Earaches

If your child is generally unwell, if you can see discharge or blood coming from the ear, or if the ear is sticking out unusually, please consult your pediatrician.

"Frequently touching the ear" is not a reliable sign of an earache. If a young child repeatedly wakes up crying in the evening or at night after being put to bed and cannot sleep, it is typically a middle ear infection.

Not every middle ear infection requires treatment with antibiotics; on the contrary, most of these infections are self-limiting. Antibiotic therapy, intended to prevent the infection from spreading, can have side effects, only shortens the illness insignificantly, and does not help with the pain.

Middle ear infections can be extremely painful. Do not hesitate to give pain relief, preferably ibuprofen.

You can also try home remedies like an onion compress: for example, fill an old sock with chopped onion, place it on the ear, and secure it with a hat; the vapors have an anti-inflammatory effect. Ear drops are no longer recommended these days.

A child with an acute middle ear infection must not travel by plane.

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