Otitis Media

Otitis media is a fancy word that denotes a middle ear inflammation. The middle ear is located just behind the ear drum, and while adult otitis media is somewhat rare, pediatric otitis media almost seems to be par for the course. Granted, this is not a comfort to many a parent, but by ways of a reality check it is comforting to know that a child diagnosed with otitis media is more common than a child who never suffered from any ear aches at all.

To complicate matters just a bit, otitis media comes in three flavors:

• Serous otitis media refers to the inflammation of the middle ear without there being a sign of an accompanying infection. This is quite often the case in children whose Eustachian tubes malfunctioned and led to the collection of fluids in the middle ear.



• Acute otitis media, on the other hand, is associated with an infection that leads to a fluid build up which consists of pus and also clear fluids.



• Last but not least is otitis media with effusion, sometimes a “serous” is added for good measure, is a big term that denotes a temporary hearing loss without the presence of infection. Quite often this occurs after a bout of acute otitis media.

Risk factors serous otitis media is associated with - interestingly enough - are not just the presence of streptococcus, but also a prolonged exposure to high levels of automotive emissions. Another newly found link is the relationship between otitis media and aboriginal indigenous populations where children appear to require more otitis media treatment than those who do not fall under the aboriginal grouping.

While otitis media complications are rare, a nursing care plan for otitis media includes the use of antibiotics – Cipro, otitis media’s number one enemy and Penicillin are most often prescribed – if primary secretory otitis media persists longer than three days. The goal is to avoid the use of antibiotics in children if at all possible. There is no special diet for patients with otitis media, but many physicians stress that otitis media detector tips be closely followed by parents as they seek to differentiate any mucus build up from foods that were eaten versus mucus associated with an infection. Those who do not heed the warning the overuse of antibiotics may find themselves with a conjunctivitis otitis media syndrome, effectively presenting as bacterial resistance in the treatment of common otitis.