16 Month Old with Sudden Balance Issues

I would definitely pursue it. Since an ear infection was ruled out, you might see about a vision screen. You'd need to see a pediatric opthamologist. My daughter goes to Dr. Alan Norman with Pediatric Eye Specialists. They have offices in Arlington and in Hurst.
It may be that that little bit of fluid IS enough to cause him to stumble, even though it's not an infection. Maybe allergy medicine, or something like Mucinex would help relieve/drain some of that fluid.

I will say that my son has also gone through these "clumsy" phases -- literally just walking across the floor and falling down, or bumping into things. Not sure what it is except maybe a growth spurt. He'll grow a couple inches in what seems like overnight, and I guess it takes a few days for his disproportionate little body to get used to itself again.
And the head bumps were simply a regular part of life when he was the age your son is. I babysat a boy the same age as my son and I swear as soon as one forehead bruise went away, one of them would fall/crash into something and get another one. It's funny to look back at pictures from that year. So many show them sporting bumps and scrapes on their heads. When you think of how those little guys are proportioned, it would be like us walking around all day in clown shoes, with a bowling ball for a head. It's amazing they're even upright :). My boys would run into chairs, walls, toys, tables, each other, you name it...trip over nothing at all, or their own feet, or step on toys and fall. I spent all day trying to clear walkways, or cushion play areas. However, my son is a pretty agile kid now. I have caught him with one foot in each of our fisher price little people school buses, using them as "skis." Really, I don't know how we've avoided broken bones with all of those antics!

My 5 year old son had balance problems in Sept. We took him to the ER and they ran so many test..finally they decided it was a rare post viral infection called cerebella ataxia. But he was never sick prior to this. He spent 3 days at Cooks and they started off checking his blood and urine for a possible poisining, then a CT scan for a brain tumor, then a spinal tap for sephelitus..then an MRI to check for brain swelling and also chest X-rays. It was about 4 weeks before he fully recovered. But I think it should be checked out. Mothers know their children better than Dr's and you know when something is not right. A second opinion is a great idea if he is still having problems. Hope he is better soon!

I wish I had some advice, but I just want to let you know I understand how scary it is any time we're dealing with "what if's". Like the others have said, it is probably nothing, but please know that your dr can refer you for a scan for your peace of mind.
Last month, just before Christmas, we noticed our son's (17 months) head had grown so much he was almost off the charts in just his head measurements. The dr. didn't feel there was any need to worry, but he knew that I would worry b/c of what this could mean. He had us go for a screen the next day at Plano Pediatric Imaging. We had to wait over the weekend for results, but everything came back normal. The reason I am telling you all of this is just to let you know that our feelings and intuitions need to be validated. These are our precious babies, and it can be so scary worrying. Good luck to you and I hope this helps!

I have a friend who's daughter started falling all of a sudden. She is about 20 months old. My friend took her to the E.R. and they couldn't do a CT scan because she would need sedation. She took her to the pediatrician the next day and the pedi almost blew it off. He called a pediatric neurologist and the neurologist kind of got onto him and said never ignore falls at that age. The neurologist saw the child the next day and thinks she may be having seizures! She is still waiting on the dates for the EEG and other tests. Keep us posted!

J.,

I would definitely get a second opinion. Dr. Yok at Cook's Children's in Keller is really good. She takes my concerns very seriously.

A.

I would definitely have it checked out. Not to scare you, but my husband's cousin was 18 months old when he started to have the same issues. They took him to the doctor (in their small town) and the doctor referred them to Cook's Hospital who found that he had a brain tumor. Several operations and years later, he is now a healthy 10 year old. I think it is due to them being able to catch it early.
Good luck!

Hi J., I would keep a close eye on baby and if you don't see him acting what you would consider "normal" I would keep on the Dr or get a second opinion from another Dr. One of my daughters had a very similar thing happen to her early on and the Dr's kept dismissing it as "normal" and finally after about a year they sent us to a neurologist to find out I was right all along and something was wrong with her brain. So if you as a mom feel that something is not right insist on further testing and good luck.