6 Month Old with an Ear Infection That Won't Go Away

I would call an ear, nose and throat doctor. My son went through 8 antibiotics from 3 1/2 weeks until 5 1/2 months. The day we put the tubes in was heaven. He was immediately pleasant and I can't say he was up to that point. The little guy was in so much pain. If they feel it is too early, they will tell you. Good luck.

I would ask for a referral to a pediatric ENT docotor. Antibiotics should have clearted it up by now. The ENT may offer some specialized insight into the cause and treatment.Good luck!

Luckily (knock on wood) my son has not had an ear infection yet. He is 19 months. However, my boyfriend get them quite a bit. I was wondering if the antibiotics she is getting are oral or if they are giving her antibiotic ear drops. They give my boyfriend the ear drops and it helps. Because then the antibiotic doesn't have to go through the digestive system, it is going right to where the infection is. Just a thought.

I'm a Chiropractor and I've actually treated children this young for ear infections by adjusting them with an instrument called an Activator. Adjusting their neck can open the eustation tube, allowing the fluid to drain and the infection to resolve. The eustation tubes are relatively flat when children are born and as they grow, the become more verticle, which is why adult generally don't have ear infections. Call Chiropractors in your area and ask them if they treat babies and if they use an Activator. You'll be able to hold your daughter while the doctor treats her. Treatment does not hurt, but she may cry because a stranger is touching her so close to her ear. I found I had do to 2-3 treatment the first week and taper off as the infection healed. For children prone to ear infection, I would adjust them once every 3 to 4 weeks and start to spread the treatments apart as much as I could without them getting another ear infection. Hope ths helps. You can email me for the names of chiropractors near your home. I would be happy to recommend someone near you if I know anyone.

My son went through this consistently, antibiotic after antibiotic. Finally, I decided to take him off of dairy products and he never had another ear infection.

I was frustrated that the doctors never suggested that I try it, but when I mentioned it to the doctor, he said, "Oh, yes, dairy allergy is the leading cause of ear infections!" I was SO MAD! How could my doc had prescribed numerous antibiotics and allowed my son to go through a round of which he was allergic, and NEVER mention that I should try to take him off of dairy!

Anyway, I'd try it. It won't hurt, and it may certainly help.

L.

I would go see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. They are more likely to see this as a serious issue that can be resolved, not just give antibiotic after antibiotic. At one point my daughter was given an antibiotic by the pediatrician that was so strong our ENT Dr. said she didn't even like to give it to adults. At this point we decided a more aggressive treatment was the best option.

I've had two kids who suffered from ear infections constantly starting around 2 months when they started daycare. With my son, he was on antibiotics every single time he had a cold - but he slowly started to outgrow it as his ears got a little bigger. Also - over the summer when he didn't have colds, he wasn't getting infections. And he didn't necessarily have lingering fluid in between infections either - and augmentin was as strong as he usually had to go for antibiotics.

For my daughter, she had her first ear infection when she was 3 months old in August and then was on antibiotics for 10 days, would be ok for a week, would get a cold, and then would get another infection. Her fluid also never drained. She ended up on augmentin and then the next stronger antibiotic, each of which gave her hoorendous diarrhea and diaper rash/yeast infections. It was miserable. Finally, in January, we gave in and had tubes put in. She has been perfect ever since. Lots of colds, no infections, no fluid. For her, tubes were the right decision because she still had a whole winter and spring cold season to get through and things were already so ugly.

Sounds like the issue is that her ear infections just aren't responding to an antibiotic - so maybe there are still a few to try? I know its miserable, but tubes are major surgery. Although my daughter responded well - it seems like if mia can just kick this one infection than she might be free and clear of colds for a while and her ears will have some time to get bigger. Though obviously, if she just doesn't respond to another round or two of antibiotics, then maybe tubes are the answer.

I don't know what to tell you other than tubes in her ears will not necessarily help matters -- I had tubes put in my ears when I was 6 (so much older, I know) and had awful recurrent ear infections, usually due to getting water in my ears from either bathing or swimming. Once the tubes came out (when I was 14) the infections stopped.

