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How to Give Ear Drops to a Child

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Has your child's pediatrician has prescribed or recommended ear drops? Following these steps can help ease the process and ensure the drops work properly:

Getting ready

Read all the directions that came with the medicine, and make sure you have the correct bottle.
Wash both your hands and your child's hands.
Rub the medicine bottle between the palms of your hands or place in warm water to warm the drops.
Feel a drop to make sure the drops aren't too hot or too cold.
Ask your child to lie down or sit with the affected ear facing up.
Observe for any discharge (think yellow or green substance), pus (cloudy) or blood in the ear. If there is any, do not give the medicine to your child.
If there is drainage (clear liquid) remove it with a clean tissue or cotton topped applicator. Do NOT clean any more than the outer ear.

Giving the drops

Place the wrist of the hand you will be using to give the medicine on the cheek or head.
Place the dropper/nozzle above your child's ear canal.
For children under age 3:

For children over age 3:

Squeeze the dropper slowly and firmly to release the right amount of medicine on the side of the ear canal.
Try to put the drops in so they can run along the side of the ear canal. This can help let air escape as the medicine flows in.

After giving ear drops

Ask your child to remain lying down for a couple minutes to help the medicine reach the deepest part of the ear canal and be absorbed.
Gently rub the skin in front of the ear or move the ear to help the drops flow to the inside of the ear.
Place a cotton ball in your child's affected ear to help prevent the medicine from leaking out. Replace the cotton ball each time the medicine is given. Avoid putting q-tips into the ear.
Rinse the dropper tip in water after each use before capping or returning it to the bottle.
Replace the cap immediately after use.
Wash your hands and note the time the medication was given.
Be sure to use the drops as directed for the length of time prescribed.

More information

Swimmer's Ear in Children

Last Updated: 4/26/2022

Source: Adapted from Curriculum for Medication Administration in Early Education and Child Care Settings (Copyright © American Academy of Pediatrics 2018)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

How To Check Children for Ear Infections at Home

Written by Kathryn Whitbourne

If your child gets ear infections often, you may wonder if you could save time and money by checking them for one at home. You might be able to, but you shouldn’t if there’s any pus or blood coming from the ear, if the skin around the ear hole is swollen, or the bone behind the ear is red. If that’s the case, call your child’s doctor.

If you do decide to check for an ear infection at home, be sure to talk with the doctor first to make sure it’s OK and to get guidance on the best instrument to buy and how to use it.

What Is an Otoscope?

It’s an instrument doctors use to see inside the ear. You don't have to be a doctor to buy or use one, but it’s not as simple as just putting it into your child’s ear and looking around.

The otoscope comes with several pointed tips, called specula. Choose one that’s slightly smaller than the opening of your child's ear. If the ear hole is too small for the smallest tip, don’t try to check for an infection at home.

Clean the speculum, unless you’re using disposable ones, and fit it to the viewing end of the otoscope. Turn on the instrument's light.

If your child is older than 12 months, pull the outer ear gently up and back. (If they're younger than 12 months, pull the outer ear gently straight back.) This will straighten the ear canal and make it easier to see inside.

Hold the otoscope at the handle with your pinky finger outstretched. When the instrument is in the ear canal, your pinky should rest on your child's cheek. This will keep it from going too far inside their ear canal and possibly hurting them.

Next, slowly put the speculum into your child's ear while looking into the viewing end of the otoscope. The ear canal is sensitive, so don’t put pressure on the instrument or push it too far.

Move the otoscope and the ear very gently until you can see the eardrum. Angle the viewing piece slightly toward your child's nose, so it follows the normal angle of the ear canal.

Two important things to keep in mind:

The ear is very sensitive, so don't be rough. Children tend to wriggle or turn their heads to see what's going on, so be careful not to hurt the ear.
Tell your child what you’re doing each step of the way. Ask them to tell you if it hurts so you can take the otoscope out right away.
Because the ear canal isn’t straight, you’ll probably have to move the outer ear and the otoscope a few times to get it lined up and see inside. This will get easier with practice. You may want to try on a healthy adult first.

