Effective Remedies for Ear Pain in Kids

There are several kinds of pain that your young one will experience as part of growing up. Ear pain is one of them. But it does not have to be distressing for either you or your baby.

Why Does Ear Pain Occur?

Ear pain in kids and ear infections can occur due to several reasons. These include sinus infections, tonsillitis, earwax, teeth grinding and so on.

The structure of the ear exposes two parts to infection: the middle ear, consisting of what is called the Eustachian tube, connecting the ear to the sinus cavities of the nose; and the outer ear, consisting of the ear lobes and the outer tube, separated from the middle ear by the eardrum.

When the sinus cavities become infected during a cold, the infection may travel to the middle ear, which may then bulge and impinge on the ear drum. This is the cause of pain due to an ear infection.

Other causes for ear pain in kids are fluid buildup inside the ear, blockage of the ear due to ear wax or damage to the ear from foreign objects, such as cotton buds, etc.

Symptoms of Ear Pain in Kids

You can infer when your child has an ear-ache when s/he pulls or picks at the ears repeatedly, complains of hearing problems, has fever, shows irritable behavior, crying or has difficulty sleeping.

Most ear pain in kids lasts only for a few days. If ear pain is caused by an infection, then you can try some simple home remedies to relieve that pain.

The Remedies

·         Make the child sit up, since lying down or drooping increases the pain.

·         A warm soft cloth placed against the ear also relaxes the suffering. The idea being that by pressing on the middle ear, you can deflect the pressure on the ear drum or tympanum.

·         Cold or warm compresses placed over the affected ear works wonders. Heat and cold work to either expand or contract veins and tubes around your ear and increase the elasticity of the skin around the ear drum to withstand pressure.

·         Naturopathic herbal extracts containing olive oil can relieve pain symptoms. Use only very mild doses for your baby. Olive oil vapors have the effect of expanding the Eustachian tube to relieve immediate pain.

·         Over the counter analgesics or pain relievers, such as Nurofen, based on the medicine Ibuprofen, can relieve pain symptoms for up to 8 hours a day and is available in oral form for children above 3 months of age.