The portion of the ear that lies just behind the ear drum is called the middle ear. Once in a while fluid builds up in the middle ear and at times this fluid gets infected. However, the fluid is usually drained out into the throat by the help of tubes known as Eustachian tubes. It is only when these tubes stop performing their function, if they get blocked for what ever reason.
Nose-blowing cause an ear infection. When you blow your nose, some of the fluid comes out, while some of it enters the ear through the Eustachian tube. Try instead to take in the mucous and cough it out from your mouth. If you simply must blow your nose, dont close one nostril and blow out from the other. Blow out from both nostrils.
Symptoms :
The symptoms of an ear infection are: fever, tugging at ears, shaking of the head, discomfort, crying and a recent bout of cold or cough). Not all children exhibiting symptoms such as these have ear infections so if you suspect an infection, its best to have your paediatrician look at your childs ear.
Cure :
While we dont realise it at this stage, ear infections can take a pretty serious if they dont heal by themselves. The infection may eat away at the bone in the ear, and may even start eroding the brain tissue, manifesting in meningitis. This is, of course, a delayed result, and only if the ear infection is consistently ignored. Thus if you are hesitant about giving your child antibiotics, you could wait for around three days for the infection to clear on its own. If it doesnt, you should take your child to the doctor to get his opinion as to whether he needs to get started on an antibiotic course. Different doctors have different opinions. Some doctors are all too liberal with antibiotic prescriptions, while others are slightly more conservative.
