Health Tip: Easing Earache Pain

(HealthDay News) -- Earaches are common in young children, and can be quite painful.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers this advice when your child complains of an earache:

• Take your child to see the pediatrician to diagnose an earache, and a possible cause.
• If a bacterial infection is behind the earache, an antibiotic may be prescribed. Make sure you administer the drug to the child exactly as ordered by the doctor. An antibiotic won't work if a virus is causing the earache.
• The doctor may prescribe pain-relieving ear drops.
• Apply a warm heating pad to the ear. Don't let the pad get too hot.
• Give your child an over-the-counter pain reliever such as children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Don't give the child aspirin.