An otolaryngologist can diagnose otitis media in a child. However, you can identify indirect signs indicating the disease yourself. But treatment should be carried out only after consulting a specialist.
Instructions
Step 1
Take a closer look at the child. In childhood, and especially in infancy, it is difficult to identify otitis media. But the behavior of the sick child changes. The baby cries while feeding. Press on the tragus (there is a ledge in front of the opening of the external auditory canal on the auricle) - the baby will cry if there is pain in the ear. The baby may start crying suddenly, during play, for example, falling asleep for a long time, tossing and turning in bed, or behaving restlessly in his arms during motion sickness.
Step 2
Examine the child's ear, with otitis externa, the skin surrounding the ear canal turns red, and the passage itself narrows due to edema. You may notice a translucent discharge that accumulates in the ear canal. With a disease of the external ear caused by group A streptococci - erysipelas - the body temperature rises to 39, 0 ° C and above, the child is chilly, there is no appetite. At the same time, there is redness and swelling on the auricle, and blistering pimples filled with a clear liquid appear on the skin.
Step 3
Observe the baby: if periods of anxiety give way to lethargy, the child quickly gets tired, diarrhea and vomiting occur, it is possible that this is catarrhal otitis media, which can turn into a purulent form. The discharge then from the auricle becomes white or green, may have a gray tint. This is characteristic of a ruptured eardrum.
Step 4
Be sure to show the child to the ENT doctor, he will examine the auricle, study all the symptoms, write out a referral for tests and establish a diagnosis, and then select the desired course of therapy. In some cases, for example, with purulent otitis media, physiotherapy is prescribed in parallel with the main treatment. The doctor can establish otitis media with mild symptoms, even when the child is not worried about anything except difficulty swallowing while eating. Never self-medicate.
