Otitis Externa, Everything you need to know.

bloguerouniversal

· 06 Apr 2022

Otitis Externa, Everything you need to know.

#health Acute external otitis (OAS) is an inflammation of the external auditory canal that can spread to the auricle or tympanic membrane.

Why is it produced?

There are a number of factors that favor its appearance, such as warm temperatures and humidity of the external auditory canal. Thus, those children who practice swimming or who spend a lot of time in the water on the beach or pool, are more likely to develop it, so it is also called swimmer's ear.

Other factors also play a role: the introduction of objects into the ear canal, the use of ear sticks that can cause erosions in the canal or dermatological diseases affecting the ear canal such as eczema or psoriasis.

Therefore, moisture and erosions of the external auditory canal are the main causes that predispose infection.

What are the symptoms?

The main one is the pain of the affected ear (otalgia) that worsens when pulling the ear, pressing it or chewing. Sometimes itching is felt before the onset of pain.

There may also be a feeling of ear plugging or temporary hearing loss.

It is possible that the infection spreads to the auricle and may turn red, or even clear or purulent discharge may be seen through the canal.

May associate pain and an increase in the size of the nodes located around the ear.

How is it diagnosed?

Your pediatrician will perform an otoscopy to be able to diagnose it. If purulent discharge is seen in the ear canal, you may consider collecting a sample for culture so that you can determine the bacteria causing the infection.

What is the treatment?

The basis of the treatment will be:

Pain control. Your pediatrician will prescribe pain relievers (ibuprofen or acetaminophen)
Treatment of infection by using topical antibiotic drops, which are applied directly to the ear canal.
Sometimes this treatment in drops, in addition to antibiotics, will include a corticosteroid to reduce inflammation of the canal and improve pain.

It is very important to correctly administer the drops inside the ear canal, as well as to maintain the treatment on the days that your pediatrician has told you. For the correct administration of treatment, the child must tilt the head towards the shoulder opposite the affected ear. We must pull the ear upwards and insert the prescribed number of drops into the ear canal. After that, the child must stay in the same position for 3 to 5 minutes.

During the days of treatment, bathing in swimming pools and the introduction of objects into the ear should be avoided.

If there is good adherence to treatment, the child will notice improvement in symptoms within a few days. If after 2 or 3 days the pain does not subside, you should consult your pediatrician again.

Exceptionally or when the infection is suspected to have spread to the middle ear, your pediatrician may prescribe oral antibiotics.

How is it prevented?

It is very important to keep your ears dry after bathing. To do this, they should dry their ears with a towel and facilitate the outflow of water from the ears by tilting their heads to both sides. The use of earplugs or caps during bathing may be helpful.

We should not insert swabs into the ears to clean the earwax, as their use can erode the external canal.

Comments (7)
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rockstar

2 years ago

very good post there is nothing more horrible than a pain in the ear and it is good to protect ourselves from suffering it by not allowing water inside them

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Niria

2 years ago

That is terrible, all that causes a lot of discomfort dizziness I went through something similar, a cotton pad was released from the swab and it stuck I didn't realize I suffered from horrible vertigo they gave me treatment thanks for that information

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Juli.carmen

2 years ago

Excellent publication thank you very much for the advice days ago my grandson spent several days with a lot of pain in the ear very strong it is very overwhelming.

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Yulegonz

2 years ago

It's uncomfortable for an adult I imagine for a child, once they gave me advice the ears touch them with my elbow and I said I did not understand, they explained to me they do not touch (nothing is introduced) just clean their external part.thanks for the publication

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