Sunday, June 20, 2010
Possible Complications
An untreated infection can travel from the middle ear to the nearby parts of the head, including the brain. It can travel to the mastoid sinus (which lies behind the ear), worsening the infection which is very dangerous for those with damaged immune systems. Severe cases may permanently affect hearing and be related with dizziness.
It's very drastic for children cases, as persistent fluid in the middle ear or chronic otitis media can affect the children hearing at a time which is utmost imperative for their development of speech and language. In a long run, children may experience drastic ear pain and the fluid can put a pressure on the eardrum and eventually tear it.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Possible Complications
An untreated infection can travel from the middle ear to the nearby parts of the head, including the brain. It can travel to the mastoid sinus (which lies behind the ear), worsening the infection which is very dangerous for those with damaged immune systems. Severe cases may permanently affect hearing and be related with dizziness.
It's very drastic for children cases, as persistent fluid in the middle ear or chronic otitis media can affect the children hearing at a time which is utmost imperative for their development of speech and language. In a long run, children may experience drastic ear pain and the fluid can put a pressure on the eardrum and eventually tear it.
-Irritably
-Fever, vomitting
-Difficult to pay attention
-Unresponsive to quiet sound
-Difficult to sleep
-Severe earache
-Using otoscope. It allows the doctor to blow a puff of air into the eardrum to test eardrum movement.
-Using auriscope. It allows doctor to see if there is any fluid leaking into the outer ear.
-Tympanometry which requires insertion of a small soft plug into the opening of the child’s ear canal that is able to alter the air pressure, in order to have several measures of the middle ear.
-Medically:
Patients are given antibiotics in cases where the infection is severe and unlikely for mild cases, as some bacterial have turned out to be less resistant to the antibiotics
-Surgically:
There are several kinds the patients can look up to if they want to treat Otitis Media through myringotomy which is to put a hole in the eardrum and let the infection drain out, often required if the fluid remains for more than 3 months and is linked with a loss of hearing.
One is Tympanostomy tubes or "T tubes" that is inserted into the eardrum which provide for drainage of fluid and hearing may recover quickly. These tubes usually come out by themselves in about 6 months. The other way is to use a laser to open a hole in the eardrum rather than using a tube.
The eardrum usually stays open for 2-4 weeks. It can also be treated by Tympanocentesis whereby the eardrum is punctured using a scalpel under anesthesia. The hole in the eardrum usually closes up within 24-48 hours.
The outlook in most people with a middle ear infection is very good and the infection and its symptoms usually go away completely after treatment. However, if left unattended, otitis media can lead to an infection within the nearby mastoid bone, called mastoiditis. Otitis Media can also influence the development of speech and language of the children.
Patients treated for Acute Otitis Media have an excellent prognosis. Once analgesia and/or antibiotics are given, most patients recover quickly over the course of 2 to 3 days.
