Preparing Yourself For A Long Hospital Stay

Welcome to my site about tactics you can use to cope with hospitalization. I am Edward Collins. I created this site after a long hospitalization left me feeling uncomfortable and dying to go home. I was ill-prepared for the lengthy stay at that facility. Despite my nurses and doctors’ best efforts, I felt lonely, bored and somewhat isolated during my stay. On this site, I will help you prepare for hospitalization well before you need your next medical procedure. Please come by my site daily to learn the information you need to know. Thank you for visiting my website about preparing for hospitalization.

What You Need To Know About Chronic Ear Infections

Health & Medical Blog

Chronic ear infections refer to ear infections that don't heal properly, or the recurring ear infections that affect the middle portion of the ear, the space behind the eardrum. If you are prone to getting ear infections, your ear, nose, and throat doctor may recommend getting tubes installed in your ears. The tube is designed to drain the fluid that builds up behind the eardrum so that you don't continually have ear infections. The procedure is simple, and there are several benefits to having tubes put in your ears.

Better Drainage With Tubes 

When the tubes are placed in your ears, the fluid that builds up behind your ear drums is drained out of your ears. This relieves the pressure causing the pain in your ears. Also, you're less likely to get an ear infection. However, even though the small tubes are supposed to drain the fluid from behind your eardrum down into your ear canal, the fluid sometimes drains out of your ear instead. This is perfectly normal, and unless the discharge coming from your ear has a foul odor, you don't need to contact your doctor.

Signs Of Chronic Ear Infections

Chronic ear infections can actually cause more mild symptoms than acute ear infections. If you're experiencing chronic ear infections, it could affect one or both ears. Symptoms include:

  • Fluid draining from your ears
  • Mild ear pain
  • A feeling of pressure in your ears
  • Low fever
  • Hearing loss
  • Trouble sleeping

Signs To Contact Your Doctor

If you have an acute ear infection, you should contact your doctor immediately because acute ear infections that are left untreated can get worse, eventually turning into chronic ear infections. If you've been diagnosed with an acute ear infection, and you experience new symptoms, you need to contact your doctor so that he can begin treatment as soon as possible.

Treatment Before Tube Surgery

Before your ear, nose, and throat doctor decides to put tubes in your ears, you'll be prescribed a round of antibiotics. If the antibiotics don't work, or your ear infection continues to come back after several rounds of antibiotics, your doctor may suggest that tubes be placed in your ears to help drain the fluid.

Having tubes put in your ears is considered a normal procedure, and in most cases patients having the procedure completed are placed under a twilight sedation, meaning that they are completely asleep during the process.

Recovery After Tube Surgery

After the tubes are placed in your ears, you'll need to be careful not to get excess water in your ears. It's likely that you doctor will suggest that you use earplugs while you shower, bathe, or swim so that water doesn't get into your ears.

Having tubes placed in your ears is considered routine surgery. In most cases, it's completed on an outpatient basis, and you can return to your normal lifestyle within a few days. If you have any questions about your condition or your procedure, you should talk to your ear, nose, and throat doctor as soon as possible. For more information, you can contact professionals like Scott Callahan MD.

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12 May 2015