From fussiness and crying to ear-pulling and irritability, the signs of a pediatric earache often come quickly and suddenly -- at all hours of the day or night. In many cases, you might be able to stop or improve your child's earache just by putting pain-relieving drops in the ear. These substances aren't appropriate for all pediatric earaches, so always get the go-ahead from your child's doctor before using one of them.
Earache Facts
A blockage of clogged fluid in the middle ear often is the culprit responsible for earaches in children. This fluid buildup occurs more frequently in children because the passages that connect their middle ears to their nasal passages are narrower and more likely to get blocked when nasal inflammation develops. When these narrow tubes swell shut, middle ear fluid can't drain properly, so it collects and presses on the eardrum, resulting in an earache. Although you should never insert a physical object, such as a cotton-tipped swab, into your child's ear, home remedies, over-the-counter and prescription liquid drops placed in the ear canal sometimes help stop the pain of a pediatric earache.
Home Remedies
Liquids commonly used as home remedies for children's earaches include olive oil and garlic oil. For many children, the warmed oil provides pain relief when it comes in contact with the swollen eardrum. Warm the oil to body temperature and instruct your child to rest his head on a pillow on the ear that doesn't hurt. Pull slightly on the lobe of the painful ear to straighten the ear canal, then drip three to four drops of the warmed oil into the ear opening. Don't put these oils or any other liquid into your child's ear if he might have a ruptured eardrum, warns Dr. Raymond Baker, author of "Pediatric Primary Care."
Commercial Medications
Depending on the severity of your child's earache pain, over-the-counter and prescription eardrops often lend significant relief. These eardrops typically include an oil base and contain various active ingredients, such as benzocaine, which reduce swelling and act as a local analgesic. Directions vary by formulation but generally require you to put three to four drops in the throbbing ear several times each day for pain relief. Always talk to your doctor before putting commercially prepared earache drops into your child's ear, especially if your child is less than 2 years old.
Ear Tubes
If your child continues to get repeated ear infections, her doctor might suggest putting ear tubes in her ears. During the ear tube procedure, a doctor -- generally an otolaryngologist, who specializes in ear, nose and throat disorders -- makes tiny holes in the eardrum and removes any fluid that has collected in the middle ear. He then inserts thin, hollow tubes into the openings in the child's eardrum. These tubes prevent repeated ear infections and earaches from occurring because they allow fluid to drain freely from the middle ear.
References
- "The Portable Pediatrician"; Dr. William Sears, et al.; 2011
- "Pediatric Primary Care"; Dr. Raymond Baker; 2001
- "Naturally Healthy Babies and Children"; Dr. Aviva Jill Romm; 2003
- MayoClinic.com; Middle Ear Infection Treatments and Drugs; April 2011
- MedlinePlus: Ear Tube Insertion
