It's summer
It's a good season for swimming
Enroll your child in a swimming class during the summer vacation
It can cool down and relieve the heat
It also strengthens the body
But who would have thought
The child has a fever and earache after swimming
It makes parents feel distressed......
Recently, the head of the family in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, posted on the Internet that she enrolled her two babies in a summer swimming class, and when she came back from the first experience class, her daughter had inflammation of the lining of her ears. The doctor said it was caused by swimming, and he couldn't swim for the time being.
After that, after staying at home for a week, the two babies began to have rhinitis and began to recur, with runny noses and sneezing. At first, I didn't think about swimming, so I sprayed my nose to wash my nose. Seeing that the child's ears are good and the coach is urging, he continued to go to class.
However, after swimming, he came back with a fever, and when he got up the next day, the child said that his ears hurt and was diagnosed with otitis media by the hospital.
Every year in July and August, there are always many patients with otitis media in the otolaryngology department of the hospital, and most of them are children, and there is basically a common point that the ears are watered due to bathing or swimming.
The most typical manifestation of otitis media is persistent earache, but other symptoms may be present at the same time: fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Chen Zhiling, director of the Department of Otolaryngology of Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that under normal circumstances, the water in the ear caused by bathing and swimming is the water into the external auditory canal, and there is an eardrum barrier between the external auditory canal and the middle ear, which can block foreign bodies and bacteria from entering the middle ear and will not cause otitis media.
However, if you have a perforated eardrum or are in the acute stage of otitis media, then it is not recommended to swim, especially in swimming pools where water quality and hygiene are not up to standard.
In addition, children who are new to swimming are not proficient in swimming skills and are prone to choking, which may lead to bacteria reaching the middle ear through the eustachian tube, causing acute otitis media.
So, why are children more likely to be recruited?
Chen Zhiling said that the external auditory canal of children is flatter than that of adults, and it is easy for water to ingress. The structure of the eustachian tube is also different from that of adults, with both ends close to the horizontal position, and the diameter of the tube is relatively thick and short, so secretions from the nasopharynx tend to flow through it to the middle ear cavity, causing otitis media.
At the same time, children have weak immunity and are susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections, which can easily spread to the middle ear through the Eustachian tube.
Chen Zhiling suggested that before children swim, parents can take their children to the hospital to clean the cerumen in their ears to prevent the pool water from soaking the cerumen and swelling during swimming, and if the pool water is dirty, it is more likely to cause infection.
If there is water in the external auditory canal during swimming, you can use a cotton swab to gently suck the water out of the ear canal, or you can put the water in the ear downwards and press the auricle with the palm of the same side to use negative pressure to suck the water out.
After accidentally choking on water, do not pinch your nose with both hands to blow your nose, and use physiological sea salt water to rinse your nasal cavity.
It is important to note that people suffering from acute onset of rhinitis, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, as well as otitis media, tympanic membrane perforation, or trauma should avoid swimming and be treated promptly to avoid aggravating the condition.
If you experience symptoms of discomfort after swimming, you must see a doctor in time.
Chen Zhiling said that acute otitis media generally does not require surgery, and good results can be achieved through drug treatment. However, if the treatment is not thorough, it will turn into chronic otitis media, and it will often recur, resulting in lesions of the middle ear and inner ear, and surgery will be required.