Bullous otitis media - causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention methods

Of the total number of otitis cases, the bullous form of viral origin is rare( in six percent of cases).Specific manifestation of the disease - formation on the walls of the ear canal bloody blisters - so-called. Bull. They complicate the course of otitis and, if untimely, can lead to other health problems.

Bulls

How the infection occurs

Moving around the circulatory system, aggressive viruses attack the hearing organs through the Eustachian tube that connects the middle ear and the nasopharynx. At a later stage, a bacterial infection often accompanies a viral infection.

Please note! In children under the age of 3 years, the disease progresses rapidly, because their auditory tube is much shorter and wider than in adults.

The risk factors provoking this pathology include:

• diseases of the immune system and the somatic nervous system;
• weak immunity;
• congenital anomalies of the development of nasal sinuses, upper pharynx, auricles;
• unbalanced power;
• bad habits;
• previously transferred otitis media;
• trauma to the eardrum;
• the presence of chronic diseases with frequent exacerbations;
• environmentally unfriendly living environment;
• susceptibility to colds.

Acute bullous otitis

Outbreaks of BD morbidity are often recorded during epidemics of influenza, which is why the disease received another name - influenza otitis media.

A high level of disease causing infection can cause otophoresis in the chronic form. In this case, the primary symptoms are added to the symptoms of a purulent process. Unqualified treatment of BW can trigger an even greater activation of pathogens and, as a consequence, their ability to withstand antibacterial drugs.

Symptoms of

It is quite difficult to recognize this type of otitis alone, because its signs almost do not differ from those that arise in catarrhal inflammation or usual acute otitis.

Symptoms of bullous otitis in children before the year

The list of the main symptoms is as follows:

• pain and itching in the ear;
• decreased hearing acuity caused by obstruction of the ear canal;
• skin irritation;
• the appearance of the blistered-filled bullae, the size of a wheat seed to a small pea;
• dizziness, headache;
• fever( at the initial stage of the disease);
• bleeding from the ears( effect of rupture of bulls);
• serous and purulent discharge( with a purulent form);
• facial paralysis.

Note! Symptoms of otitis virus origin in children are usually more pronounced. They have this disease is always accompanied by a decline in strength and general intoxication, which can not be said about adults. Regardless of the age of the patient at the first sign of BO, it is necessary to consult an otolaryngologist.

Video - Bull otitis

Diagnostic methods

The initial examination of a laryngologist includes the collection of anamnesis and examination using a microscope and / or an otoscope. This allows a qualified specialist to detect visual signs of BW: bullae, edema, tympanic deformation, characteristic discharge.

The type of infection that provoked the disease is determined by a general analysis of blood and a tank-sowing. This information helps to choose the right way of treatment.

In case of suspicion of the spread of the inflammatory process to the brain or skull, instrumental examination is prescribed. Magnetic resonance imaging, which allows to see the localization and accurately determine the causes of pathology, is much preferable to traditional radiography in the diagnosis of BW.Some limitations in the application of this procedure are due mainly to its high cost.

Ear examination with otitis

With hearing loss, threshold and speech audiometry is prescribed - special tests using headphones. The method of advanced diagnosis, which determines not only the severity of the hearing, but also the state of the tympanic membrane and the functionality of the middle ear, is called tympanometry. During this procedure, the patient is injected into the ear cavity of the probe and through it the sounds of different loudness and tonality are broadcast.

Treatment Methods

1. The first measure in patients with BV is antiviral therapy, which includes immunomodulators and vitamin complexes. One of the most effective means for activating the defenses of the body and fighting disease-causing viruses is traditionally considered Interferon ( pharmacological form - nasal drops, spray).
   

   Interferon in drops and sprays

2. At the initial stage of the disease, which is often accompanied by severe pain and hypertension, antipyretic and analgesic medications are prescribed - Analgin , Ibuprofen , Paracetamol in combination with ear drops( Otypax , Otnum and etc.).
3. One of the most effective first aid measures for severe pain in the ear is the alcohol compress .The cotton napkin is impregnated with a composition of one part of alcohol and two parts of water, formed as a ring with a hole and placed around the ear, tightly pressing to the behind-the-ear area.
   

