For all the unspeakable pain caused by earaches, they are rarely life threatening. Still, they can be serious, especially if they are caused by infection. Signs of an ear infection include ear pain and hearing loss. In a young child, clues that an ear infection may be present include rubbing or tugging at the ear, excessive crying or fussiness, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Since an untreated ear infection can lead to permanent hearing loss, and since ear pain can sometimes reflect a problem in another part of the body it is important to have an earache checked out by a doctor.

Other than infection, the most common cause of earache is a blocked eustachian tube. The eustachian tube is a thin, membrane-lined tube that connects the inside back portion of the nose with the middle ear. The air in the middle ear is constantly being absorbed by its membranous lining, but the air is never depleted as long as the eustachian tube remains open and able to resupply air during the process of swallowing. In this manner, the air pressure on both sides of the eardrum stays about equal. However, when the eustachian tube is blocked for one reason or another, the pressure in the middle ear can’t be equalized. The air that is already there is absorbed and, without an incoming supply, a vacuum occurs in the middle ear, sucking the eardrum inward and stretching it painfully taut.

This type of earache is especially common in people who travel by air, especially when they have a cold or a stuffy nose. As the plane takes off, the air pressure in the plane’s cabin decreases, and as the plane lands, the air pressure in the cabin increases; in each instance, the pressure change occurs very rapidly. While normally the air in the middle ear manages to equalize on its own, if there is congestion in the upper-respiratory tract, air may not be able to flow through the eustachian tube to reach the middle ear. (This type of earache can also occur as a result of pressure changes during an elevator ride in a tall building and during scuba diving.) Fortunately, there are some tricks you can try to ward off ear pain that results from the ups and downs of air travel.

Swallow hard. “The act of swallowing activates the muscle that opens the eustachian tube,” says James Stankiewicz, M.D., professor and vice-chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology?Head and Neck Surgery at Loyola University Medical School in Maywood, Illinois. When the pilot announces that it’s time to fasten your seat belts for landing. get your mouth set to swallow. Swallowing can also bring temporary relief from earache pain until you can get to the doctor.

Keep your mouth moving. You swallow more often when you chew gum or suck on hard candy, so pop some into?your mouth just before?the plane descends.

Don’t stifle a yawn. Its not the company, its the atmospheric conditions. “Yawning is the best way to keepthe eustachian tube open.” says John W. House. M.D.?associate clinical professor in the Department of Otolaryngology. Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.

Stay awake. If you’re sleeping. you’re not going to be swallowing. “Ask the flight attendant to wake you before descent suggests Jack J. Wazen, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology and director of otology and neurotology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. “It’s much more pleasant than being awakened by a pain in your ear.

Hold your nose. If your ears still become uncomfortably blocked as the plane descends, the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery suggests that you try this: With your thumb and forefinger. pinch your nostrils tightly closed and block the external opening of the unaffected ear with the forefinger of your other hand. Now, with your mouth closed. try to blow through the pinched nostrils, blowing as forcefully as you would blow your nose. Repeat if necessary. You should experience a cracking sensation or a loud pop and a relief of the pain if the maneuver works. Don’t try this trick if you have a sore throat or fever, however, because the infection might be forced into your ears. And don’t attempt it if you have a heart or circulatory disorder.

Reach for relief. Frequent flyers should tuck away a decongestant pill or nasal spray to use an hour or?so before landing. This shrinks the membranes, making it easier to keep the eustachian tube open. “If you suffer from allergies or sinusitis, you must be sure to take your medication at the beginning of the flight,” says Stankiewicz. Over-the-counter medications like this are not for everyone, however. People with heart disease, high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, or thyroid disease should avoid them. Pregnant women and individuals who are subject to anxiety should stay away from them, as well.

Take the train. If, despite all your best efforts, you still end up with an uncomfortable stuffed feeling and pain following air travel, you might consider taking the scenic route.

Lactose intolerance. “If you get diarrhea every?time you drink a glass of milk, you may suffer from this condition that involves an inability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk and dairy products. It’s the most common reason for chronic diarrhea,” says Rosemarie L. Fisher, M. D. Avoid milk, but take a calcium supplement, she suggests.

Celiac disease. In this case, you can’t digest gluten, which is part of wheat.

Irritable bowel syndrome. Emotions play a big role in this one, which can include alternating?constipation and diarrhea. “The classic picture is the young adult with diarrhea on the morning of a big exam,” says Fisher.

Parasitic infections. As mentioned previously, these may hang on indefinitely.

Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. These two conditions are similar, and no one knows their cause. But the end result of these is inflammation of the bowel and diarrhea, often accompanied by pain.

