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Home › Articles › Illnesses, Diseases & Disorders › Ear Infections

Ear Infections

How to Spot and Treat a Common Infant Ailment

By Amy Carey Bowman

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As with most new parents, you've probably heard about – and learned to dread – one of the most common illnesses in infants and toddlers: ear infections. Seventy-five percent of children will get an ear infection before they turn 3, and nearly half of these children will get at least one ear infection a year before they enter preschool, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

What Causes Them?
Ear infections can occur as complications of viral upper respiratory infections, which often result in fluid collection behind the eardrums, says Dr. Linda A. Waggoner-Fountain, assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. When the viruses or bacteria that cause sore throats and colds spread to the middle ear and infect this fluid, the eardrum becomes inflamed.

How Will You Know?
Parents often wonder how will they know if Baby is suffering from an ear infection?

"Because an infant can't tell you, 'Hey, Mom, my ear hurts!' most signs and symptoms of infection in babies are very nonspecific," says Dr. Laura Weathers, medical director at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Fla. "Parents may notice that the infant is not feeding well or not sleeping as well as usual. The infant may have fever or irritability."

These symptoms don't necessarily indicate an ear infection – they could be signs of a number of illnesses or even teething – but they should alert you that something's not quite right with your baby. For a clear diagnosis, take Baby to the pediatrician, who will use a light instrument called an otoscope to examine the outer ear and the eardrum. If the eardrum is inflamed, your child probably has an ear infection.


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