Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2008 Jun;57(6):370-3.

Use anesthetic drops to relieve acute otitis media pain

Affiliations
Comment

Use anesthetic drops to relieve acute otitis media pain

Shailendra Prasad et al. J Fam Pract. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

A mother brings her 3-year-old son to your office first thing in the morning. The boy has fever and right ear pain. You see that the tympanic membrane is dull, red, and bulging. The mother has been up most of the night with her child. She implores you to "do something." She is exhausted and her son is crying and holding his right ear. You know that antibiotics will not provide immediate pain relief and oral analgesics will take a while to help. What can you offer that will help right away? Use 3 drops of topical 2% lidocaine drops or benzocaine to provide rapid pain relief for children with acute otitis media.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

    1. Bolt P, Barnett P, Babl FE, Sharwood LN. Topical lignocaine for pain relief in acute otitis media: results of a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial. Arch Dis Child. 2008;93:40–44.. - PubMed
    1. Teele DW, Klein JO, Rosner B. Epidemiology of otitis media during the first seven years of life in children in greater Boston: a prospective, cohort study. J Infect Dis. 1989;160:83–94.. - PubMed
    1. Arnold J. Otitis media and its complications. In: Nelson W, Behrman R, Kliegman R, Arvin A, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 15th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1996:1814-1824.
    1. Chan LS, Takata GS, Shekelle P, Morton SC, Mason W, Marcy SM. Evidence assessment of management of acute otitis media: II. Research gaps and priorities for future research. Pediatrics. 2001;108:248–254.. - PubMed
    1. Glasziou PP, Del Mar CB, Sanders SL, Hayem M. Antibiotics for acute otitis media in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;(1):CD000219.. - PubMed