Another ear infection?

[mum1984]

Stanks had a ear infection not long ago (as im sure some of you will rmember the 4 days of screaming and hair pulling) where he was placed on antibiotics for 5 days. He came off those this time last week and on the Friday we went to the Dr who said his ears were still a little red and she wanted to see how it goes, but if he has a fever come back.

Well last night he felt a little warm but the thermometer said he was normal. He pulled on his ears a bit but this is also a tired sign. He hasnt been feeding as well as usual.

I gave him some neurofen last night and this morning he woke early. I went in and he was uncovered but boiling. I took his temp again and its 38. So not great. So off to the Dr again once they are open. My poor boy.

Nothing i do for him is right atm, he doesnt want boob or solids, up or down. Its frustrating for both of us and he seems so miserable.

Im also worried cause if it is an ear infection then this will be the fourth one in 10 months thats needed treatment. What damage is this doing to his hearing? Any? And why does it keep happening to him? I feel like im doing something wrong for it to keep happening. ?

[mum1984]

Well apparently im talking to myself but oh well...

Dr said he thinks its a viral infection and there is nothing but panadol to do for him and atm his ears are fine for once but that might be a different story come tomorrow.

Ive been trying to keep his fluids up he has had one bottle, only took 100 ml, and he just took one boob and thats it all day and a cookie. And its not for lack of trying.

He has had one full wet nappy and the other wasnt worth mentioning.

He had neurofen at 6am, his temp went down within half an hour and again at 2pm, its 4 now and its at 37.1. He wont settle and has been up since before 6am, and had only 2 hours sleep from 11 until 1pm.

Im on my own and im pulling my hair out, he doesnt want up, he doesnt want down, nothing i do is right

[thepixie]

babe hang in there.... poor little guy
is there anyone who can come over and just have a cup of tea with you to let you have a vent and some emotional support?

[~clover~]

Big hunny.
Jesse's had 3 or so ear infections. Its not fair
His hearing is fine & shouldn't suffer any long term effects yet. If they keep going he might need to be looked at closer. Have his hearing checked for glue ear.
Jazz had it, but I didn't notice anything with her hearing til she was 3. Her ears became blocked up with every slight cold, & she often had ear aches too.
When you are talking to him pay attention to weather or not he hears you as quick as normal. Could be an indication of glue ear.
Right now, I don't think 4 in that long would be a huge worry. I thin just keep up the panadol/nurofen to keep the pain away & take things easy yourself.
I know how it feels having him glued to you hip. Jesse is like that atm & every time he is sick. Try staying in bed with him with boob & water on hand.
Have you tried giving him water straight out of a cup? Normal cup? The fun of it might make him more interested in drinking it.
Thinking of you lots hunny.
It'll all be ok soon.
xx

[mum1984]

I went over to a girlfriends today and he just sooked and screamed at her too. I tried to get mum to come over when i needed her tonight for a breath but she is ignoring me for whatever reason atm.

Im gonna see if i can see my mchn tomorrow because it feels like its never ending. He gets over one thing only to get sick with another the the next week. And as its only me Im not handling it so well anymore.

I havent had him checked for glue ear, I notice that sometimes I have to repeat myself over and over but i think he is just ignoring me lol. And he is really really sensitive to high pitched or loud noises. Like he will cry as if he is startled but he isnt startled if that makes sense.

Thanks for replying to me Pixie & Skye Means a lot right now.

[~Sam~]

I really hope he is feeling better soon love! It's horrible when babies get sick and 10... no a million times worse when you have to deal with it by yourself!

[lilias]

Hi,

Ear infections SUCK! My DD was getting one after the other for a while. She was a bit older than your DS, but I don't know how long she'd been suffering with symptoms. The main reason I took her to the dr was because it was starting to affect her balance at about 12 mths. She was put onto antibiotics three times for them, within about 10wks, then a double dose of pretty strong stuff, but her ears just wouldn't clear properly. We went to the ENT (ear nose throat specialist) and he said she had glue ear and about 50% hearing loss. I was so upset. He siad if we couldn't fix them she'd have to have grommets in. He put her onto a completely dairy free diet for a few weeks, about 6wks I think. And it worked. We tried her on dairy again and it came back. So now no more diary. That was it, just no dairy. She was pretty addicted to yogurt and cheese....but we cut it all out and she was fine. Now she has occaisional cows milk, but no regular dairy foods. I'm not completely strict about it, but she doesn't get it daily, or even weekly. She has soy milk. And now she's happy and healthy again!
Maybe it could be something to look at doing for your DS? If possible. The ENT said the main culprits are usually cheese and yogurt and he suspects it's the cultures in them. I don't think there's actually anything proven by testing or anything, but he said he's been an ENT for 35yrs and it has worked many many times for children he's treated. And something so simple. HTH!

