![]() Ear infections are a common complication of influenza in children about 40% of children younger than 3 years get an ear infection with the flu. Pneumococcal vaccines are particularly important. How to prevent ear infectionsįollowing recommended childhood vaccination schedules is a big part of preventing ear infections, or at least decreasing their frequency. When the ear canal is very swollen, a wick of gauze may be used to carefully get the antibiotic drops deeper into the ear canal. This differs from treatment for outer ear infections – otitis externa, or “swimmer’s ear” – which can be treated directly with antibiotic ear drops. ![]() ![]() In the absence of fever or if the infection is on only one side, the recommendation is to wait a day or two before starting antibiotics, as sometimes these infections will clear on their own in older children. For children over 2, antibiotics are recommended if there is a fever or severe pain, or if both ears are infected. If there is an infection behind the ear drum, it will not move with the air.Īcute otitis media is typically treated with antibiotics, which are generally recommended for ear infections in children younger than age 2. Sometimes the doctor will use a small puff of air in the ear to see if the ear drum moves well. A doctor will look in a child’s ears with an instrument called an otoscope to see if the ear drum is red or bulging or if it has fluid behind it. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ most recent guidelines for acute otitis media, which is diagnosed by physical exam, came out in 2013. Haemophilus influenzae now causes the majority of ear infections. But after these vaccines were added to the childhood immunization series in 2001, overall rates of ear infections dropped, and the proportion due to strep pneumo has gradually decreased to 15%-25%. Interestingly, before we had pneumococcal vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae, these bacteria caused about 60%-70% of all ear infections in children between 6 months and 5 years of age. The three most common bacteria that cause middle ear infections are Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis. When people, especially children, get congested, they tend to collect fluid in this space.Ī diagram of the middle ear. The middle ear space, which is the space behind the ear drum, is connected to the back of the throat via the eustachian tube. This summer, with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, we have seen a return of many respiratory viruses, and with them, middle ear infections. As a result, we saw very few ear infections in our clinic. ![]() However, with near-universal mask-wearing due to COVID-19 last winter and many children out of school, the number of viral upper respiratory infections dropped drastically. Because these are associated with viral upper respiratory infections, we typically see most ear infections in the fall and winter, when influenza and cold viruses are prevalent. Twenty-five percent of children will have an ear infection by their first birthday, and 60% by age 5.Īs a pediatrician, I see children in my clinic daily for ear infections. Ear pain is one of the most common reasons that young children go to the doctor, and acute otitis media – which means “middle ear infection” – is the most frequent cause for the use of antibiotics in children under 5 years of age. ![]()
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