It is terrible for your little one to have to go through this over and over again, though -- I really hope they can find a solution! Good luck, hang in there.

HI Y.,

I'm so sorry you and your little one are going through this. I would follow the advice of the chiropractor who responded, as we have found chiropractic care beneficial in all areas of health. Any time my kids (almost 2 and almost 3) get sick in ANY way, we take them to the chiropractor and I am certain it makes for a faster healing time.

There are also many great alternative treatments for ear infections. Hylands (a homeopathic company) makes "Earache Tablets" that work quickly and without side effects. I just started learning about homeopathic medicines with the birth of my daughter, and they are a God-send. They have been around longer than "conventional" medicines (i.e. antibiotics and the like) and are made from nature. There are no side effects and can be taken by anyone at any time. If you want to learn more about them just google "homeopathic remedies."

http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/ear.htm

Click above for a helpful article about ear infections and their treatments. Directly above the "homeopathy" section of the article they recommend making a garlic & olive oil mixture to drop into your child's ear -- I gave this recommendation to my neighbor a few months ago and it relieved her son's ear infection very quickly.

With your daughter taking so many rounds of antibiotics, it would probably be worth your time to look into giving her some probiotics, which restore the beneficial "good" bacteria in her system that is also killed by the antibiotics. You can ask for infant drops at a local health / health food store, or ask your local pharmacy if they can order them for you. You do not need a prescription for these. Do a search for "probiotics" on www.mercola.com for more information about the benefits of probiotics.

I hope some or all of this information is helpful to you and your daughter! It's so unsettling to have a sick little one. I hope your daughter heals quickly to bring relief to both of you! Best of luck to you!

S. :)
Holistic Health & Wellness Counselor
www.grahamwellness.com

I have not tried it myself, but my sister swears by this. She told me that if you take a clove of garlic and cut one piece long-wise so that it can cover the ear w/o going inside. Tape it over the ear using medical tape at night, that way they are less likely to play with it. Apparently the garlic 'draws' the fluid and infection out. She tends to take a more holistic approach to things. Her youngest daughter would get ear infections all the time, and her ped was going to put tubes in her ears. My sis tried this, and it cleared up almost immediately, and has not needed to have the tubes put in.

I have dealt with constant ear infections with my oldest son. He is now 17 and has hearing problems. He was constantly on antibiotics when he was a baby. Being our first child we didn't realize he was behind in his speech until way later. It wasn't until we moved from Ny to Pa and had another doctor that they finally put tubes in his ears. Can't remember the age now, but then he had 5 or 6 sets of them as they would come out and the ear infections and fluid in the ear would come back.
I have read a lot since those days and wonder if the ear infections could be a result of allergies. I read somewhere, not sure where, that it could be a milk allergy. Or, do you smoke? When my started having a problem we lived with my now ex husband's grandmother who smoked like a chimney. However, my son also had to be put on soy formula because he didn't do well on the other formula. Of course, then it wouldn't have been a milk allergy, huh?
Since my experience I would advise avoiding the tubes. Try a change in formula or your diet if you are nursing. No smoking around your dd by anyone.
I understand your aversion to the antibiotics. But after what my son went through I wouldn't advise the tubes either.

My understanding is that docs want a certain number of EIs before they will consider tubes...but that number does seem to vary from ped. to ped. My daughter is scheduled to get tubes in 3 weeks...after 5 rounds of antibiotics for 3 different EIs...she had 2 that would not clear up with just one round of meds.
Does your insurance require you to get a referral to see a specialist like an ENT? If it doesn't, just go ahead and call and make an appt. It can't hurt to have them take a look. My daughter (who just turned 1) went to the ENT on Monday...we waited TWO months for that appt.! And she's scheduled to get tubes the first week in June...while she was at the ENT, they did a hearing test to see if her eardrum vibrated when they put some type of liquid in her ears...they didn't (both ears were also filled with fluid). So she is not hearing correctly and therefore can't form sounds correctly either.
I know in certain cases, they will put tubes in a younger baby-but I think it has to be a chronic problem...I think it is worth calling to get her seen...even if they say she's too young-at least you know. And by the time you actually get in appt. (depending on where you live), you'll be waiting a few months anyway...so she might be old enough by then.

good luck...watching a little one suffer with EIs is the worst. I remember having them as a kid and they are sooo painful...I can't imagine what it's like to have them and not be able to tell us!

