Is otitis media contagious? Is there any basis for this?

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Otitis media is one of the most common diseases in pediatric otolaryngology, and its frequency is second only to colds. According to statistics, three-quarters of children experience at least one ear infection before the age of 3, and nearly half of them may be infected more than three times. .


Is otitis media contagious? Is there any basis for this?

Otitis media is generally not contagious and is not a contagious disease. Most otitis media is a bacterial infection and is generally not contagious. However, clinically, a small number of otitis media are viral infections, and viral infections are easily transmitted through the respiratory tract. In addition, there are drug-resistant bacterial infections or fungal infections that can be transmitted if not handled properly. For example, if a patient suffers from otitis media and uses an ear pick to clean the external auditory canal, and because of the drug-resistant bacterial infection or fungal infection, others use the ear pick again, It is easy to bring fungi into their ears, causing otitis externa or otitis media. Therefore, general otitis media is not contagious, but special types can also cause infection.


After suffering from otitis media, you should follow the doctor’s instructions and use some anti-inflammatory drugs for treatment, and keep your ears clean and dry. Pay special attention to your diet every day, drink more warm water, and try to eat less or no spicy and easily irritating foods, such as puffed foods and chili peppers.

Treatment methods for otitis media

1. Actively treat upper respiratory tract focal diseases
Such as chronic sinusitis and chronic tonsillitis.

2. Drug treatment
Simple type is mainly topical medication, and antibiotic aqueous solution or a mixture of antibiotics and steroid hormones can be used, such as 0, 25% chloramphenicol solution, chloramphenicol Cortisone solution, ofloxacin ear drops, etc. are used to treat otitis media and otitis externa.

3. Precautions for topical medication
(1) Before using medication, clean the pus in the external auditory canal and middle ear cavity. You can use 3% hydrogen peroxide or boric acid water to clean it, and then wipe it clean with a cotton swab or Use a suction device to suck out the pus before dripping medicine.
(2) Large amount of pusWhen using water, use boric acid alcohol when the amount is small.

4. If a large perforation of the tympanic membrane affects hearing, tympanic membrane repair or tympanoplasty may be performed.


The latest research report in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that otitis media is 73% related to genetic inheritance; that is to say, if a child in the family develops otitis media After the infection problem occurs, the probability that other children will also develop symptoms of otitis media infection is quite high.


Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine conducted a two-year study on 168 pairs of twins and 7 sets of triplets to understand the causes of otitis media. The results showed that twins with roughly identical genes had a 60% correlation in developing otitis media, while twins with genes that were not identical had a 30% correlation in developing otitis media.

Based on this finding, the researchers suggest that when family doctors discover that a sick child has otitis media, it is best to remind the parents to take better care of other children so that the parents are not busy taking care of the sick child. Children, temporarily neglecting other children will make the child's condition worse.

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