Ear Infections - Hatboro, PA

Hi M., I have a 3 yr old who since last September, got ear infections. I took her to the drs origionally for a caugh, and then found the ear infection. I felt like I needed a membership card to the pediatricians office-I was there every other week. I saw an ear, nose, and throat dr who after another 2 ear infections, wanted me to get the tubes and have adenoids out. She also had a ct scan that showed a build up of mucous in the ethmoid and maxilofacial sinus-behgind nose, cheeks, and eye area. She ended up having tubes placed and adenoids out on 3/10. She hasnt had an ear infection since. She has also had another ct scan and her build up has cleared-

I was freaking out because I couldnt keep her well. I was scared for her to get the tubes, and adenoids out. I am so glad we had it done. It makes a huge difference.
The tubes will "work" their way out as your child grows. She wont even know they are there. My little one doesnt. Also, her speech has totally come together. People used to ask me if she had hearing problems before because of the way she talked. So, in a way, I guess she did. She was always clogged.

My daughters was don at Summit surgical center(behind Virtua hosp in vorhees) they were so awesome there. They gave her giggle juice that made her drunk like, and I handed her off. In about 35 min, the doc came and let me know everything went good and also how big the adenoids were. She came out of the anesthesia terrible, crying and screaming. After 15 min, they gave something in her iv to make her sleep again. Then the 2nd time waking, was alot happier. If you do have it done, bring someone with you. I went alone and was so heartbroken when she was screaming-I couldnt help her. The nurses were so caring. Sorry for the long advice. I sometimes go overboard. Take care and good luck with your little girl. I hope her ears are well very soon
K.

My daughter had chronic ear infections, she never showed any signs except she would wake up at night, if she had a bad night, she had an ear infection, for sure. I would take her in for well visits and she would have a double ear infection. When she could talk, she would say or I would ask, do you have bugs in your ears? If she said yes, she had an infection. My daughter did not attend daycare, I was a nanny, so she was around other kids, but the same two kids not a whole class. She saw an ear, nose ,throat specialist. I did not want to get tubes, I worked in daycare, and had heard too many stories, although anymore, it is fine to do, the doctor never suggested to do them, even though she had a lot, she was close to growing out of the infections, has to do with a bone or something in their ear, as they grow, it gets in a better postion for the ear to be able to drain, or something like that. so she did grow out of them, she had her hearing tested, and it was fine, had there been an issue with the hearing, they may have suggested tubes. I would not worry too much about it right now, some people say you can cure the ear infection just using tylenol, overseas they dont' give antibotics for ear infections, but that is something you need to research. I worked in daycare for years, and the first year children are in daycare, they will get sick a lot, it is par for the course, but after the first year things get much better. Best of luck to you!!!

My youngest just got tubes in April 6th.He had 6 infections in less than 6months(and most started before day care)there are so many a child has to get before they even think about tubes.And when they due tubes normally the noids come out too so after surgery normal stay time is a minmuim(sp)of 3 hours.Than you have to do ear drops 2 times a day for 3 days and until they fall out you need to have something in the ear canal at bath time/pool time.
And sometimes if there is alot of wax the tubes could fall out and lay in the ear canal and than it has to be removed by the dr in the office and this is very uncomfortable for a child(this happened to my oldest)
But good luck to you and your little one...ear infections are no fun(been there done that with 2 of my children)

J.

has she been teething? I've had kids a few times need antibiotics for 3-4 weeks to fully clear an infection.

Right now don't be worried at all. If she gets 2-3 more in the next 3/4 months then go to an ent and they will check out her glands, anoids, etc.

Does she snore? Strep throat?

the tubes are put in when keeps happening several more times in close time period and your no where near it now. Usually in hospital, sedate the child, your usually the first one, in and out 2-3 hours tops, procedure 5 min. they do eventually fall out on their own and yes even adults get tubes put in.

the tubes are put in via surgery for kids who have constant ear infections...if you can avoid it, that would be better I would think. There are vitamins for young babies on the market that are given via a dropper and I suggest researching and asking your doctor. I do agree with holistic and homeopathic things but make sure to check all the ingredients and ask your doc because those things aren't checked by FDA, etc. And I wouldn't do decongestants if I were you...there are some supposed serious dangers to young kids. Check the internet. Good luck!

