1658-1658. Stamm, Wesley. “Infectious Diseases: Ears infections.” The Journal of Infectious Disease 201.52 (2006): 2010-2012. Wayne, Dale and Ellen Miker. (2007). Understanding your health. London: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Read More