Systemic illnesses. Chronic diarrhea may be a complication of diseases such as diabetes, scleroderma, and hyperthyroidism.

Cancer. It’s not a pleasant thought, but one of the warning signs of tumors in the bowel is diarrhea, especially if blood is present.

The first step to take is to relax in the knowledge that your feelings are perfectly normal. Parents are often conditioned to believe that if their child is crying, something is wrong?something that they should be able to fix. Fortunately, you can take solace in the fact that your child is probably otherwise healthy. Colic does not indicate the presence of a serious medical problem. And a certain amount of crying is normal and healthy. says William B. Carey, M.D., a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and director of Behavioral Pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital, both in Philadelphia. Still, to set your mind at ease, it may be helpful to take your child
to the pediatrician to ensure that his or her crying is not a sign of a medical problem, says Carey. It can also be reassuring to keep in mind that most cases of colic go away by the time the child has reached three months of age.

The bad news is that doctors still don’t know what causes colic, what the disorder really is. or how to cure it. They don’t even know if colicky babies really are in pain. However, there are some tried-and-true ways of helping to soothe your baby, even if you can’t curb his or her crying completely.

“Bronchitis often occurs in patients who don’t tolerate respiratory infections, such as smokers,” says Evan T. Bell, M.D. ‘Asa result, smokers tend to make up the largest group of individuals who suffer from chronic bronchitis,” he continues.

“Even though a bronchial infection is not in the lung tissue itself, it’s getting quite close, which is always a worry,” says Bell. Because the bronchial passages of smokers are already irritated, the added inflammation resulting from a bronchial infection also makes medical attention more of a necessity for these individuals, according to W. Paul Glezen, M.D.

Marcia Kielhofner, M.D., stresses that smokers who develop bronchitis should certainly take it upon themselves to refrain from smoking throughout the course of the illness. Of course, the healthiest move would be to kick the habit for good.

You can also get a black eye from distant injuries such as a skull fracture. “In this instance, the fracture initiates back behind the eyes but the blood migrates up into the tissue around the eyes,” explains Bosland.

And we’ve all felt the pressure around our eyes when we’ve been continually sneezing, coughing, or vomiting. This pressure can cause black eyes as well. “I once saw a girl come in with two black eyes, and the only history we had on her was that she had a very bad case of the flu and was vomiting extensively,” says Bosland. “That broke some blood vessels back behind the eyes and the blood migrated out to the surface of the skin,” he explains.

A variety of other serious illnesses can also cause the eyes to appear blackened. So as with a black eye caused by trauma, you should take your shiner to the doctor just to be on the safe side.

One fact that may make you less nervous is that snakes only envenomate, or inject their venom, between 25 percent and 75 percent of the time. The rest of the time they leave nothing more than fang holes and a frightened victim.

If you are far from medical attention, take the following steps while help is being sought or while you are on the way to the hospital:

• Have someone catch the snake and kill it?if the capture can be accomplished without excessive danger. Put the corpse in a bag, and take it to the hospital with you. This way, hospital staff can accurately identify the snake and will be sure to administer the correct anti-venom.
• Stay quiet, still, and warm. Do your best not to panic. Getting upset stimulates the heart to pump more blood, which means that more venom will be circulated throughout your system. Taking a couple long, slow, deep breaths may help.
• If you have been bitten on a limb, remove any rings, bracelets, shoes, or socks, since the extremity may swell. If possible, immobilize the limb and let it rest at a level below the heart.
• You may tie a scarf tie, belt, or piece of fabric above the level of the fang mark, but do not make it tight enough to cut off circulation. A good guideline is to make sure that you can slide at least one finger underneath the band
• If you have a venom-extractor kit with you, apply the suction device for 30 to 40 minutes, or until you get to the hospital.
• Do not apply ice, cut the snakebite with a knife, or attempt to suck venom from the wound. These are outdated methods of treatment that may actually cause more harm than good.
• Ask for help. If you have been envenomated, you may begin to feel dizzy or ill. Do not attempt to drive yourself to the hospital.

Ice an itch. Itchy mosquito bites may benefit from an ice-cold compress. Ice decreases the inflammation and stops the pain and itching. Doctors recommend icing the bite for 20 minutes at a time every few hours. The same goes for nonpoisonous spider bites, which can also leave an itchy welt.

Try an old fail-safe. When you had a mosquito bite as a child, your mother probably used calamine lotion a thin, chalky, pink liquid?to stop the itch. Sold over the counter (and quite economical, too, compared with alternatives such as hydrocortisone), it is just as effective today.

