chicken Place your hand on the back of her head and have her push up slightly against your hand. If the dizziness is not relieved, have the child lie down to rest, with the feet raised higher than the head. If rest does not relieve the dizziness, the cause must be determined by a doctor for proper treatment. PRECAUTIONS • Try to be sure that the child is describing a sense of rotation before reporting the condition to your doctor. • See your doctor if dizziness occurs often or if dizziness lasts longer than one or two hours. MEDICAL TREATMENT The doctor will perform careful physical and neurologic (nervous system) examinations. Xray studies of the skull and blood tests may be required. An ear, nose, and throat specialist may be asked to test the functioning of the inner ear, as well as the child's hearing. Your doctor may also consult a neurologist (a specialist in diseases of the nervous system). A computed tomographic (CT) scan and an electroencephalogram (EEG) may be necessary. RELATED TOPICS: Concussion: Earaches: Encephalitis; Fainting: Meningitis: Vomiting gu ick Reference Draining ear SYMPTOM • Any discharge from the ear (other than normal earwax) HOME CARE • Do not treat at home. See your doctor promptly. • While waiting to see the doctor, give the child acetaminophen if there is pain. PRECAUTIONS • A doctor should examine a draining ear within 12 to 24 hours. • Do not pack cotton into a draining ear. • Do not use a cotton swab or any other object to remove material still in the ear canal. • Do not wash out a draining ear, since the eardrum may be broken. draining ear should be examined by a doctor within 12 to 24 hours. 211 210 Draining ear When any abnormal discharge or fluid comes out of the ear canal, the ear is said to be draining. The only material that normally comes from the ear canal is cerumen (earwax). Earwax is ordinarily brown, although it may be beige or yellowish if mixed with water when bathing, showering, or swimming. Normally, earwax has only a mild odor, contains no blood, and does not flow out in large amounts. Discharge of any other material from the ear canal signals a potentially serious condition. It may be a symptom of a middle ear infection, a boil in the ear canal, swimmer's ear (infection of the ear canal), rupture (break or tear) of the eardrum by injury or infection, a foreign object in the ear canal, cholesteatoma (a tumor of the middle ear), or a fracture of the base of the skull. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS Abnormal discharge from the ear may be thin and watery, bloody, odorous, cheesy, green, yellow, or white. HOME CARE Any drainage from the ear canal other than ordinary earwax should be considered abnormal. Do not try to treat a draining ear at home. It should be seen promptly by a physician. While the child is waiting to see the doctor, pain accompanying a draining ear may be temporarily treated with acetaminophen. PRECAUTIONS • A draining ear should be examined by a doctor within 12 to 24 hours. incubation