Too known as acute otitis media, a childhood ear infection is when the eye ear — between the outer ear and the innermost part of the ear — becomes plugged with fluid, infected and inflamed.

This inflammation then results in redness and jutting in the eardrum, pain and frequently fever. Ear infections are i of the most mutual childhood illnesses, striking kids younger than 4 most ofttimes.

What causes ear infections in babies and toddlers?

Babies get ear infections when they catch a cold or other upper-respiratory infection, which causes the lining of the Eustachian tube (the tube that connects the heart ear to the nose and the back of the throat) to peachy, get congested and accumulate fluid. The fluid becomes a convenance basis for infection-causing germs — which could be viral or bacterial. Allergies that cause congestion may also crusade ear infections.

The pain and temporary hearing loss your child may feel are due to the fluid putting pressure on the eardrum. The fever he may develop is due to the infection in the middle ear that his little body is fighting.

Ear infections are more common in babies and toddlers because their Eustachian tubes are shorter, narrower and more horizontal than the tubes in adults' (or older kids') ears, making it easy for fluid to get trapped and build up. That'south why most kids have at least one ear infection by the time they turn ii.

Some babies and toddlers may be particularly prone to chronic ear infections. While experts aren't entirely sure why some kids become more ear infections than others, there are a few factors that seem to raise the gamble for them, including:

  • A family history of ear infections
  • Living with a smoker
  • Canteen-feeding when lying down (experts believe that this can cause milk or formula to period into the center ear, resulting in infection — the sucking motion an baby makes while breastfeeding doesn't accept the aforementioned effect)

What are the symptoms of ear infections in babies and toddlers?

The signs and symptoms of an ear infection in your babe include:

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  • Tugging or pulling at the ear or intentionally hitting his head
  • Complaining of hurting in his ear or of a headache
  • Crying more than usual
  • Dark waking or trouble sleeping (lying down changes in pressure level in the ear, causing pain to get worse at dark)
  • Failing to respond to sounds, including your voice
  • Crankiness and irritability
  • Fever
  • Dizziness or awkwardness (your toddler may stumble more than usual or crash-land into things considering the ear infection affects his remainder)
  • Irritation when lying down, chewing or sucking (all of which can cause painful pressure changes in the eye ear)
  • Decreased appetite
  • Clear or bloody discharge or pus that drips out from the ear
  • Crust in and effectually the ear

Are ear infections contagious?

No, an ear infection itself is not contagious. All the same, the cold or illness that led to information technology could exist. So while your child can't catch an ear infection from a friend at day intendance, he can take hold of the cold or flu virus that results in an ear infection.

To help prevent this, teach your child proper hygiene, such equally washing hands frequently and sneezing or cough into the cheat of his arm or a tissue that is immediately thrown abroad. Also make sure he's up-to-appointment on his vaccinations.

If your child already has an ear infection, he can go back to schoolhouse or 24-hour interval care after his fever clears up and he's no longer in hurting.

What'southward the difference between an ear infection and an earache?

An earache (hurting inside or around the ear) is just one symptom of an ear infection. But just because your child has ear pain doesn't necessarily mean he has an ear infection.

Earaches may have a number of causes besides ear infection, including a sore throat, fluid behind the eardrum, a buildup of earwax, a sinus infection or a tooth infection. They could also exist caused past soap or shampoo residue in the ear or by using a cotton-tipped swab.

Because ear infections are and so common in young children, telephone call your medico if you notice an earache forth with other symptoms of an ear infection.

How do you treat ear infections in babies and toddlers?

If you suspect your baby has an ear infection, take the post-obit steps:

  • Call the doc. Your child'southward pediatrician will bank check your petty 1's ears, since you won't be able to see an ear infection from the outside.
  • Inquire almost medication. Some pediatricians will have a wait-and-see arroyo (the infection might clear up on its own), merely many will prescribe antibiotics — usually a ten-twenty-four hours course.
  • Offer your child appropriate pain relievers. Whether or not your kid gets antibiotics, your doctor will likely recommend acetaminophen (for babies over two months) or ibuprofen (for babies older than 6 months) for pain and fever relief.
  • Apply heat (or cold). Yous can reduce the pain associated with an ear infection past applying heat (in the form of a warm shrink or a covered hot-h2o bottle filled with warm h2o) or cold (in the form of an ice pack wrapped in a wet washcloth or a washcloth soaked in cool water) to the outer ear.
  • Drag your infant's head. If your baby is older than 1, y'all may want to insert a pillow under the crib mattress to reduce pain while he sleeps, simply be sure to enquire your doctor before yous endeavour this (and don't apply this strategy for babies under 12 months). And remember, never identify pillows, wedges or other soft objects on top of the mattress in your infant'southward crib, equally they may pose a suffocation risk.

Once the ear infection has cleared — ordinarily inside a week to 10 days — it's not uncommon for at that place to all the same be a bit of fluid left over in the ear, which usually resolves on its ain. Your pediatrician should proceed to check your child'due south ears at each visit to make sure there'due south no infection.

Practise ear infections get away on their own?

Oftentimes, ear infections get abroad on their own within two or 3 days. This is why pediatricians sometimes take a await-and-see approach — for, say, 48 to 72 hours — particulaly for children aged 2 and older who have milder ear infections.

