The Medical Health Plus

Ear infections in children (Otitis media)

Otitis (o-TI-tis) media is an infection (in-FECK-shun) of the middle ear (the space behind the eardrum). Children are most likely to get ear infections when they are between three months to three years old. Ear infections are most common during cold and flu season, usually in the winter and early spring months.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is one of the three main bacterial causes of otitis media (OM), an infection or inflammation of the middle ear. OM is one of the most significant health problems for children. It is estimated that 83% of all children will experience at least one ear infection prior to 3 years of age

Otitis Media is the most frequent diagnosis recorded for children who visit physicians for illness. Two out of three children under the age of 3 experience at least one episode of acute otitis media. An inner ear infection is the most common cause of hearing loss in children.

Children with ear infections have a build-up of fluid and pressure in the middle ear. The middle ear may become infected by germs, which grow easily in the fluid trapped behind the eardrum.

Children are prone to ear infections because they have trouble draining the substances present in their ear. The substances may promote the growth of bacteria. Because children have trouble draining their ears it is important that if you bottle-feed your child to sit them in an upright position during feeding. This prevents fluid from accumulating around the ear area. Never allow your child to fall asleep with the bottle. Not only does this promote ear infections, but also responsible for nursing bottle decay. This causes your child’s teeth to rot. Breastfed infants do not have to be fed upright.

If you are currently breastfeeding, you are already providing great protection for child against ear infections. Breastfed infants are less like to obtain ear infections.

Your breastfed child will not only have fewer ear infections, but protection against other infections. Breastfeeding provides protection against diarrhea, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections; in fact, infections of every kind.

Ear infection is most often cause by bacteria, although is some cases, it is viral. Breastfeeding has been shown to prevent otitis media in children. Some researchers suggest this is because when a mother breastfeeds her child, she passes immunities to her baby that help prevent otitis media.

What is a middle ear infection?

The middle ear is the small part of your ear just inside your eardrum. It can get infected when germs from the nose and throat are trapped there.

Acute otitis media is the presence of fluid, typically pus, in the middle ear with symptoms of pain, redness of the eardrum, and possible fever. Other forms of otitis media are either more chronic (fluid is in the middle ear for 6 or more weeks) or the fluid in the middle ear is temporary and not necessarily infected (called otitis media with effusion).

Doctors try to distinguish between the different forms of otitis because this affects treatment options. Not all forms of otitis need to be treated with antibiotics.

Middle ear infections account for up to 30 percent of pediatric office visits in America, and are second in prevalence only to the common cold. A child’s risk of getting ear infections decreases with age, as the structures of the ears enlarge and the immune system becomes stronger.

Causes of Ear infections

Ear infections are more likely associated with bacteria than viruses. In addition, there are several conditions that can cause the nasal passages to become inflamed, which leads to ear infections. These conditions include allergies, upper respiratory infections such as colds or influenza viruses.

An ear infection results when fluid and bacteria build up in the area around your baby’s eardrum. Normally any fluid that enters this area leaves pretty quickly through the Eustachian tube (which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and throat) when your baby yawns or swallows. But if the Eustachian tube is blocked — common during colds, sinus infections, even allergy season — it traps the fluid in the middle ear. Bacteria like to grow in dark, warm, wet places, so a fluid-filled ear becomes the perfect breeding ground. As the infection worsens, so does the swelling in and around the eardrum, and, as a result, the pain. Fever develops as your baby’s body attempts to fight the infection.

Pacifier use may increase the risk of middle ear infections in babies and young children. In one study, the incidence of ear infections was 33 percent lower in babies who didn’t use pacifiers.

Babies are particularly susceptible to ear infections because their Eustachian tubes are short (about 1/2 inch) and horizontal. As they grow to adulthood, the tube triples in length to 1 1/2 inches and become more vertical, so fluid can drain more easily. Ear infections are one of the most common childhood illnesses. Although there are no statistics on how many babies get them, the American Academy of Pediatrics expects that most children will have gotten at least one ear infection by the time they turn 3.

How can I tell if my baby has an ear infection?

The easiest way to tell if your baby has an ear infection or any other illness is a change in his mood. If he turns fussy, or starts crying more than usual, you should be on the lookout for a problem. If he develops a fever (whether slight or high) you have another big clue. Ear infections tend to strike after a common cold or sinus infection, so keep that in mind too.

You may also notice that your child may be struggling to hear you. If they are old enough, they must complain to you about the pain or ringing in their ears. All of these are indications that they have contracted an ear infection. You may also notice that a discharge may be accumulating his or her ear.

Signs and Symptoms of Ear infections

Otitis media with effusion often has no symptoms. In some kids, the fluid that’s in the middle ear may create a sensation of ear fullness or “popping.” As with acute otitis media, the fluid behind the eardrum can block sound, so mild temporary hearing loss can happen, but might not be obvious.

The signs and symptoms of acute otitis media may range from very mild to severe:

* The fluid in the middle ear may push on the eardrum, causing ear pain. An older child may complain of an earache, but a younger child may tug at the ear or simply act irritable and cry more than usual.

* Lying down, chewing, and sucking can also cause painful pressure changes in the middle ear, so a child may eat less than normal or have trouble sleeping.

