What Is the Right Way to Give Ear Drops to a Child?

Children, especially babies and toddlers who are too young to be able to give themselves ear drops, can present a problem for their parents. Children with sore ears are generally fussy, compounded by the fact their ears may be sensitive and the drops themselves may feel uncomfortable or even painful. However, ear drops can be administered with a little patience and will get easier with practice.

Preparation

• Make sure your hands are clean as you don't want to exacerbate whatever ear problem your child is already having. Always clean the nozzle of the ear drop bottle before replacing the cap when finished.

Administration

• Position the child so that you have easy access to his ear. Depending on the child's age, you may require help holding your child in a safe position. In general, you want the ear to be treated facing up. This can be accomplished with the child on his side or with his head tilted up and back. For a baby, you may wish to wrap his arms and legs in a blanket to still any mobility.

  Remove the cap from the bottle of ear drops. Now gentle pull on your child's earlobe. Pull backward to open up the ear canal. Drop in the prescribed number of drops. Keep your child calm and relaxed and have him hold this position for a moment while the medicine spreads evenly through the ear canal. This may be an uncomfortable position for your child, so speak soothingly and explain what is going on. Older children should be able to comprehend and act accordingly.

Considerations

• For babies or children with really small ears, you may need to pull on the top of the ear instead of the ear lobe. Another way to help the medicine spread inside the ear is to gently massage the bump at the front of the ear canal after administering the drops.