ENT Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Ozan Seymen Sezen gave various details about middle ear infections.
Prof. Dr. Ozan Seymen Sezen said, “As of the season, we have now entered winter. Although winter is not showing its face this year, the cold is on our doorstep. As the weather got colder, upper respiratory tract infections and flu infections increased. In contact with this, we have started to see middle ear infections very often, especially in our children. Middle ear infections are inflammations of the eardrum and middle ear that can be seen in both adults and children in general. We can say that it is divided into 2 as “Acute Middle Ear Inflammations” and “Chronic Ear Inflammations”. Chronic middle ear infections are used to describe a type of chronic non-healing inflammation that can be seen more in adults. said.
So What Is Acute Middle Ear Inflammation?
Sezen, “Acute otitis media is a disease that is particularly common in the pediatric age group
and causes families to panic.
Middle ear infections are a type of inflammation that concerns the eardrum and middle ear.
In general, “too frequent upper respiratory tract infections” triggers this problem in children. During upper respiratory tract infections or in the following cycles, the microbial environment in our nasal passages may cause an infection in the middle ear by actually advancing from our eustachian tube to the middle ear by coughing or other procedures. ” said.
What are the Findings of Middle Ear Inflammation?
Ozan Seymen Sezen, “Middle ear inflammation is a type of infection that can develop very quickly and suddenly. Your child, who you send to school in a healthy state in the morning, may experience real earache at noon and call the teacher and inform you about the situation. In other words, symptoms can develop in very short hours. The complaints of the patients are mostly; There may be ear pain, a feeling of pressure and fullness in the ear, high fever, weakness and fatigue. This issue is valuable to us. Because middle ear infections cause significant pain and can cause the child to be really uncomfortable. ” said.
We Don’t Quickly Apply Antibiotics in Treatment
Sezen; “In recent years, we doctors no longer use a method to give antibiotics quickly
regarding the treatment of this disease. But for this, the family must be conscious and have easy access to their physician. The patient should be followed up with painkillers and antipyretics for 2 days. If there is no decrease in pain and fever after 2 days, then antibiotics can be started. Let’s say that your opportunity to reach a doctor is not very convenient due to your daily life pace. In this case, antibiotics can be started as soon as this problem is seen in the child. This is a situation that will be determined by the preference of you and your doctor.” said.
Inflammation May Not Relieve After Pain Relieves
Seymen Sezen, “Middle ear inflammation may not regress quickly after the pain is gone. A fluid may remain in the middle ear and this fluid may disappear ex officio after a while. However, for some children, this period may be longer. These fluids may not regress up to 3 months. If these fluids do not regress by 3 months and last longer, a hearing loss may occur in the child. This hearing loss is fluid dependent. If the fluid is taken or lost, the hearing loss will improve. In such cases, if there is no significant hearing loss or if there are no real collapses in the eardrum or conditions that will disrupt the structure of the eardrum, a 3-month delay is expected. But if these fluids do not disappear for more than 3 months, then this fluid behind the eardrum can be drained, and discontinuous small prostheses can be placed in the ear, which we call a tube, which will be ex officio discarded later. However, this situation is very rare in patients. In other words, there is no rule that it will be experienced after every otitis media problem. It is a condition that will be seen in about 1% of otitis media problems.” said.
Occurs in 90% of Children
Sezen, “Middle ear inflammation is very common in children. It can be observed very often in almost 90% of children until they reach the age of 7-8 years. “he commented.
What are the Risk Factors?
Prof. Dr. Ozan Seymen Sezen, “This problem; It can be experienced frequently in immunocompromised children who get sick very often. Apart from that, we can say that going to kindergarten is a risk factor for children. Exposure to cigarette smoke and air pollution are also among the risk factors.” said.
Precautions to be Taken
Sezen, “As many measures as there are to prevent children from catching the flu, they can also be a precaution for this
problem. Smoking should not be allowed near children. Again, children should be fed with natural and additive-free foods as much as possible.
Although it seems controversial, flu vaccines and pneumococcal vaccines, which are still of great medical value, can prevent middle ear infections as well as prevent flu, if they are administered during these seasons in children who have very frequent upper respiratory tract infections. said.