* If the pressure from the fluid buildup is high enough, it can cause the eardrum to rupture, resulting in drainage of fluid from the ear. This releases the pressure behind the eardrum, usually bringing relief from the pain.

Fluid buildup in the middle ear also blocks sound, which can lead to temporary hearing difficulties. A child may:

* Not respond to soft sounds

* turn up the television or radio

* talk louder

* appear to be inattentive at school

Other symptoms of acute otitis media can include:

* Fever

* Nausea

* Vomiting

* Dizziness

How to prevent ear infections in children

· Breast-feed your baby for at least four months. Your baby may be less likely to get an ear infection if he is breast fed.

· Do not give your child a bottle while he is lying down. This may cause liquid to leak into your child’s eustachian (u-STAY-shun) tube.

· Keep your child away from people who smoke. Children who breathe secondhand smoke are far more likely to develop ear infections.

· Keep your child away from crowds. Germs are easily and quickly spread in daycare centers. Keep your child away from sick playmates. Try to keep him home if there is a cold or other infection going around the daycare.

· Wash your and your child’s hands often. Washing with warm water and soap will help keep germs from spreading through your household.

Swine Flu Infections Surpass 100 in U.S.

Mexico prepares for shutdown of many public services to head off infections

THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) — The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States has surpassed 100, federal health officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mexico — believed to be the source of the outbreak — braced for a shutdown of all non-essential services as authorities sought to limit further infections in that country, where the virus is suspected of causing 168 deaths so far.

Late Thursday, Mexico’s top health official said the number of new swine flu cases seemed to be leveling off. Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova told a news conference he hoped the trend would continue and that a vaccine would be available in six months, the Associated Press reported.

At a Thursday morning news conference, Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “Today I am reporting 109 confirmed cases within the United States. We have 11 affected states. There are many more states that have suspect cases,” he added.

There are 50 confirmed cases in New York, 26 in Texas, 14 in California, 10 in South Carolina, two each in Kansas and Massachusetts and one each in Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, and Ohio, Besser said. The age range of those infected is 22 months to 81 years, he said.

“Six of the cases have been hospitalized, including the unfortunate case we reported yesterday of the child in Texas who passed away,” he said.

The never-before-seen flu strain is a combination of pig, bird and human viruses, prompting worries from health officials that humans may have no natural immunity to the pathogen.

Besser said federal health officials “continue to be very aggressive in our approach and we will continue to do that until the situation tells us that we no longer need to do so. There’s no one action that is going to stop this. There is no silver bullet, but all the efforts — the efforts of government, the efforts of communities and the efforts of individuals — will help to reduce the impact on people’s health.”

“There are things people can do,” he said, including “handwashing, covering coughs, staying at home when they are sick.

The vaccine plan is to complete the production of seasonal flu vaccine for next winter and then switch to production of a vaccine for the N1H1 swine flu, if needed, Besser said.

All of the cases diagnosed in the United States continue to be mild, federal health officials said Thursday.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that U.S. public health officials were recommending that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu “should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible.”

Texas has postponed all public high school sports and academic competitions at least until May 11 due to the outbreak.

On Thursday, Fort Worth, Texas, announced the temporarily closure of all district schools for its approximately 80,000 students, probably until May 12, after one student was found to be infected with swine flu and three others were suspected of suffering from the virus.

Dozens of schools elsewhere in the country have also been temporarily shut down, according to published reports.

As with the previously tested strains of the swine flu virus, new testing has found that the pathogen remains susceptible to the two common antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, according to an April 28 dispatch from the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization raised the swine flu epidemic level from 4 to 5, signifying that a pandemic is imminent, and urged countries to implement their pandemic plans. And on Thursday, WHO said it would cease calling the virus “swine flu,” using instead its scientific name, H1N1 influenza A, to help reduce confusion over the danger posed by pigs (pork consumption does not transmit infection).

On Thursday, Mexico prepared for a broad shutdown of services as officials urged businesses to close until Tuesday, to coincide with a long holiday weekend. Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in a televised address that only essential businesses such as supermarkets, hospitals and pharmacies should stay open, and only critical government workers such as police and soldiers would be on duty from Friday through Tuesday. School had already been canceled nationwide through Tuesday, The New York Times and the AP reported.

The decision Wednesday by the World Health Organization to raise the alert level underscored the concern of world health officials that the swine flu outbreak could trigger large numbers of deaths worldwide, even though there have only been eight confirmed deaths in Mexico and one in the United States, the AP reported.

“It really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic,” WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in Geneva, Switzerland. “We do not have all the answers right now, but we will get them.”

On Monday, a 23-month-old Mexican boy who had traveled to Houston for medical treatment died, becoming the first fatality in the United States.

Switzerland and the Netherlands have become the latest countries to report swine flu infections. In addition to Mexico and the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Spain, Israel and Austria also have confirmed cases, the AP reported.

Mexico’s prevention efforts may be paying off — the outbreak seemed to be stabilizing; confirmed swine flu cases doubled Wednesday to 99, but new deaths finally seemed to be stabilizing, the AP said.

SOURCE: health.msn.com