Table of Contents
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Expert Reader: Stuart E. Beeber, MD, Chappaqua Pediatrics, Chappaqua, NY
Text copyright 2011 Elaine Landau
Published by Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish Corporation
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission
should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591. Tel: (914) 332 -8888,
fax: (914) 332-1888. Website: www.marshallcavendish.us
This publication represents the opinions and views of the author based on Elaine Landaus personal experience, knowledge, and r esearch.
The information in this book serves as a general guide only. The author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book and
disclaim liability rising directly and indirectly from the use and application of this book.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices:
Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196 Marshall Cavendish Internati onal
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All websites were available and accurate when this book was sent to press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Landau, Elaine.
Burns / by Elaine Landau.
p. cm. (Head-to-toe health)
Includes index.
Summary: Provides basic information about the different types of burns a person can get,
as well as how to prevent them.Provided by publisher.
1. Burns and scaldsJuvenile literature. 2. SkinWounds and
injuriesJuvenile literature. I. Title.
RD96.4.L33 2010
617.11dc22
2009031495
Editor: Joy Bean
Publisher: Michelle Bisson
Art Director: Anahid Hamparian
Series Designer: Alex Ferrari
Photo research by Candlepants Incorporated.
Cover Photo: Ralf Nau / Getty Images.
The photographs in this book are used by permission and through the courtesy of: Alamy Images : imagebroker, 4; Cultura, 6; John Miller, 9;
Chris Howes/Wild Places Photography, 10; WoodyStock, 11; Richard Levine, 18. Corbis : Thom Lang, 7; Joel W. Rogers, 16. Getty Images :
Dan Bigelow, 8; Peter Cade, 13; Simon Watson, 15; Tim Platt, 19; Kay Blaschke, 20; Jupiterimages, 23; ShalomOrmsby, 24; Steven Puetzer, 25.
Printed in Malaysia(T)
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e-book ISBN 978-1-60870-326-5
MY EAR HURTS!... 5
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?... 8
GETTING AN EARACHE... 13
GETTING HELP... 18
EARACHES ARENT WELCOME HERE... 21
GLOSSARY... 27
FIND OUT MORE... 28
INDEX... 30
C ONTENTS
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When you have an earache, even touching your ear can hurt.
OUCH! You woke up this morning, and your ear really hurt.
Its a throbbing pain. You cant even lie down on that side.
You tried to eat breakfast, but chewing made it feel even
worse. So did sipping through a straw. Youve got an
earache, and its just awful!
Lots of kids get earaches. Only colds are a more common
sickness among young people. Three out of four kids have
had an earache by the time they are three years old. So if you
get an earache, one thing is certain. You are not alone.
EARS ARE IMPORTANT
Bet you dont spend lots of time thinking about your ears.
Before you get an earache, you may not think about them at
all. Your ears are simply those floppy, cup-shaped things on
the sides of your head. Yet your ears let you hear, and hearing
connects you to the world in important ways.
M Y E AR H URTS !
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Your life would be very different if you couldnt hear.
Imagine not hearing your friends on the phone or the teacher
in class. You would not hear your favorite music or even the
sound of an alarm clock or doorbell. Of course, you wouldnt
hear your mom yelling at you eitherbut you might miss that
after a while.
SAFE AND SOUND
Your hearing also helps keep you safe. Without it, youd miss
the sound of a smoke alarm warning you of a fire.
Your hearing is important. Thats why you should know as
much as you can about your ears.
Dogs have better hearing than people. They can hear
sounds at both a lower pitch and a much higher pitch
than people.
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Look at your head in the mirror. Its hard to
miss your ears. Yet some animals have ears you cant see.
The harp seal does not have ears on the outside. It just has two small
ear openings on the sides of its head. Harp seals hear quite
well but are often called earless seals.
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Earaches can be very painful. No one wants one. So if you get
one, you might wonder, Why is this happening to me?
Earaches can happen in more than one way. Sometimes
an ear injury causes the pain. Ever see little kids stick things
into their ears? Thats a dangerous way to play. Sometimes
older kidsand even adultsstick things in their ears to clean
them. Thats another bad idea.
Poking around in your ear can lead to trouble. You can
damage your eardrum, and that can give you a very painful
earache. It can also result in hearing loss and other problems.
Yet most earaches are not caused by injuries. Earaches usually
result from ear infections . Infections start when germs find
their way into your body and multiply. In this case, germs in
H OW D ID T HIS
H
APPEN TO M E ?
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your ear are causing the problem. Lets take a closer look at
the ear to see how this happens.
YOUR EARINSIDE AND OUT
The part of the ear you see is your outer ear, or pinna . But
theres a lot more to your ear. From the outer ear an ear
canal leads to a slim membrane known as the eardrum. Your
eardrum separates your outer ear from your middle ear.
Your middle ear is very small. Its about the size of a
wrinkly raisin. Yet it still contains three tiny bones called the
