My aching ear!!

Aboriginal Nurse, The, Dec 1998

The ear is one of the most common sites of infection because it provides the warm, moist environment bacteria love most. Ear infections are especially common in children under the age of seven because the tube that connects the back of the nose to the ear is short and straight. This provides an easy pathway for germs travelling up from the nose or throat.

If the infection is in the outer ear, a condition called otitis externa, your doctor will probably clean the ear and apply ear drops or a cream to fight the infection.

Infection of the middle ear, called otitis media, are generally treated with oral antibiotics in pill or liquid form. It is very important that the child takes all of the antibiotics the doctor prescribes, even if the symptoms clear up before the medicine is gone. Otherwise, the remaining germs will continue to reproduce and cause another, even stronger infection.