   Scheme of superimposition of a warming compress on the ear

4. To remove itching and swelling apply antihistamines: Claritin , Diazolin , Suprastin , Fenistil .
5. 5. In most cases, with BW( according to statistics - in 90%), the viral infection is accompanied by bacterial infection. The first choice antibiotic for this disease is Amoxicillin ( orally) and other drugs based on it - Augmentin , Cefuroxime .All of them are effective in combating the most common pathogens of otitis - cocci and some varieties of rods. In severe BC, more potent antibacterial drugs of the group of cephalosporins ( intramuscularly) may be prescribed.

   Classification of cephalosporins

6. Antibacterial drops of complex action( Anauran, Sofraks, Candibiotics, Normax, Otofa , etc.) are also used for otitis treatment. In addition to suppressing the activity of bacteria, these medications have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-allergic, antifungal action.
7. If necessary, the doctor can perform an autopsy with a further processing of the ear canal with antiseptics( Miramistin, Chlorhexidine, Levomycetin, Oxolin Ointment, Levomekol ).
8. Cleansing of the ear canal from the secretions are made with gauze tampons, and for the sanitation of the ear cavity special flagella( turundas ) moistened in solution of furacilin or hydrogen peroxide are used. These procedures give a good result in the final stage of the disease. Burying the boric acid with a three-percent solution of helps to accelerate the healing process.
   

   How to make a turunda from a cotton disc

9. To restore the severity of hearing, it is required to restore the patency of the Eustachian tube, through which accumulated exudate leaves( fluid emerging from small blood vessels).For this purpose, the following are prescribed:

• catheterization and rinsing;
• blowing of the auditory tubes with the cylinder ( through the nostril);
• vasodilator nasal drops or spray - Nazivin, Nazole, Sanorin ( treat rhinitis, restore nasal breathing).

Drug line Nazivin

To heal the pain syndrome and activate the healing process, it can also be heated with salt, a blue lamp or a reflector.

Note! Alcohol compresses are not recommended for use at high temperatures. The categorical contraindication to warming up is the presence of a purulent process, relative - increased ear moisture, damage to the tympanic membrane.

Timely diagnosis and treatment allows you to get rid of BF even at the catarrhal stage, without transition to exudative. A decisive role in the success of therapy is played by the general state of immunity and the entire organism of the patient as a whole.

The self-medication of viral otitis is dangerous and categorically unacceptable. Including because some drops on the basis of oils, in contact with a damaged eardrum, can adversely affect the auditory nerve and provoke irreversible hearing impairment. Do not forget about the side effects of the drugs used. So, boric alcohol and levomitsetin can cause vomiting, diarrhea and even convulsions( especially in children).The whole process of treatment should be carried out in accordance with the doctor's appointments and under his close supervision.

Video - Otitis

Possible consequences and complications of

It is worth once to let the disease run its course, and after a while it can come back again. When it grows into a chronic form, BW causes a gradual decrease in hearing, until it is completely lost, and then surgery can not be avoided. But even such a radical measure does not always lead to a positive result.

Deafness is a consequence of otitis

Viral otitis, developed against scarlet fever and measles, with inadequate treatment or its absence can be accompanied by necrosis( death of tissues), destruction of auditory ossicles, labyrinth and other important structures. Such consequences cause deaf mute.

Other serious complications of this pathology may be paralysis of nerves and violation of face symmetry. Otitis of the inner ear often causes dizziness, migraine, movement coordination disorder, in some cases - meningitis and even brain abscess, otitis of the external ear increases the risk of mumps( parotid inflammation) and swelling of the face.

Speaking about BW, it is impossible not to remember bullous myringitis - a disease with similar symptoms, which is fraught with such complications as sensorimotor deafness. This pathology differs in the localization of bullae in the region of the tympanic membrane, which causes the strongest pain syndrome. In the course of diagnosis, the doctor should first and foremost eliminate the risk of developing this serious ailment.

Methods of prevention

The main means of preventing BW is the complex strengthening of immunity. Its prevention consists in a mobile way of life, a proper diet. In winter and spring it is important to take vitamins, avoid hypothermia, during seasonal epidemics, try to visit less crowded places, wear gauze bandages, and carry out the prevention of viral infections according to medical recommendations.