You can be the most wonderful parent in the world and take all the precaution it needs to protect the baby, but it is tough to protect the child from catching a cold. Once the little one catches a cold, he/she is at high risk of developing an ear infection. Ear infection makes the baby fussy and cranky, and parents spend a lot of time thinking what can they do to soothe the child. During this time parents face difficulties in finding ENT specality clinic and right doctors for their children, so many Healthcare Software Companies came up with a solution to close this gap and developed app by which they can find & book doctor appointments with their nearest doctor. These app also helps them to find the best ENT Specialist in Chennai and research them based on doctor experience, specality, etc. This post will give you all the information you need on Baby Ear Infection.
Signs of Ear Infection:
The very first sign of ear infection is baby getting fussy and cranky, more than they usually do. According to research 5 out of 6 children get an ear infection before they turn 3. Our ear has three parts – outer, middle and inner. The middle layer is nestled in between the inner and outer layer and sometimes gets blocked by fluid and thus get inflamed and infected. Due to this, the ear might develop redness and bulge in the eardrum often resulting in fever and pain.
Symptoms of Ear Infection in Babies:
- Pain: The very first symptom is the pain. Since babies cannot express their suffering, they would cry and get irritable. When you try to feed the baby might cry even more as he might have a difficulty in swallowing and sucking.
- Loss of Appetite: Due to the pain, the baby s appetite might go down to a considerable extent.
- Fever: Like most of the other infections, an ear infection might also cause fever.
- Ear Drainage: There might be traces of yellow and white fluid coming out of the ear. Sometimes the fluid might also have traces of blood and some odour.
When to See A Doctor:
- Fever: If the child develops a fever you should call the doctor immediately. If the baby is under three months, then getting in touch with the neonatologists as it might be a sign of severe infection.
- If There Is No Improvement in the Baby’s Condition: If the baby does not show any improvement even after 72 hours, then contact the physician immediately.
- Blood or Pus Discharge from the ear: If you notice blood or pus-like discharge, then it is a sign that the fluid has managed to rupture the kid’s ear drum. The rupturing might ease the pain and might help to ease pressure in the middle ear.
The physician might ask a few questions about the kid’s health.
- Whether they had a sore throat, cold and a sign of him pulling the ear.
- If the child had trouble sleeping
- The doctor would then conduct an internal examination using any lighted instrument.
- In cases where the physician is not clear, he might order a few more tests.
Home Remedy: While you decide to see a doctor you can wet a washcloth with hot water and place this drained washcloth on the ear for a few minutes. It will help in easing the pain, and the baby might get some sleep.