Ear Infections in Todder

helen1506

First time posting in parenting. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with continuous ear infections with their children. My little girl is 20 months and since she started teething at 8 months she has at least 1-2 ear infections a month. I have a path beaten to the doctors surgery not to mention the amount of antibiotics she has been prescribed (which can't be good for her). The poor mite suffers mainly at nite with them wakes screaming, bangs head off side of cot and pokes ears throughout the day. We got a small reprieve from them during the summer and then at the end of September it all started again when back teeth started to appear.

She was on a waiting list for an ENT specialist and has finally got an appointment for end of December. Our own GP thinks she may need to get grommets. If anyone has any experience with grommets, ear infections or any advice i would really appreciate it.

Mr Magnolia

Jeez, that's a lot of ear infections, poor mite. Hopefully she gets sorted out with the ENT specialist. Maybe that particular anti-biotic's no good to her.

My little girl had a mild infection a few months back, the anti-biotics sorted her out though. It's a painful thing so I hope she gets sorted quickly.

oh well

Sounds exactly like my youngest when she was 12 months old. Got the appointment for grommits but couldn't stand thought of her going through surgery at that age, anyway, they have a habit of falling out. Investigated and tried out homoeopathy and got great results. Never had an ear problem since. Definitely worth checking out homoeopathy or health shop for advice. Also, dairy products allergy can often show up as ear/throat/chest infections so perhaps worth looking into this too. Best of luck - I can still remember the horrors we had with her and that was 10 years ago.

In the interim, whenever you can, gently rub your finger along the channel at the back of the ear starting from the top of the ear and down towards neck. Its a soothing massage and can help to clear mucus (sp ??) from the ear.

gerrycollins

im getting sore ears remembering when i was a kid I suffered similar.

It was never the pain, it was the noise. it was 7 before I was referred to an ENT and from then on i had the gromets. I also had tonsil issues very early which didnt help either. yours could also be suffering the sore ear with the teething along with this making it a terrible ordeal altogether.

i still suffered until I was 18 my mother had no faith in homoeopathy(old school nurse) but from my experience anything is worth a shot. I was a walking chemist for years and I dred what my insides look like because of it.

The operation is not as bad as you think it over in an hour and you can be out that night but as a kid I remember the "confusion"(drugged state) i was in but after a day I was grand best sleep ever considering I wouldnt be sleeping for a few months before with the noise and the pain.

It caused by a build up of fluid behind the ear drum in the Euluctian(?) tubes that connect the nose to the ears(popping sensations). this liquid prevents the passage of the vibrations of the ear drum into the inner ear thus causing a numbing noise which does your head in. the gromets relieve the liquid/pressure and stay in for up to nine months and fall out themselves and by that time supposdly fixes itself. I has to get the operation done 4 times till i was 12 then i never looked back till i was 18 when i had to get one ear done and you never guess I have an appointment for the end of dec again because it back again. im a freak ha

helen1506

Thanks so much for your replies, its good to hear other peoples experiences. I never thought allergies could be a factor. Its so hard to see her in pain shes such a happy little girl never gives any trouble during the day even with ear infection apart from pulling at ears but when it comes to bed time and lying down she seems to be in pain.

tallaght01

Have a chat to the ENT guys about the grommets if that's what they're suggesting. It can be a real lifesaver in terms of recurrence and pain.

Also, importantly, ask your ENT doc about the antibiotics, and ask what you and the GP should do when the ear infection arises. Some of them require antibiotics (which is why it's important to keep taking them until you're told otherwise) but most are viral.

Most paediatricians won't prescribe antibiotics for ear infections, as they don't work particularly well. But in some cases they're needed, so it's important to ask the ENT guys are these likely to be viral (so only pain relief needed during infections) or do you need to keep getting antibiotics, until the op happens (if it's going to happen).

ENT docs hate antibiotics for ear infections, except when it's really essential, so they'll give you good advice.