Hi there everyone,
Welcome Natalie!
And a late happy Birthday to Willow!!! Raven, glad to hear that the day was great!
Nic- We had party bags for Kyla's 1st. In the baby bags I put some lollies (for the mum), bubbles, cos every baby loves bubbles, and a little toy (they have great things at 'Socrates' like glowy flashy bath toys).
Kyla's doing good. She's pulling herself up alot more but is still going over heaps on her ankle. THe physio has arranged for a pead. orthopeadic person to come out to the group and fit her for orthotics which should help stablise her a bit. In the meantime we had to get some little boots fitted which really straighten her out when she stands but she really doesn't like them much!
I'm nearly at the end of my down-reg cycle for IVF now, one more week on syneral (which is giving me awful headaches!) and then hopefully will start the injections if all is well!
Hi Nic,
I saw in Tiff's last post that she said I could give you more on signs & symptoms of ear infections....LOL, I feel like an expert because I have continued to get them as an adult.
First of all, I've seen an ENT off & on for them & he told me that, no question, the reason I continue to have problems is b/c my parents let it go untreated, or tried low-key treatments, for far too long (years). My eardrums are both scarred, I don't hear well out of one ear, and I have a permanent hole in that eardrum from the grommet which was not put in until I was 15. So, it really is worth being aware of the problem & getting help if needed. Tiff & I had a long chat about this in the previous thread & you could look at that too.
She really gave you most of the big tips. Almost all of them start with a cold or some other kind of URI (cough/sore throat). If you get a strep infection in the ear, these characteristically have a VERY sudden onset and a lot of pain. The child seems OK and 20 minutes later is screaming in pain. These are the ones that you have to treat ASAP with an antibiotic because they lead straight to perforations. With a strep infection, also there is usually a notable fever.
Prems are at especial risk for ear infections because they can pick up gram-negative nasties in the hospital nursery, which are very hard to get rid of. It's generally agreed that the bacteria which cause ear infections in the first few months (for any baby) are not the same as the ones children tend to harbour as they grow older.
There are other bugs which cause infections in the ear & not all of them have the whammy punch of strep. The fever might be lower & the pain not as acute. When the kids are older, they can tell you more..."My heart is beating in my ear" (throbbing) or "it just hurts" or "it feels like my ear is full of water" (often happens with a low-grade, long term problem).
With a baby, it's more difficult to tell. Classic signs would be, very unsettled, screaming, pulling at the ear, disrupted sleep (lying down causes painful pressure in the ear). However, as Tiff said, every child is so different. I am very robust & don't "look sick", rarely have a fever, and that has been my pattern throughout life with ALL illnesses. Two of my boys are like that and with each of them I've taken them in to the GP & just said, "I think there's something wrong," and found a BAD ear infection. And that is given that I am VERY aware of ear infections & would be anxious to get them in if there were obvious signs; but for them all I could really see was unsettled behaviour & a couple of night wakings.
There's been a lot of press over the last 10 years about bacterial vs viral infections. Personally I think, & have done some reading to support this, what happens is that a secondary bacterial infection starts after an initial virus. I have a Handbook of Paediatrics (given to me by a nurse friend with strict instructions never to let a doctor know I had it). It says that when aspirates from middle ear infections are cultured, 94% show bacteria present. As for the other 6%, there could still have been bacteria, all it means is that they couldn't culture anything but a virus! Viruses seem to set up bacterial infections in the ear because they impair eustachian tube function, they alter normal bacterial patterns in the ear nose & throat, & they wear down your normal defences anyway.
The ENT also told me that in order to diagnose properly, you have to be able to view the eardrum. Sounds basic but if it's covered by wax you can't visualise it. This is not something that you the parent can tell. This wax is deep inside & has to be removed by the doctor. Also, the definitive diagnosis is made by using a pneumatic otoscope (blowing air to see how/if the eardrum moves). You are not going to see those 2 things done at a GP's office. The point is, "overdiagnosis" of otitis media is from doctors just looking in the ear & saying "yes it's red, let's start meds". Redness alone is not enough.
LOL, one of the most embarrassing things for me when I saw the ENT as an adolescent, was the wax removal. He would look in my ear & then take me into another room. He would put a wire thing, probably some kind of curette, down my ear, & take out the wax. Inevitably there was an enormous amount of sticky red wax; as a teenage girl this was mortifying. But I could immediately hear better with it gone! Then he would use the pneumatic otoscope, which I also hated, but that is the only way to tell if fluid is behind the eardrum (unless it's bulging & about to burst!).
For those who tend to have ear infections, I think it's important to:
1. get on a cold ASAP. Wipe often, blow gently if possible, try not to let the nose get stuffed up. When it does the eustachian tubes get blocked.
2. Keep the ears warm when the child has a cold/ear infection. The reason is that many of us have eustachian tubes that are shorter than they really should be, and very sensitive to fluid. A cool change in outdoor temperature, for me, makes my nose run a little. The extra fluid produced seems to easily go up my tubes to my ears & wreak havoc there. I know it sounds silly & grandmother-ish, but a hat really does make a difference in cool weather or when you have a cold.
3. Warm air indoors. DRESSING warmly is not as important as having the AIR warm. This is a biggie. You can feel warm & be well dressed, but if you're breathing cool air all the time, then you have the problem above, with fluid production. Several years ago whilst on holiday in NZ, I read a thingie in the paper there saying that the WHO recommends an average indoor air temp of 18 for optimal good health. All I could think was woo hoo! someone is on my side! It doesn't mean that you need it so warm inside that you could wear shorts in the house all winter. But if your child has a cold, it will help to leave a radiator on in their room, turned low, all night.
4. Active treatment of coughs & sore throats. Instead of waiting to see how it goes...use a good cough syrup, especially at night. For sore throats, lots of liquids to drink and hard lollies to suck on. The ENT told me that "medicated" cough drops are fairly worthless, any hard lolly will do--barley sugar etc. Of course, not an option for babies.
5. Frequent hand washing. I also got some alcohol gel & have it in a little bottle in my handbag, for times when I can't get to running water.
I have LOTS more information if you could possibly want to know any more after all this! just let me know.
if you could possibly want to know any more after all this! just let me know.
Bookmarks