[~clover~]

Jesse does that too Trace
Ignores me!
I'd have a chat to you on MSN, but I can't get the stupid thing to work since I uploaded the new version.
You are a VERY strong woman hunny. The first few years are the hardest, but you can do it!
I feel the same way with Jesse. It seems like he's sick every second week too.
But I do have my mum here more supportive than ever before. I do have DH now as well, but when my girls were younger I was by myself. Neither of them helped me out in any way, I had crap from DH on top of everything else, so I know how you are feeling.
We love you
Always
xx

[Schmickers]

Yeah, it's pretty tough when little ones are sick, very hard work.

Sounds like he is having ear infections frequently enough to warrant a referral to a paediatric ear nose and throat specialist. They may suggest inserting "grommets", or ventilatio tubes, to assist the middle ear to drain. Some children have narrow tubes leading from the ear to the back of the throat and so are probe to infections.

I wouldn't worry about his hearing being affected yet - as long as you're getting on top of the infections and treating them promptly, they shouldn't have a long term affect on hearing, but the periods of impaired hearing from active infections might delay his speech a tiny bit.

[kelebek]

Just a babe, sorry I don't have more than this but just jumping on here before bed

[mum1984]

We just cant seem to catch a break atm.

Yesterday he had three not so wet nappies and another sloppy poop (sorry if tmi)

He went down at 630/7 after much crying from both of us. This morning he woke at 430, was boiling to touch, temp was back up to 38.5 degrees. His overnight nappy (on for ten hours) was hardly even wet - so not normal. Gave him more neurofen as the Dr told me to and called the surgery again, the screaming had begun.

We got in to see our new regular doctor. She said that his rash isnt viral at all but a reaction to the antibiotics for his previous ear infection and that it looks like he is allergic to that one too (He is already allergic to penicillin) and it can be up to three weeks to show the signs of the reaction. Oh fun!

She checked his ears and they are still fine and then she listened to his chest, repositioned, listened..."oh" Not something i want to hear, I asked what and she re listened again and again for easily five minutes. Apparently he has a crackle on his chest. So we went for a chest xray and now am waiting for 530 to speed on up so i know whats going on. She suspects pneumonia.

He is on zyrtec for the antibiotic allergy and another antibiotic for his chest which is every 6 hourly. We go back Tuesday to see if its clearing and in the meantime if his temp gets worse of his joints start causing pain or im just worried to hospital we go...

I dont understand why this has happened and feel bad because if i was coping i probably wouldnt have gone back so soon.

[~clover~]

Oh sweety.
More huge
Jazz is allergic to erythrimycin. One of the ABs.
Lots of steam, vicks & cuddles hunny. I always give Jesse a warm shower just before bed when he's like that. It seems to help him sleep after having the water run over his head. Plus the steam too.
Glad his ears are ok.
It's hard keeping them healthy in your climate when it gets so cold.
I really hope you both feel heaps better soon.

[Ashlee]

My son had recurrent ear infections, and was referred to a RNT at 11 months. He had his operation for tonsils, adenoids and gromets all at once - he had enlarged tonsils also. It did help for us, but he did still have more infection with the gromets. How they have fallen out, we haven't had any ear infections at all!!!!!!!
If you need to chat more in depth, don't hesitate to PM!

[~clover~]

Hun Jazz had an op for tonsils adenoids & grommits too.
So if they don't go away & he does need to see an ENT you can ask me anything too

[mum1984]

Awesome thanks guys.

Yesterday was the longest day ever for us! But well worth it as his chest xray came back clear So he is still on 6 hourly antibiotics, 12 hourly zyrtec and then panadol to boot. So he looks kinda stoned.

Once he is better from this current bout Im going to definately ask about his ears as it really does concern me.

[~clover~]

Good luck sweets