Diseases of the ears occur in children and adults. Most of the varieties of acute otitis media in the absence of proper treatment can lead to serious consequences. Assigns diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ENT.
Acute otitis media
This is a rapid infectious disease. The focus of inflammation is in the middle ear area. The disease is one of the most common in pediatric and adult otolaryngology.
Inflammation affects the tympanum, directly the middle ear. The latter is located in the thickness of the temporal bone. Outside, the cavity is limited by the tympanic membrane.
Equally common in women and men. Doctors say that in adults, symptoms can be "blurred", and children have a tendency to relapse. In children, the structure of the ear is special, therefore, when the disease develops, infection of the cave of the mastoid process occurs almost immediately.
Ear structure
Types
Three types of inflammation are distinguished:
- catarrhal,
- exudative,
- purulent.
Purulent
Implies an acute purulent inflammation affecting other parts of the auditory organ. The causative agent of this disease is the bacteria that enter the auditory area through the tube. Purulent otitis differs in stages. Local and general symptoms vary depending on the stage and severity of the process. There are three stages:
- dopers,
- punching,
- reparative.
In the first stage, there are local and general symptoms. The pain is very strong, gives in the temple. Over time, its growth occurs. The cause of this is the formation of an infiltrate.
Perforated
This form differs in that there is perforation of the tympanic membrane, suppuration. The pain at this stage subsides, the temperature decreases. Allocations with purulent otitis in children in the early days are abundant, can be with a trace of blood. Sometimes there is a pulsating reflex with otoscopy.
On the photo purulent otitis with perforation
After this stage comes the reparative. There is a cessation of the release of pus, the eardrum is restored, the hearing is normalized. Such a course is typical, but at any stage the disease can become chronic.
If the second stage does not occur, then it is possible to develop severe headaches, vomiting, the general condition becomes very severe.
Exudative
The disease is characterized with the formation and prolonged retention of the transudate in the tympanum. Children are much more common than adults. In the course of illness, there is a violation of the ventilation function. This leads to the formation of a vacuum and sweating of serous contents. Sometimes blood is added to the latter. Several forms of the disease are divided.
Post-traumatic
Formed more often in children due to minor injuries, including burns, frostbite, chemical or mechanical effects. Through the damaged eardrum, the infection easily reaches the middle ear.
Serous
At the first stage it resembles a purulent form of purulent otitis. Most patients are children up to one year old. In the region of the tympanic membrane, a vacuum builds up. After that, an easy autophony is formed. Hearing loss is sometimes so insignificant that it can go unnoticed. After 30 days, mucus appears, which leads to noise, a feeling of overcrowding.
Bulbar
If, for all other forms, immunosuppression becomes the prerequisites, the emergence of microcracks, the bullous appearance is formed due to the presence of the virus in the blood. First there are flu symptoms, after the virus circulates through the body, a focus of inflammation in the middle ear is formed.
Basically, the disease is found in adults with a weak immune system. Bubbles appear on the membrane and on the walls of the passage, leading to moderate pain. Bullas can be quite small or the size of a pea.
If the disease is preceded by acute respiratory viral infection, in addition to secretions from the ear, itching, the body temperature rises, a feeling of weakness develops.
Catarrhal
One of the most dangerous forms, as it leads in the absence of treatment to a sharp decrease in hearing. The cause of development are upper respiratory infections or inflammation of the adenoids. Pathogen - coccal bacteria.
The main factor for the formation of catarrhal otitis becomes a persistent violation of the ventilation and drainage function of the auditory canal. Therefore, the form is characterized by increased secretion, has a prolonged course of the disease.
Symptoms of
Middle ear otitis media usually lasts up to 3 weeks. At the first stage, the appearance of intense pain in the ear. It can be intolerable, so it causes a lack of sleep and a decrease in appetite. Leaves in the temporal region. The temperature rises to high marks, chills appear, signs of intoxication of the body.