I'm so sorry that you & your sweet baby have to go through this right now!

Believe it or not though, antibiotic use for ear infections is strongly associated with repeat infections and has never been proven to shorten the length of the infection, the severity or even shown to be effective for treatment.

I HIGHLY suggest that you go to a good chiropractor to naturally improve drainage and decrease inflamation. If you live in the Easton area, I have a WONDERFUL one that I'd be more than happy to share the name of. I've taken my kids (ages 5 & 1) to him many times & I go to him regularly. He's wonderful with kids & has 3 small children himself.

In addition to the chiropractic treatment, I also highly suggest that your baby start a very good probiotic (ie: acidopholis) supplement from your local health food store to help build up the healthy flora in the intestinal tract again. If you're nursing, you can also put breastmilk drops right in the ear, which is extremely effective for treating ear infections, since breastmilk is so high in white blood cells and antibodies.

Hope your little one gets some relief soon!

My son had the exact same problem. Except I insisted that he see an ENT. The ENT gave him the 3rd round of antibiotics and I asked him about tubes. My son was also 6 months old, which is usually a bit young for tubes. I was sick and tired of this one long ear infection. He failed the hearing tests they gave at the office because of it also.
I wanted to know if these antibiotics did finally work, what were the chances of this happening again. He told me that it was very high. I knew right then that I wanted tubes. Why keep putting him through this?

Well, the tubes were a miracle! As soon as the doctor came in the waiting room to get me, he told me that my son DEFINITELY needed them. He couldn't believe how much stuff came out when he opened it up.

The bottom line is, you have to be the one to fight for your daughter. I have 4 children and my experience with doctors is that they will wait and push almost everything off. There was one kid there getting tubes that was almost 3 years old and suffered for almost 2 years. The doctors aren't the ones dealing with it at home. They only have to deal with it for the 10 minute office visit.

ear 'infections' are usually caused by an organism that will respond to antibiotics - if not one kind, than another kind. occasionally the inflammation is not an infection at all, but just an overactive inflammatory response.

check with your doc, but i'd suggest trying kiddie motrin to suppress the inflammatory response. your next bet might also be a low-dose steroid. it's not always a bug. talk to your doc about it - don't let him/her leave the room until you have discussed all the options.

good luck

If possible change your doctor. i would give it one last ear infection and then insist on going to an ent at chop. if you don't need your doctor for a referral then just make an appointment with the ent. it can take a while to get an appointment with the ent. sounds like your little one needs tubes though. my daughter had tubes at 18 months and i was scared for her to have them, but they were the best thing that i ever did for her. she had stopped talking and was talking 30 words within 3 days of getting the tubes. the doctor said she had fluid in her inner ear even when she didn't have infections, so she couldn't hear properly. i was lucky that they let me do the tubes after only 4 months of ear infections, but knowing what i know now, i would have found a way to get it done at that point even if the doctor didn't want me to! please remember that some ear infections can cause the drum to rupture and that causes very serious hearing difficulty as they can't heal properly.

Hi Y.,

I recently went through the same thing with my daughter, although she was 20-24 months at the time. They were giving her Omnicef and Ricephon (injections!) and her other ear would be infected literally the last day of the antibiotic.

After multiple rounds, we were referred to an ENT. While we were waiting for our ENT appt., she got yet another ear infection. I told our ped that despite claims that Ricephon kills "everything" it clearly did not. We had had success with Amoxicillian the previous year, and I wanted to try her on that. I'd have continued to put up with the side effects of the strong antibiotics if they were working, but clearly they weren't. He was skeptical but willing.

