what causes an ear infection??

Question

I know being around cig.smoke and stuff like that but what causes the actual infection?

Answer 1

Well, As a little girl I used to get ear infections and they were caused by wax build up. I took all the medicines my doctor perscribed me and it took me one week to recover. That is what caused my ear inections. Here is some more info incase you are curious about this subject matter on what causes ear infections.

Ear Infections

Cause


Middle ear infections are caused by bacteria and viruses.

During a cold, sinus, or throat infection or an allergy attack, the eustachian tubes, which connect the middle ear to the throat, can become blocked. This stops fluid from draining from the middle ear. This fluid is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria or viruses to grow into an ear infection.

Bacterial infections. Bacteria cause about 65% to 75% of all ear infections.1 The most common types are Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus), Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis.
Viral infections. Viruses can also lead to ear infections. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most frequent type found, followed by influenza (flu) viruses.1

Answer 2

Ear infections:

Otitis media is an infection in the space behind the ear drum. Soap or water or bacteria that enters the ear from the outside can't get into this space to cause an infection. Bacteria enters the middle ear through the Eustachian tube, a narrow channel that connects the inside of the ear to the back of the throat, just above the soft palate. Clearly this tube does not exist simply to provide a secret passage for bacteria. What is its function?

(Does anybody know what 'Eustachian' means? Amaze friends at parties -- Bartolommeo Eustachio was the Italian anatomist who discovered this troublesome structure. The name doesn't tell us anything about what it does, only who discovered it. He died in 1574, never guessing that you and I would be discussing his tube on the World Wide Web! )

The tube is an intermittent drainage conduit to prevent the secretions that are normally made in the middle ear from building up and bursting the thin ear drum. Instead they drain down the tube and are swallowed. Tiny hair cells in the tube propel this mucus blanket like a conveyer belt to carry bacteria down the drain. The tube also functions to keep the air space in the middle ear at the same pressure as the air around us. In this way the eardrum can move freely, and our hearing is most effective.

When all is well, the tube is collapsed most of the time in order to protect the middle ear from the many organisms that live in the nose and mouth. Only when you swallow does a tiny muscle open it briefly to equalize the pressures and drain the ear secretions. If any bacteria make it into the ear, the drainage mechanism, helped by the little hair cells, should flush it out.

Ear infections are the result of Eustachio's tube not performing its job. When the tube is partially blocked, fluid accumulates in the middle ear. Bacteria already there are trapped and begin to multiply. Air in the middle ear space escapes through the thin lining into the bloodstream, producing a partial vacuum. This sucks more bacteria from the nose and mouth into the ear. If the tiny hair cells are damaged (as by a cold virus), the mucus blanket can't help move the bacteria out.

Answer 3

Middle ear infections are caused by bacteria and viruses.

During a cold, sinus, or throat infection or an allergy attack, the eustachian tubes, which connect the middle ear to the throat, can become blocked. This stops fluid from draining from the middle ear. This fluid is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria or viruses to grow into an ear infection.

Bacterial infections. Bacteria cause about 65% to 75% of all ear infections.1 The most common types are Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus), Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis.
Viral infections. Viruses can also lead to ear infections. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most frequent type found, followed by influenza (flu) viruses.dont know how being round cig smoke can!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

I have heard that too and I'm not completely sure. I do take no chances and I covered my daughter's ears every time we were out in the wind, but she has been out in the wind without ear coverings and did not get an ear infection. I'd venture to say that it could be false, but don't take a chance just to be safe. What does cause an ear infection is fluid building up in the ear canal, laying a baby flat on his/her back to drink their bottle, and even having a runny nose/sinus infection that backs up in the ear canals.

Answer 5

Problems arise when something causes the eustacian tubes (tubes between your ears and mouth) to get stopped up. These tubes are there to drain fluid from your middle ear (i.e. behind the eardrum). . Colds, reaction to smoke, reaction to pollen etc etc can cause the tissues to swell and block the tubes.

When the tubes are blocked, the fluids build up in your middle ear. Bacteria and viruses just love that fluid. Those bacteria and viruses are the actual cause (bacteria more so than viruses) of the infection. With the fluid not draining, the bacteria and/or viruses live and grow, have families and otherwise create havoc in your ear.

Answer 6

Did you know there is a tube from your sinus to you ears? So it is possible to catch an infection from your sinus, and this is what usually happens. External infections coming into the ear are very uncommon. When you sneeze, don't you feel your ears pop a little. So mostly infections are caught in this manner, that is from the canal leading from ear to nose.

Answer 7

Bacteria cause infection. ...any infection. Bacteria grow well in warm, moist, dark places ,places that have sustained an injury, places that have been irritated already by other substances. That's why babies and young children are prone to upper respiratory and ear infections..and why children exposed to cigarette smoke have a higher rate of these infections.

Answer 8

not having your allergies controlled because when i was little i had surgery because i would get ear infections so i had surgery so i would supposedly wouldn't have any more or something like that but then like five year later i had a ear infection and the Doctor said it was because i had allergies and i didn't have them controlled u might not have allergies but u never know so go and ask your doctor just in case

Answer 9

Bacteria. Make sure your ears are dry inside. Do not use cottom buds to clean ears. Low Immune system can trigger inflammations. If you have had piercings make sure that this did not cause the infection. If severe please see your medical provider.

Answer 10

picking at it - stop that!