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How to Tell If It's an Ear Infection
Recently, I noticed my 8-month-old son tugging on his right ear. That, combined with his unusual crankiness, got my attention. Was he teething? Just discovering his ear? Or could he be signaling that he was suffering from an ear infection? He was just getting over a cold, so I decided to call the pediatrician's office. The nurse suggested bringing him in for a quick peek at his ears. The verdict: no ear infection! While I was relieved, the incident did get me thinking. Did I have to drag him in every time he pulled at his ear? That seemed a little extreme. But what if I was too laid back and missed a real ear infection? I decided it was time to learn a little bit more about this common childhood ailment. Here's what I found out.
How Common Are Ear Infections?
"Next to the common cold, ear infections are the most common disorder in children," says Margaretha Casselbrant, MD, PhD, chief of the division of pediatric otolaryngology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The painful facts are that more than 80 percent of children will be diagnosed with an ear infection by the time they celebrate their third birthday, almost half of these kids will have suffered from three or more ear infections by age 3, and the prime time for ear infections is between 6 and 24 months.
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I would just like to say that I'm sick of docs telling people that 2nd hand smoke gives children more ear infections because my parents smoked like pheens in the house when I was a child and I NEVER had 1 single ear infection when I was young, not saying that 2nd hand smoke is good for children to be inhaling just wish people would stop blaming this on everything instead of finding out the real facts!
4/11/2012 12:27:17 PM Report AbuseThere is not a set list of symptoms because every person is different. I had an underlying inner ear infection for more than a year that contributed to pneumococcal meningitis and had NO prior symptoms, not even trouble sleeping at night. My children also do not show any "normal" signs, so we have to be careful. I do not take ear infections lightly. I DO have significant hearing loss in my left ear now because it went undiagnosed and untreated for so long - and it nearly cost me my life.
4/9/2012 02:38:14 PM Report AbusePeople, the comment section is not supposed to be a vehicle to advertise your work from home business or any other service. STOP using it this way! I will never check out your site that you try to get free advertising for on a parenting article!
4/9/2012 12:22:37 PM Report AbuseI agree with the other parents about this article- it was truly poorly written and didn't give the promised ways to "tell if it's an ear infection." I think you should put out a follow-up article that actually lists symptoms and "universal signals" that a child may be suffering from an ear infection . . . and lay it out by age. Even when my 7-year-old says her ears hurts, it's not necessarily an infection.
4/9/2012 10:07:07 AM Report AbuseWhat about swabs? Can I swab my 5month old or what? Its so unclear...can I do the vinegar and water at 5months I see her scratcing the inner part of her ear and I swab it, but not often WHAT SHOULD I DO???? Knowledge is power and this knowledge is on baby's behalf it's horrible that everything is vague!!!
2/18/2012 08:38:52 PM Report Abuseagree, no sympotoms listed...my grandson has had 7 ear infections in his first 14 mo. His mom is now taking him to a chiropractor. His doctor said "that will help keep the fluid moving." Makes me mad that they don't suggest a chiropractor up front....his mommy had to explore other options.
2/17/2012 09:42:52 AM Report AbuseMost articles on this site are pointless and frustrating having to click next slide continually!
11/7/2011 09:56:02 AM Report Abusewhat a waste of time reading this article. The most annoying part of reading anything on this website, is having to click on the next slide so much. Read two paragraphs, click next...UGHQ! i'm done wiht this site!
7/20/2011 01:19:10 PM Report AbuseSadly the page is not laid out well, but at the top right side of the paragraph you will see "Prev 1 2 3 (of 6) Next". Click on those and you will find on page 3 there is a paragraph on the symptoms to look out for.
5/12/2011 10:28:10 AM Report AbuseUm... page 3 talks about the symptoms? Did everyone miss this?
3/2/2011 03:20:48 PM Report Abusehow do you know if it is an ear infection?? this doesnt help me....
2/23/2011 12:34:04 PM Report Abuseuseless!
2/3/2011 04:42:13 AM Report AbuseThis was completely pointless
1/11/2011 10:05:34 PM Report AbuseThis did absolutely nothing to help look for symptoms or signs of infections. waste of time...
11/11/2010 03:41:56 AM Report Abusezero help
6/9/2010 12:19:29 PM Report AbuseHalf white vinegar half distilled water!! Pour this into your childs ear 2-3 times a day and it will go away. Speacialist told me to do this after my son suffered chronic ear infections! He hasn't had one since. Antibiotics never worked for him but this did wonders! I highly reccommend!
6/3/2010 04:44:09 AM Report AbuseOur child's ear infection was supposed treated with amoxycillin which she refused to take.
5/28/2010 03:18:43 PM Report Abusenot helpful at all.
5/26/2010 12:05:00 PM Report AbuseIdentifying the symptoms are on page 3 of article. Continue reading and it will prove useful!
5/23/2010 06:51:21 PM Report AbuseAgree !!!! That didn't help
4/22/2010 10:34:39 PM Report Abuseagree useless
4/21/2010 07:22:26 PM Report AbuseSo how do I tell if there's an ear infection? This article was not helpful.
4/21/2010 02:11:10 PM Report Abuseagree!
4/13/2010 02:15:20 PM Report AbuseThis told me NOTHING about the symtoms of an ear infection!
4/13/2010 12:57:13 PM Report AbuseThat was dumb. I thought it was going to give me a list of symptoms or something
4/12/2010 10:52:01 AM Report Abuse