Interactive Tools Fun tools to learn and play with. It can be difficult to tell, but if your child has a cold and then gets a fever about three to five days later, it may be caused by an ear infection.
Ear infections are very common in pre-school children, especially in the winter months.
The problem starts in the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and throat and transports bacteria from there to the middle ear whenever you yawn or swallow. But if the tube is swollen due to a cold , allergy , or sinus infection, the fluid becomes trapped in the middle ear. Fever appears as your child's body attempts to fight the infection. Another reason children are susceptible to ear infections is that their Eustachian tubes are short and horizontal. It will also become more vertical, reducing the likelihood of infection.