Lo and behold, the amox. worked. Because she had already met the requirements for tubes and by that time was already scheduled (and I moved heaven and earth to get the surgery appt. I wanted), we went ahead with them. But there is some small part of me that wonders if she had gotten the amox. at beginning if she would have still gotten so many or needed tubes. Especially since the ENT told me that a high does of amox. is a great protocol for treating ear infections (and the last dosage our doc prescribed wasn't even a "high" dose!). I wish I had followed my instincts sooner and pushed for the amox. first.

Ask lots of questions. If something worked in the past, push for it again, even if it doesn't make sense or follow the doctor's protocol hierarchy. You don't need your doc's approval to see an ENT - if you feel strongly - get her evaluated, even if she doesn't yet meet the requirements for tubes.

As another mom once advised me - be a guerilla mom. Who cares if they think you are crazy - this is your baby, and you are the only one who can truly advocate for her, especially when she cannot speak for herself.

Good luck and email me privately if you have any additional questions.

C.

Boy do I understand! My first daughter had at least 12 ear infections by age 1 and several of them consisted of 30 day runs of antibiotics. My doc explained to me that it's trial and error to see which antibiotic will respond to ear infections. I consider myself lucky that my doc believes in antibiotics for ear infections - as from what I hear antibiotics are becoming a thing in the past for ear infections claiming that these types of ear infections can and will go away on their own…..scary! If this is first ear infection I wouldn't worry about ear tubes yet however if this is one of many then ear tubes is a great option. My daughter had ear tubes put in at age 1 and is now almost 4 years old. One tube has fallen out on its own and she still has the left tube in. She has only had 2 ear infections since the tubes - 1 in Feb and 1 currently. The surgery in non-invasive and takes literally 5 minutes. It's scary to see your child get any surgery but it was the best thing that we could have done for her - she gets seizures from fevers….so no ear infections not as many chances for fevers. I recommend Dupont in Delaware if you do have to have ear tubes - it's an amazing Children's Hospital! Good Luck!

My son suffered from ear infections constantly from the time he was 6 months until around his first birthday. At about one year he had tubes put in. He is 18 months and has not had an ear infection since. I was really reluctant at first because he had to have some type of liquid anesthesia and that made me nervous. But, it was a quick procedure and no needles are used. The anesthesia is given so the he didn't move. It was quickly out of his system. He was a little disoriented at first, but he was great afterwards. It was really worth not having him on antibotics every few months. Good luck.

If this is the first time she is having an ear infection they most likely won't give her the tubes.
My son had 6 ear infections by the time he was 10 months old and the last one was like you described, where no antibiotic helped.
He got the metal tubes put in and still has one of them in today, 3 years later.
Maybe she is congested from allergies? Giving her a safe antihistamine and the antibiotics along with some tylenol or ibuprofen should might be the way to go.

If the third round of antibiotics won't clear it up ask to be referred to an ear specialist. They most likely can help you better and possibly drain the fluids in her ear without putting in tubes.

Hi Y.

My daughter had ear infections constantly for her first year. They miraculously stopped after she was a year old, her ear canals probably grew larger...
Anyway, is she on the same antibiotic for the third time? If so, she needs a different antibiotic. Not all infections respond well to the Amoxicillin and need a stronger one to kick it. I wouldn't worry too much about her being on the antibiotics, my daughter never had any issues and there was never any concern about drug resistance. GENERALLY antibiotics don't have long term effects although some kids (and adults) can get diarrhea. Talk to your doctor about those concerns and also find out what other treatment options are available.

Wow Y.-you are a strong woman!! I can't imagine how tough it has been on you raising your baby girl alone and missing your husband. I really admire you for that. I am hoping that you have a support system there for you.

On the ears...I have had that happen too where it takes several rounds of antibiotics to get them better. Ours was always with strep though. One thing to make sure is that you give it as directed. I was usually guilty of forgetting at least one dose or giving it at the wrong time and I always wondered if that had something to do with reaccurences.

Best of luck to you!

Hi Y.,

Contact your local Alternative Medical Doctor at

www.acam.org

Good luck. D.

