Two months old baby has water in his ears

Newborns' organs are not yet mature, so they need extra care. Especially for newborns, you should pay attention to water entering the ears when bathing. It is best to go to the nursery and let a professional nanny help the baby bathe. It is easy to fail to provide adequate protection when bathing at home. And if you do not notice that the baby still has water in the ears, be sure to dry them in time to avoid otitis media. This article introduces the consequences and solutions for water ingestion in babies. Let’s take a look.

1. If water gets into the ears and is not dried, the baby is prone to otitis media

If fluid accumulates in the middle ear for a long time, it can easily induce otitis media. When the mother is bathing the baby, the bath water always easily enters the ear, and the liquid often accumulates in the baby's middle ear. Another situation is after a cold, some fluid often accumulates in the middle ear. If bacteria infect the accumulated fluid, it can easily cause symptoms such as ear pain, baby crying and restlessness, fever, etc., which can easily lead to acute otitis media.

For some breastfed babies, if the mother's feeding posture is improper or the milk flows out too quickly and the baby does not have time to swallow, the milk can enter the middle ear through the Eustachian tube and cause acute otitis media.

Various types of otitis media always attack babies. Since it is difficult for babies to describe symptoms such as ear pain, stuffy ears or hearing loss, it is often missed or misdiagnosed clinically. Parents are also prone to ignore it, and it can easily turn into chronic otitis media which is more difficult to treat. Therefore, if your baby often exhibits strange behaviors such as shaking his head or scratching his ears with his hands, he may be in the early stages of otitis media; if the condition is more serious, he will have a high fever and yellow fluid will flow from his ears. Parents should also pay attention to their baby's hearing performance on a daily basis. If there are any abnormalities, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible to avoid delaying treatment and worsening the condition.

2. If water enters the baby's ears, how should the mother deal with it?

If water gets into the baby's ears, the mother should use a soft cotton swab in time, expand the cotton on the head to make it fluffy, gently insert it into the ear and rotate it, but not too deep. The premise is to make sure the baby's head is fixed and cannot move. If there is still a bad smell after wiping it dry several times, you should go to the hospital for ear medicine. If the baby cannot cooperate, please do not clean the baby's ears easily, otherwise there is a risk of perforation of the eardrum.

Specific steps:

(1) Roll a clean, soft, absorbent cotton fabric, or soft, strong cotton paper, into a wick (do not use a cotton swab or tissue paper with a pointed tip, as this may fall into the ear canal. Do not use any kind of small stick).

(2) Place the wick into the child’s ear. Remove the wick if it is wet.

(3) Replace the wick with a clean one. Repeat these steps at least 3 times a day until the ear is no longer wet and pus no longer drains from the ear (usually 7-10 days).

3. Daily care reminder: Don’t pick earwax casually

When many mothers see a little earwax in their baby's ears, they can't help but help their baby clean the ears, thinking that this will prevent the earwax from accumulating and affecting the baby's hearing. But I want to remind you not to clean your baby's ears casually. Cleaning your baby's ears too frequently will do more harm than good to your baby.

(1) Induce external auditory canal papilloma. Long-term ear picking and chronic stimulation may induce external auditory canal papilloma. In addition, the eardrum is a very thin membrane, only about 0.1 mm thick, not much thicker than paper. If the baby moves around when the ears are picked, the ear spoon may damage the eardrum or auditory bones, causing perforation of the eardrum and affecting the baby's hearing.

(2) Bacterial growth. Frequent ear cleaning for your baby can easily cause the stratum corneum of the skin in the external auditory canal to swell, block the hair follicles, and facilitate bacterial growth. Damage to the skin of the external auditory canal and long-term chronic congestion can easily stimulate the secretion of the cerumen glands, resulting in more and more "earwax".

Kind tips:

1. Use cotton swabs skillfully. If you find that the area around your baby's ear canal is damp after bathing him, you can wipe it lightly with a cotton swab, but do not go deep. You can also use a hair dryer (about 30 cm away from the ear canal opening, weak wind) to dry your ears. Wet a clean towel and wring it out, then roll a corner of the towel around your finger and gently wipe your baby's outer ear. If you use a cotton swab to clean the ears, be sure not to push the swab too deep into your baby's ear where you can't see it. The cotton ball is small on the top and large on the bottom, which prevents the cotton swab from going deep into the baby's ear and accidentally damaging the eardrum.

2. Avoid water ingress. To prevent water from entering the ears, you can press the baby's ears from back to front and close to the face to prevent water from entering the ears. If water gets in, use a soft cotton swab and push the cotton at the tip to make it fluffy. Insert the needle gently into the ear and rotate it, but not too deep. Make sure the baby's head is firmly fixed and cannot move. Also, the time you take your baby swimming should be limited to less than 1 hour.