Ear Infection Advise

I've dealt with many many ear infections. 3 of my 4 kids ended up with ear tubes. I would ask to be referred to an ENT, especially because of the drainage. Drainage is normal with ear tubes, but I don't think it's normal if you don't have ear tubes.

my son had ton's of ear infections when he was little...right up until he was two. drainage isnt a bad thing, sometimes it is some blood due to the irritation from the infection,or pressure that sometimes builds up from not being able to drain. if it would easy your husbands mind and yours i would take him in to be seen. if you and your husband are still not happy then there is always the ER. if it was me i would be leaning toward a new doctor's office.

I had that happen to my son, blood covered his pillow when he woke up in the morning. But the dr was correct & he is now over 30 yrs old & no problems with his ears whatsoever. I think your son will be fine.

Hi K.,
This happened to my daughter just recently, and she ended up rupturing her ear drum....prior to this she had multiple ear infections and even ear tubes....she has only had a couple of infections since the tubes have fallen out but the last one was when she ruptured her ear drum....I knew it was something other than a regular ear infection because she had alot of discharge coming out of her ear. If you dont feel confident I would bring him back in, just to be sure there isnt anything else going on!!
Meg

My kiddos were the king and queen of ear infections. My oldest had her tonsils and adenoids removed when she turned 3 and never had another one. My youngest, who is almost 4, has his second set of tubes in and also had his adenoids removed. My fridge & kitchen counter had a constant rotation of either amoxicillin, omnicef, or augmentin, etc. LOL I'm sure he's just fine. It's not uncommon for them to wake up with the icky crusty stuff or some blood. As long as he isn't running a fever and is eating and playing like normal....the ear infection is simply running it's course. Unfortunately, this probably won't be his last. My kids never ever complained with theirs either. It always blew my mind. Just watch your little guy and if he's acting like his normal self...all is well. =0)

I feel your pain. My son had a continuous cough and found that he had the beginnings of an ear infection in both ears. He also has bronchitis and has to do breathing treatments. The ear infection occurs because of the congestion that your son has. That is not uncommon. I do not like hearing that he has blood coming out of his ears. I would be concerned also. My son has had a few ear infections but never blood. I would want to make sure his ear drum has not ruptured. If worse comes to worse take him to the emergency room. I had to do this last year because my son had severe vomiting and diarreha and a fever. The doctor that i had at the time prescribed too many antibiotics in a three week time span. After spending the night in the hospital my son felt much better. I took him after that to another pediatrician practice which has several doctors in there. They always squeeze him in when he is sick and they are great. This is something you may want to check out if you are changing doctors. I am sorry that your little one is sick. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I have to admit that I was very surprised to scan through the responses and no one had yet recommended a chiropractor. The ones I have worked with have a fantastic cure rate for ear infections in young children and babies. Chiropractors educates the parents so they understand exactly what causes such infections and exactly what to do about it. The infections nearly always clear up when the advice is followed, which it just about always is because it is practical. Parents are no longer left to wonder and worry, and, the cycle of antibiotics that cause digestive problems or needing to consider permanently piercing the eardrums for tubes vanishes. Chiropractors have had so much success with their methods, I cannot imagine why any doctor would consider any other approach.

My daughter has been having ear infections off/on for the past 3+ months. From what I understand, when you see blood or pus coming out of his ears, it means that there is an infection and it's draining out. I do not know if that tells where the infection is but I also know that once my daughter gets tubes (in 2 weeks), I was told that she would probably have pus/blood coming out of her ears in the future when she has infections because of the hole from the tubes. This leads me to think that either A. Your son has a hole or tear in his eardrum or B. The type of ear infection (middle/inner/outer) is causing the infection to drain out (ie: the blood you see). If he's on antiobiotics, I would continue those but would still call your doctor just because if you didn't notice it before, it could be something new that has started addition to what he's being treated for.

Good luck...ear infections are not fun!! Just be sure to provide plenty of cuddles and hugs to your little man!

My daughter is on her 4th ear infection. She just turned 2 last week. Seh didn't pull at her ears or complain on 2 of them because we caught them early. (she gets congested and the drainage backs up into their little tubes since they are so little, etc)
I would wait. As long as he isn't complaining, he shoudl be fine, but if he does start acting like he is hurting or gets dizzy and can't seem to walk straight, or as if he can't hear as well, I would definitely take him back to dr.

K.,
My first son had tons of ear infections. We were afraid we would have to have tubes put in.
We started him on the Shaklee childrens' vitamins and he never had another one and his allergies were controlled. Because of that and other health improvements for our whole family, I became a distributor. If you would like to know more about it, let me know.
Hope your son is better soon.
Victoria

My son never had pain, if you see drainage it usually means the drum has ruptured (that's how we found out). And yes, if there is drainage you should have antibotic drops that go in the ear. If your doctor doesn't want to see him with drainage, then I would find a new doctor. Also, if it happens a lot you need to find an ENT doctor. good luck!!

I would take him in for sure just to ease my mind. K.

Our daughter had tubes at 10 months and has had her 2nd ear infection this year.

Each time, it was only a badly draining nose that took us to the pediatrician. No complaints about ears hurting.

So, I think your pediatrician is actually right on track.

We've found with friends' children that not all pediatricians are following the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics (aap.org) and the American Academy of Otolaryngology (Ear Neck and Throat Specialists) (entnet.org)

Their guidelines are as follows:
1. First ear infection - treat with amoxycillin (unless allergic)
2. Second ear infection - treat with Augmentin (diarrhea is common)
3. Third ear infection - treat with Omnicef (red stools are very common)
4. Fourth ear infection - refer to ENT for consultation and possible tubes.

Our daughter's right tube has apparently fallen out and has made her susceptible for these infections this year. She's been treated both times with Omnicef and had BAD draining the first infection this year.

If you're really concerned, make an appointment with the pediatrician.
Also check this link (parenting website from AAP) on their recommendations:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/cond...

The medical term for the most common ear infections is "otitis media" if you'd like to look up some more medical information on the subject.