False myths of childhood otitis

Otitis is one of the most frequent infections in the pediatric age. Although there are different types (acute / chronic, with effusion / without effusion, external / media, suppurative / not suppurative), we frequently observe that parents have several misconceptions about their management. We comme

5 myths about otitis in children

1- My child has suppurative otitis, so for a week he has to wear an ear covered by cotton. False. It is true that when we bathe a child with otitis, you have to protect your ear to prevent water from entering. But in the rest of the cases, it is convenient not to cover the hole of the external auditory canal, to favor the exit of all the germs that are causing otitis. And we have to periodically clean, with the tip of a slightly dampened towel, the outside of the ear. Let's avoid the rods.

2- All otitis are treated with antibiotics. This is false. Above two years of age, whenever there is no fever, malaise or suppuration, otitis is treated with painkillers, not antibiotics.

3- My son has woken up crying at night saying that his ear hurts. I have to take him to the emergency room without giving him a sedative to avoid masking the diagnosis. False. Whenever something hurts your child, it is best to give him a tranquilizer. Many times with this simple fact, it improves your situation. Remember that you, if your head hurts, to give an example, you take a pill to make it happen without going to the doctor.

4- The pediatrician saw my son yesterday, and diagnosed him with a cold; Today he has started with earache, I have taken him to the hospital and he has been diagnosed with otitis. Concussion: ya yesterday I already had otitis and my pediatrician did not know how to see it. False. Otitis is an evolutionary process that appears in relation to respiratory tract infections. Normally, colds do not get complicated; other times, yes. One of the possible complications is otitis, but not always, far from it. This is: do not blame your pediatrician for not knowing how to see otitis before it appears. 5- Since my child is prone to otitis, I always wear earmuffs.

False. The earmuffs protect from the cold, but do not prevent the appearance of otitis. It is true, however, that the local heat relieves the pain in the ears. This is: in a child suffering from otitis, we recommend that you apply dry local heat (heating a cloth, placing earmuffs, etc.). But these last ones do not fulfill a preventive task.