Ear Infections Made Easy: Answers to Common Questions

Answers to Common Questions: A Guide for Parents

by Charlotte Cowan, M.D.

To help the millions of parents whose children suffer with ear infections every year, Dr. Cowan (a board certified pediatrician and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics) has prepared a very useful pamphlet to address the most frequently asked questions.

Ear Infections Made Easy: Answers to Common Questions - A Guide for Parents is available in copies of Dr. Cowan’s children’s book, The Little Elephant with the Big Earache. The Guide for Parents is an 8-page laminated pamphlet included with the book that offers clear suggestions about what to do and when to call for help with a sick child.

Among the questions covered, the most basic one is: How do I know if my child has an ear infection? Dr. Cowan writes:

An ear infection is likely if your child

has had a cold or cough for a few days;
has awakened in the middle of the night crying and hot;
is unusually whiny and upset;
is holding his head or rubbing his ear.

A TIP she offers is: A child who awakens with ear pain may feel alone, confused, and frightened. He may appear sicker than he really is.

Other questions given complete answers are:

What is an ear infection? When should I call the doctor?
How can I help my child feel better? How will the doctor treat my child’s ear infection?
When may my child return to daycare or school?

Another TIP offered in Ear Infections Made Easy is that it is important to check a child’s temperature before giving him pain medicine. This is because the height of the fever provides helpful diagnostic information for the doctor, and pain medicine brings down fever as it relieves pain. Advil, Motrin or Tylenol usually make children with earaches feel so much better that they can fall back to sleep. Children do best sitting up: they may reawaken in pain if put down in a lying position again.

Dr. Cowan makes clear that the purpose of her pamphlet is to educate parents or other caregivers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, the content of the pamphlet (and the book) should not be construed as definitive medical advice and is not a substitute for the professional judgement of a child’s health care provider in diagnosing and treating illness.

But, the next time parents suspect that an ear infection is making their child miserable, they can check their copy of Ear Infections Made Easy: Answers to Common Questions - A Guide for Parents to remind themselves what to look for and what to do.

###

Originally released in 2004 only to the medical community, The Little Elephant with the Big Earache with the accompanying Guide for Parents, has been so well received there that The Hippocratic Press is excited about now offering it to the general public. The Little Elephant with the Big Earache is the first in a series of five stories about common infectious illnesses.

Watch for the next Dr. Hippo Stories early in 2008: Katie Caught a Cold, Peeper Has a Fever, Sadie’s Sore Throat, and The Moose with Loose Poops, each with the accompanying Guide for Parents.

###

The Little Elephant with the Big Earache

by Charlotte Cowan, M.D.

illustrated by Elaine Garvin

Color illustrations throughout

32 pages • 9.25" x 8.5" • For children ages 2 - 7

ISBN-13: 978-09753516-0-4

$17.95 dust-jacketed hardcover

Publication date: Oct. 1, 2007 (Child Health Day)

Published by The Hippocratic Press, Concord, MA.

The book is available at bookstores nationwide with distribution being handled by National Book Network (NBN). It is also available online, by calling 1-800-462-6420 or at www.drhippo.com.