Basics About Children and Ear Infections – Treating the Pain and Treating the Infection

Children and ear infections unfortunately go together quite commonly, and they probably rank in the top 5 for pediatrician visits and trips to the ER in the middle of the night.  Having had a bad ear infection in my third trimester, I can tell you from personal experience that I can empathize with kids that come in screaming in the middle of the night.

I’ve divided this article into three sections – when to suspect an ear infection in a child, what to do about pain control and how to treat ear infections.  In terms of pain management and treatment, there is some controversial information out there especially regarding alternative medical approaches. I’ll touch on those as well.

Signs and Symptoms By Age

Pain Relief

Pain relief from ear infections is 90% of the battle.  Strategies range from conventional treatment like ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) to alternative remedies such as ear candling and garlic oil.

One of the biggest reasons why pain control isn’t effective for kids is under-dosing medications or not dosing medications at the right time intervals.

Ibuprofen and acetaminophen can be staggered – ibuprofen is every 6-8 hours and acetaminophen is every 4-6 hours.  You can check with your pediatrician what the appropriate dose of medication should be based on your child’s weight.  I have seen kids that weigh as much as I do get the equivalent of an infant dose of ibuprofen.  Funny how that dose doesn’t help much with pain.

I recently found a great chart that summarized some of the findings about alternative remedies for ear infections.

 

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