My first son also had many ear infections when he was a baby. We found the same as one of the other moms that responded that amoxicillin just didn't cut it after a while and they started giving him zithromax. It worked a lot better and it was only 7 days I think. Much less than the amoxicillin - and he didn't take meds well so that was a big plus! We did see an ENT and they were just about to put tubes in when he was around 2 or so but then they just cleared up. I believe with him it had a lot to do with teething. It seemed that every time he got a tooth he got an ear infection. He is a healthy 5 1/2 year old now and I'm so glad we didn't have to get tubes. Hope all goes well with your little one. Stay strong. I'm sorry to hear your husband is deployed. My husband was on active duty for the Reserves when I was pregnant and again when my first was a month old he left too. So I can understand how hard it is. So nice that there are sites out there like this that you can refer to for support! God bless!

Hi Y.. I would recommend getting a second opinion. You are the one that has to see your daughter in pain and being uncomfortable with the infection. You are also the one that needs to take a step in getting her relief. You don't have to change pediatricians. I would take her to an ENT in your area for a second opinion. Good luck!

I suspect that after the 3rd ear infection, the doc will put your daughter on a low dose of antibiotics for a while to prevent a future infection. If not, and if there's still fluid in there, get another opinion. Our daughter, at 1, I think, went thru a winter like that, and the doc put her on a low dose to finish the winter. We stopped in May, and it's May now, but I would want to be sure ti won't recur. You don't want damage to the ear drum.

And, thank you, by the way, for putting up with your husband being overseas protecting you and the rest of us. It's challenging to parent for the first time, and it's harder when you don't have him right there to help you evaluate and decide what to do. It'll also be a challenge when he gets back, because your daughter won't know him, nor he her, as well as all the "stuff" from coming back from a combat zone.

Thank you SO MUCH !! And thank him, when you e-mail him. He is very much appreciated.

First and foremost, thank you for your sacrifice. I can’t imagine how hard it has been to not be able to share the first 6 months of Mia’s life with your husband, but please know that there are a lot of grateful moms out here. I know that the sacrifice you are making means that there will be a safer world for my baby son and your baby daughter.

Second, I 100% AGREE that you need to see an ENT. Like other people have mentioned, if you don’t need a referral, just schedule an appointment and GO! If you do need a referral, demand that your pediatrician give you one. You may not even need to talk to the actual pediatrician. Just call the nurse or whoever does referrals at the office and ask for one. You might want to schedule the ENT appointment first and then ask for the referral--- they may be more likely to agree if you already have an appointment.

Another mom mentioned AI DuPont’s ENT department--- I have to agree, they are great. We just recently saw Dr. Schmidt. He was terrific, but I hear that they are all great. Dr. Schmidt told me that the normal standard for tubes is 4 infections in 6 mos or 5 in a year OR infections that don’t clear up with normal treatments.

I also thought this may be worth mentioning---- is there any possibility that your daughter may have acid reflux? Having acid reflux causes congestion, which can cause fluid in the ear. I also read somewhere that there have been studies done that found sometime kids’ reflux causes stomach acid to back up into their ears, causing an infection. If you’ve noticed any other signs of reflux (uncomfortable or in pain after eating, frequent bad breath that smells acidic, etc.), it might be worth checking it out.

My daughter had a couple infections like this - I started making sure they put her on a STRONG antibiotic right away - not waiting . She outgrew the ear infections by about 2 yrs old. Never had tubes put in. Not sure why some children get them and not others - my son is three, and has never had one.

Hi, you sure do have a lot on your plate.

My child only ever had one ear infection. We cleared it up and prevented reoccurence by seeing the chiropractor and using probiotics (available at any drugstore). There are numerous studies showing the effectiveness of chiropractic care in resolving and preventing ear infections. It helps keep fluid from blocking up inside the ear. Overuse of antibiotics can have devastating results.

L.

We had a similar issue with my son and found out that he does not respond to amoxicillian (for any issue requiring antibiotics). I was told this is getting more and more common in children. Augmentian (spelling may be wrong) also contains amoxicillian and has no effect for him other than somewhat reducing the pain/symptoms while he is on the medicine. There are other options for antibiotics but it did take an ear infection that would not go away for 4 months before we figured it out. He has never needed tubes and has had only one other ear infection that went away after the correct medicine. I hope this helps!