There are secretory otitis media and purulent otitis media. However, acute suppurative otitis media is generally referred to as otitis media in clinical practice.
Acute suppurative otitis media is an acute purulent inflammation of the middle ear mucosa, with inflammation often confined to the tympanic cavity and relatively mild inflammation elsewhere. Acute suppurative otitis media, often secondary to a bacterial infection following an upper respiratory tract infection. Early symptoms of acute suppurative otitis media, in the case of young children, because they do not know how to complain, often appear in the course of a cold with high fever, poor spirit and appetite, especially at night when they are crying and restless and cannot be coaxed, or scratching their ears with their hands and shaking their heads, while slightly older children will cry and complain of severe ear pain. If the above symptoms occur, consider acute suppurative otitis media when the eardrum is about to be perforated. Acute suppurative otitis media is often accompanied by nasal blockage, mucous-purulent nasal discharge, yellow-purulent nasal discharge, and coughing. When the eardrum is perforated and there is pus flow from the external ear canal, the general condition of the body is immediately relieved and the ear pain subsides. When the ear canal has been continuously or repeatedly draining pus for more than 8 weeks, the inflammation has invaded the periosteum and bone of the middle ear mastoid, and chronic purulent middle ear mastoiditis has developed by this time.
When a child develops a severe earache with nasal congestion and runny nose during or after an upper respiratory tract infection, acute suppurative otitis media may be the first consideration, and the child should seek medical attention from an otolaryngologist as soon as possible.