I would try researching some homeopathic approaches too. Especially b/c you don't want your baby to keep taking antibiotics. I've always heard that taking your baby to a chiropractor helps. A lot of them study homeopathic ways and may have ideas for you. But see what info you find online and maybe look into a chiropractor. As far as vitamins, I'm not sure if they would prevent ear infections but you can always ask your pediatrician about them.

my daughter is 17 months too. she had double ear infections at 15 months that required antibiotic. sometimes you do need the meds to clear the infection. hers were so bad that her ear drum had perferated and actually bled a little bit and drained out. someone one here had reccomeded "simsilac ear drops". they are all natural and help soothe and numb the ear a little bit. i got them at target in the same isle that they keep the eye drops and eye contacts stuff near the pharmacy. now i dont think this will work to get rid of the ear infection by itself though. it only helps to comfort them. also, putting a phone book under her crib matress helped. we put it under the end where her head is when she sleeps. it just alightly elevates her so her head cold doesnt drain into her ears. they sleep more comfortably that way usually. if you can get them to sleep in that position all night! i also have friends who swear by chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy for babies. it may sound strage, but i hear it works. finacially im not sure how expensive that is, but i know kids who never had ear infections after getting ajusted reguarly and didnt need tubes. (im sure the medical massage therapist or chiropractor could explain it better). i do know of a medical massage therapist who works with babies, if you need the name of one let me know. good luck and let us know.

My son, who is now 16, has had ear infection problems on and off for most of his life. It started around 18 months. The pediatrician would give him antibiotics and the infection would go away, only to come back soon thereafter. He was usually clear in the warmer months. A humidifier would help during the winter months, as it would help his sinuses drain out of his nose. My son's ears were good (for the most part) for a couple of years from about 4 to 7.

When my son was about 8 years old, the pediatrician told me that there are two kinds of ear infections: bacterial and viral. Bacterial infections need to be treated with antibiotics, but the viral infections go away on their own in a few days. The problem is that there is no way to tell the difference. Most parents do not want to wait a couple of days to see if the ear infection would go away on its own. As my son got older, we would treat the pain for a day or so (Tylenol/Advil, clean out the ears with Debrox or hydrogen peroxide, warm mineral oil) to see if the pain would go away. Sometimes it would.

When he was 15, his ear did not drain from an ear infection for several months and he was stuffy all of the time. The doctor suggested allergy testing. Although the allergy tests did not show a reaction to most allergens, the allergist said my son exhibited allergy symptoms and put him on allergy medicine. After several trials, my son is now on Singulair. So far his ear has been draining, so we are hopeful that we've (finally) found the problem.

So, in short, it could be that your child's Eustachian tube has not adjusted it's position yet to allow for good draining (usually around 2 years old), or she may be allergic to something.

Good luck!

I would talk to your ped. before starting any kind of vitamin regimine.

My daughter, 1 year old, just had tubes placed in both ears yesterday. Amazing to see the difference in less than 3 hours!!!
The tubes aren't really tubes ie long and skinny. They're very small round hollow discs if you will. The surgery takes about 2.5 minutes per ear! The tube should fall out by the 1 year anniv. of the surgery, if they don't fall out by the 2 year anniv. the doctor will go in and extract them.
My daughter was fine the first 11 months of life and then just this passed month couldn't get rid of her ear infections. We did the regular antibiotic, then a 3-shot series of strong stuff... twice! and then did augmentine another antibiotic. She still has an infection which is draining now.

I'm glad we did the surgery. The tubes help release the vaccuum in the ear tube so the fluid can drain thus allowing the nasty stuff to get out... think of a bathtub. The water gets nasty just sitting there but once you pull the plug, no more nasty! They're not permenant and sometimes kids will need to have them put in several times; but that's not normal.

Good luck with it all.
R.