In the second stage, the pain subsides, if there is a rupture of the membrane, this leads to a decrease in temperature. The suppuration lasts no more than 7 days.
At the last stage there are practically no unusual sensations. There is active healing, but with a perforation size greater than 1 mm, the fibrous layer of the membrane is not restored.
When the hole is overgrown, an atrophic and thin film is formed, lined only with epithelial and mucous layers.
Reasons for
Among the main reasons is:
- Subcooling. During the decrease in temperature, the vessels narrow down, which leads to a decrease in the local temperature. Bacteria begin to multiply actively.
- Infections of the nose, nasopharynx. Even if they were in a "dormant" state, they are activated at any time under the influence of unfavorable factors.
Seventy percent of patients in the content study have
- Streptococcus pneumoniae,
- Haemophilus influenzae,
- Moraxella catarrhalis.
How to treat?
Based on complaints received from the patient, the physician presumes an inflammatory process in the middle ear. A karmartonal study is conducted. It allows you to establish the quality of hearing. The doctor can send general tests for bacterioscopy of the exudate. After treatment is appointed.
Medication standards
At the first sign of a drop. If there is purulent content, local antibiotics are prescribed. When there is a high temperature, a risk of developing the disease, injections with antibacterial agents are prescribed.
Most drops have an anesthetic in their composition. It allows you to remove pain, leads to a restoration of appetite. A good analgesic effect is possessed by "Otipaks" drops, a compression on Tsitovich( gauze is impregnated with a solution of boric acid and glycerin).
Good reviews of the drug "Otirelaks", which has similar actions. By the way, you need to drip in two ears, regardless of whether you have bilateral, left or right otitis media.
To reduce the swelling of the auditory corpse, vasoconstrictive drops in the nose and antihistamines are prescribed. They allow and improve the outflow of pus from the middle ear.
Antibiotics are prescribed exclusively by a doctor, as not all are suitable for ear treatment. In the absence of effect after three days the drug is replaced with another.
How much to treat for adults?
Treatment in adults is at least 8-11 days. Even after the improvement of the condition, treatment continues. Early cancellation often causes relapse or hearing loss.
How long does otitis take in children?
If the disease did not manage to go to a chronic one, the recovery comes from 3 to 5 days.
Chronic species require more thorough treatment for up to 10 days.
Untreated diseases, against which the otitis media of the middle ear develop, lead to the fact that the duration of treatment is increasing.
Traditional methods of treatment of the ears
These methods are used more often as an addition to drug therapy. Relieve the pain will help geranium, aloe, calanchoe. The sheet is torn off, rolled into a tube and inserted into a sore ear. Aloe and Kalanchoe can be kept in the refrigerator for a day, then juice is squeezed out of them. They impregnate the gauze, which is put into the ear.
Food should be consumed with honey and lemons. The first component is diluted with warm water. Buried in each ear.
Herbs are also used. A heel is useful, a medicinal millet. A perfect solution will be a ready tincture of calendula. She is bought at the pharmacy.
Complications of
If you do not immediately start treatment, the purulent form of otitis and rupture of the tympanic membrane quickly form. Among the most dangerous consequences is mastoiditis, which requires surgical intervention. Sometimes, festering meningoencephalitis results in death.
To prevent the development of hearing loss, to protect your life, you need to consult a doctor at the first symptoms.
Consequences of
As a major consequence, deafness appears. In adults, the tympanic membrane is not completely restored. Sometimes it takes years to improve your hearing. This is especially dangerous for children of the first years of life, since problems with the ears often cause delay in speech development.
Prevention and consequences of otitis, recommendations lora in our video:
Prophylaxis
Doctors say that it is necessary to treat catarrhal diseases in a timely manner, to make sure that adenoids do not inflame. Teach children to blow their nails correctly, alternately closing their nostrils. Otitis is often preceded by a decrease in immunity. So do not forget to strengthen it.