Not every childhood ear infection warrants antibiotics, since some are caused by viruses that won't respond to antibiotics, and giving your child besides many antibiotics can put him at risk for condign resistant to these strong drugs when they're really needed.

If your baby is 6 months or younger and it's determined to exist astute otitis media, however, your doc will probably prescribe a class of antibiotics. Pediatricians may also prescribe antibiotics for children anile vi months to 2 years who are having more severe symptoms. Your doctor may too start your child on antibiotics if his symptoms haven't gotten improve within two to three days.

Fifty-fifty if your doctor has suggested a wait-and-see approach for by ear infections, that may not be what your kid needs for this one. And then if you suspect your child has an ear infection, call your pediatrician to become your child's ears examined.

When should I take my baby to the doc for an ear infection?

Telephone call during normal office hours if you suspect an ear infection (it'southward not an emergency). And be certain to get in touch right abroad if yous notice any of the following:

  • Fever. While some pediatricians have different standards for what constitutes a fever, if you suspect an ear infection and your child is running any kind of fever, don't worry nigh "bothering" your pediatrician with a call to the part. Definitely telephone call the doctor immediately if your infant is under 3 months old and has a temperature of 100.iv degrees Fahrenheit or college (this could exist a sign of a serious infection and your child will probably need to get a COVID-19 test) or if your child is betwixt 3 months and 3 years former and the fever reaches 101.5 degrees F or higher (though any temp over 100.4 degrees F will likely warrant a COVID test).
  • A discharge of blood, fluid or pus from the ear (or crust in and around the ear). This could mean that the pressure from the buildup of fluid in the ear has caused your child's eardrum to rupture — which is not every bit scary as yous might think. The release of force per unit area usually relieves some pain, and the eardrum ordinarily heals itself within a few weeks. Still, you'll want to see the pediatrician within a day or so since your child may need antibiotics to impale any bacteria that may accept caused the ear infection.
  • No comeback in your child's symptoms. Phone call if symptoms haven't diminished later on 3 days with or without antibiotics. Or go in touch on if the infection seems to get better and so returns, which could mean that your child has a chronic ear infection.

When is it more than an ear infection?

In that location are a couple of cases when your child may be experiencing more than a standard ear infection:

  • The "chronic" ear infection: Ane or 2 ear infections a year, while never fun to handle, are fairly normal. A chronic ear infection may exist the result of an acute ear infection that does not clear completely, or of recurrent ear infections.
  • Otitis media with effusion (OME): Sometimes fluid from an ear infection remains in the eye ear and doesn't clear fifty-fifty later on treatment. When fluid remains for besides long in the ear even after an infection clears, it's considered otitis media with effusion, or OME. While typically temporary — lasting four to half dozen weeks — OME could lead to temporary hearing loss. Since the hearing loss can become permanent if the condition continues untreated for many months, it'southward important for your child to see the pediatrician.

How to prevent babyhood ear infections

While you lot tin can't do much to change your child'south family history, you lot can have the post-obit steps to foreclose ear infections:

  • Avoid secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke can make children more vulnerable to ear infections.
  • Wash your child's hands often. Paw washing can reduce your child'due south take chances of getting an upper-respiratory infection, which can lead to an ear infection. It'southward also a practiced thought to steer articulate of sick kids.
  • Stay up-to-date on your kid's immunizations. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar 13), which is given to forbid serious infections such as pneumonia and meningitis, may as well reduce the risk of ear infections. And since ear infections are a common complication of the flu, brand sure your baby receives a yearly influenza vaccine once he reaches 6 months of age.
  • Breastfeed your baby for at to the lowest degree six months, if y'all can. Breast milk contains antibodies that may offer protection from ear infections.
  • Hold your baby upright during feedings if you lot feed him from a bottle. If your baby is lying down during a feeding, milk or formula tin become into the middle ear.
  • Limit pacifier use to sleep time only.
  • Wean off the canteen between 12 and xviii months.
  • Consider putting in tubes.While tubes are becoming less common, your doctor may propose tube insertion if your babe or toddler has suffered from chronic ear infections or if he experiences OME for more than three months and/or if that fluid causes hearing loss. These tiny tubes (also chosen myringotomy or tympanostomy tubes) are about the size of 2 exclamation points put together and assist prevent fluid and bacteria from building upwards inside your child's ear, reducing the incidence of infections and the chance of hearing loss. The insertion process only takes a few minutes and is done by an ear, nose and throat specialist nether general anesthesia. Your tot will be up and running as early as the next 24-hour interval. The tubes volition fall out on their own anywhere from six to 18 months after the insertion.
  • Dry your child'southward ears later swimming or bathing. Using a towel to dry out off your child's ears can aid preclude "swimmer's ear" (otitis externa), a different type of ear infection that affects the outer ear culvert, but is notwithstanding common in children who have recently gone pond. If your kid is prone to swimmer'southward ear, inserting ear plugs into your child's ears before swimming or bathing tin can help, as can over-the-counter swimmer's ear drops (though exist sure to check with your pediatrician before using them on your piffling i).

Infant and toddler ear infections, while unpleasant, are fairly mutual. Your doctor will be able to ostend the diagnosis during an in-part visit, and will likely treat the infection with a wait-and-see approach or a course of antibiotics.