Treating A Child's Ear Infection

Amoxicillin is still the first line of treatment for children's ear infections, according to the Centers For Disease Control. If within three days your child does not respond to the antibiotic, see your doctor.

Over the last several years, there have been concerns about overusing antibiotics to treat the ear infections, because the bacteria that causes the infections has become more and more resistant to the drugs. But CBS This Morning Health Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay reports that experts recommend doubling the dose of amoxicillin, which is safe for children, or switching to a more potent drug.

Most children will have at least one ear infection in their first three years. Many parents are familiar with the telltale signs, including crankiness, fever, and pulling at the ear. Often, those signs will be preceded by a cold. But when children start to complain and are in pain, parents know it's time to take them to the doctor.

A couple of footnotes:

• No one knows for sure if there will come a day when the bacteria will become resistant to all antibiotics, but it's possible. Experts and the government are trying to prevent that by encouraging doctors and parents to not overuse antibiotics. Ofte,n mild ear infections will clear up on their own without antibiotics.
• Kids that develop chronic ear infections may need additional treatment. If left untreated, the fluid buildup can cause hearing problems and delay speech development. Some doctors will surgically place tubes in the child's eardrums to alleviate the pain. Some are using a new laser surgery procedure that freezes the eardrum and creates a pin-point size hole that reduces the pressure in the inner ear. But those treatments are only for people who have fluid build-up that won't go away and have problems hearing.

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