Signs of Infection

Here are some things to look for:

A red, bulging eardrum
Clear, yellow, or greenish fluid behind the eardrum. There may also be some blood.
Earwax buildup
A hole in the eardrum (perforated eardrum)

If you notice any of these, or aren’t sure, call your child’s doctor. Home otoscopes often don't have the picture quality of otoscopes used by professionals.

How to instill drops in the treatment of the ear? How to bury a child and an adult?

How to instill drops in ear treatment? How to bury a child and an adult?

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A few simple rules

Only those drops prescribed by a doctor can be used!
If the medicine is stored in the refrigerator, it must be warmed to room temperature before use.
For instillation of the drug, the patient must tilt his head to one side (for adults) or take a position lying on his side (for children).
Pull the ear back slightly to open the ear canal
The number of drops should be according to the doctor's recommendations (or instructions)
It will be better if the patient lies on his side for several minutes (3 - 10 minutes) with the diseased ear up
Blot with a cotton swab to remove any residual medication. There is no need to wear cotton wool in the ear for a long time
If required, repeat all steps for the other ear.

CAUTION!

DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR EARS UNLESS YOUR DOCTOR'S ADVICE!
A number of drugs can have a toxic effect on the auditory receptors, some drugs, such as alcohol drops, are contraindicated in perforated tympanic membranes.
Do you value your hearing?
refrain from self-treatment!

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How to instill drops - Lifehacker

November 23, 2017 Likbez Health

You have most likely been dripping into your nose, eyes and ears incorrectly all your life.

How to administer the drops: general rules

Before putting the medicine into the nose, eyes or ears, do the following:

Check that the medicine can still be used. Many people have a habit of throwing the remnants of medicines into the first-aid kit, so that later, if necessary, they can get it and apply it. If this is your case and you took out the drops from your home box, check if the medicine has expired and if it has deteriorated: even if the expiration date is still far away, due to improper storage, the medicines may become unusable. If the drops have changed color, become cloudy, a precipitate has fallen in them, it is better to buy a new product at a pharmacy.
Clear the nose, ears and eyes of secretions. Blow your nose, if possible, remove the child's mucus with an aspirator. Gently clean your ears with a cotton swab (not a stick!) Use a cotton pad to collect the discharge from the eyes from the outer corner to the inner. Use a separate cotton ball for each ear and eye.
Warm drops. This is especially important if you are going to drip medicine to a child: cold solutions of medicines are unpleasant to feel in the ear or nose. To heat the medicine, just hold the vial with the medicine in your hand for a while. Do not put anything in the microwave or on the battery.
Wash hands before handling medicine.

How to put drops in the nose

This is the simplest manipulation, but many do it wrong. No need to tilt your head back and pour in the medicine: this way the drops will fall into the throat and will not work in the nasal cavity.

To correctly instill into the nose, you need to lie down, or at least tilt your head to one side, on the back of the chair.

Drops should be instilled into the nostril that will be down so that the medicine is on the outer wall of the nose.

Inject the medication and press down on the wing of the nose to distribute the drops inside and into the sinuses. Then turn your head and repeat the same on the other side.

How to put drops in the eyes

It is difficult to put drops in the eyes, because usually people react nervously to any objects near the eye. The exception is those who wear contact lenses.

If you are instilling medicine into someone's eyes, tilt the patient's head slightly back, then pull back the lower eyelid (not too much to avoid discomfort), ask to look up, and send drops into the crease between the eye and the eyelid. For convenience, the pipette hand can be placed directly on the person's forehead.

Sometimes it is easier to do the procedure yourself, in front of a mirror. Then you should try not to tilt your head forward, but otherwise act in the same way: pull the lower eyelid and send the drops to their destination.