Give an antihistamine a try. Over-the-counter antihistamines can also help an itchy bite, since the itch is really a mild allergic reaction. Of course, antihistamines should not be used by sensitive individuals, pregnant women, people with allergies to ingredients in the products, or those who are taking conflicting medications. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are in doubt.

Recognize the signs of a severe reaction. The bite from a venomous spider can cause a severe allergic reaction. It is important, therefore, to recognize the signs of an allergic reaction before it is too late. Symptoms of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction, include difficulty breathing, hives all over the body, and loss of consciousness. Anyone experiencing these warning signals should be rushed to the nearest emergency room, he says. Hospital physicians usually treat anaphylaxis with steroids, adrenaline, and antihistamines.

Don’t panic if you’ve been bitten by a tick. Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that can cause chills, fever, headache, and other complications, has received lots of play in the media of late. But not all ticks carry the disease, and not every Lyme-carrying tick will transmit it to you if you happen to be bitten. Generally, a tick must remain on the skin for 24 to 48 hours in order to transmit the organism that causes Lyme disease. The best thing to do, if you’re in a place where there might be ticks, is to check yourself on a daily basis. If you remove a tick from your skin (using the directions that follow), Bernstein recommends saving it in a small jar of alcohol, so that if a suspicious infection develops, the tick can be analyzed for Lyme disease. There is no need to see a doctor unless you notice any signs of swelling or redness around the bite (a sign of infection), a bull’s-eye-shaped rash (often a symptom of Lyme disease), a fever, or a skin rash.

Remove ticks with care. To remove a tick from your skin, grasp the insect’s mouth parts with tweezers as close as possible to your skin and slowly pull straight upward. Do not attempt to pull the tick’s body or head, as it may break off, leaving the mouthparts underneath your skin, Bernstein says. Use the tweezers to remove any remaining parts of the tick. Next, apply a local antiseptic, such as alcohol or an antibiotic ointment, to the bite.

Stop the bleeding. If an animal bite has caused severe bleeding, apply pressure to the area with the palm of your hand. If the wound is large, tie a scarf, towel, or T-shirt tightly around the site to create pressure over a larger area (not tightly enough to cut off circulation). Immobilize the area. If the bite is on a limb, elevate the limb above the level of the heart. See a physician pronto.

Don’t treat a puncture like a scratch. A bite that leaves a scratch but doesn’t really break the skin may simply be washed with soap and water, then covered with an antibacterial cream or ointment. Not so for a bite that breaks or punctures the skin. The latter needs the expertise of a doctor. You need to establish whether the animal is rabid or not. Observe the animal carefully. With wild animals, if the animal is particularly placid, for example, if you can walk up to a squirrel and feed it?there’s something wrong with that animal. It’s sick.” Call a doctor or veterinarian to find out if there have been any reported outbreaks of rabies in wild or domestic animals in your area.

Get a tetanus booster. If you’ve been bitten by a wild or domestic animal and the bite has broken the skin, it’s probably wise to contact your doctor to see if you need a tetanus booster shot (whether or not you need one depends, in part, on the type of wound and the timing of your last tetanus shot). “Animal bites and human bites are easily infected. All animals have a very large number of bacteria that live in their mouths. He also advises watching for signs of infection, such as redness and swelling.

Report an animal to the authorities. If you’ve been bitten by an animal in your community, call your local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) or animal catcher (check your local phone directory for the number) to report the incident. If the animal was wild or a stray, the proper agency may want to track it down and capture it for observation, especially if rabies is suspected. If the animal belongs to a neighbor, report it to the pet’s owner, and, if you choose, to the authorities (many communities have laws concerning pet bites).

Don’t get bitten in the first place. Perhaps the most sensible way to treat a bite is in advance before you get bitten. Stay away from wild animals, even if they let you approach, and don’t pester snakes, spiders, bees, or anything else that looks threatening. Most animals and insects will not attack you unless you are bothering them. Even animals that do not look threatening, such as ground squirrels, may be trouble, since they may carry fleas that can transmit diseases. Insect and tick repellents may also help you avoid bites when spending long periods of time outdoors.

Know your local fauna. It’s best to keep abreast of the insects and animals in your area, so that you know what to watch out for. For example, you may live in an area where there has been an outbreak of rabies among domestic animals or a large number of Lyme-carrying ticks. Likewise, you should know if rattlesnakes, poisonous spiders, or scorpions are likely to take up residence around your neighborhood. If you live in an area, such as the Southwest, that is home to poisonous snakes and scorpions, learn how to recognize them by sight and avoid them like the plague.

Many bites can be treated at home, although others, like a human bite, require an immediate visit to the doctor or emergency room. The trick is distinguishing the dangerous from the benign.