Ear Infections - Chesapeake,VA

My daughter got tubes after 9 ear infections in 5.5 months. We would go for a week to 10 days after each infection before we were back at the doctor. We were sent to an ENT who told us that after 6-8 infections in either a year or 6 months (can't remember which)the benefits outweigh the risks. We were on SEVERAL anitbiotics but amoxiciline never really worked for her.

Good luck!

Do you have a cat? My two boys had repeated ear infections, my Dr. suggested that I have my cat tested for strep infection, treated the cat for strep (and found it a new home)...never had another ear infection. M. H.

I'll bet it is the same infection that isn't getting cleared up by the amoxil. Same thing happened to my daughter. See if the Dr. will give her a stronger antibiotic. Hope it works!!

I am certainally not a doctor, just a Mom.
1st, antibiotics are perscribed too freely. That is why so many don't work when you are older.
It sounds like your daughter has allergies. It could be cats, dogs, dust, food, your detergent....anything. Get a second opinion and ask about allergies. Antibiotics do not work on allergies. You have to eliminate the source or at least reduce it. Allergies are treated with antihistimine. I don't know what the course of treatment is for a young child. Good luck and let us know.

I would see if she has allergies. Since she is 13 months old, I am wondering if you recently switched her to milk. My daughter had a milk allergy and had constant ear infections like this until I made the connection. When I eliminated the milk, the ear infections (and congestion) cleared up. [I gave her rice milk instead (vanilla).] Also, Zythromax was the only antibiotic that would clear up her ear infections.

I had this problem with my first child. We discovered that he was allergic to milk and many dairy products. That's what was causing his ear infections. Also, the doctors should recognize that being on a/b's for soo long makes them useless! It sounds like allergies to me. Also, a simple way to test for allergies/sensitivities (it sounds weird, but it is accurate) hold her in your lap and hold the item that you want to find out about nest to her. Hold out your other arm for someone else to try to push down, the easier ti is to push down, the more sensitive she is to that item.

My now four year old had ear infection from nine months old to about fourteen months old. I would ask for something other than amoxicillen. I believe she grew an immunity to it. She ended up having tubes and they did not come out until she was four (this past june). We still have ear issues. Talk with your doc.

We had the same thing happen for our 4 yr old. Multiple ear infections that never seemed to go away. She wasn't in any pain so it was hard to tell when she had them other than she had a runny nose and a wasn't responding when I talked to her. We were referred to an ear and throat specialist and her ear drums were bulging out with very little inflammation meaning there was fluid that wasn't draining not an ear infection, just the tube that goes to the back of the throat not draining properly. We had tubes put in, a very minor surgery and it's been two years. She still get runny noses but it doesn't seem to effect her hearing and drainage comes out so I know it's not building up likt it used to. Our ear and throat specialist said most babies get the surgery when they are really little .sicne the tubes down the back of the ear canal to the throat are so small.

I would go back to the Dr and let them know your concerns , it could be that she needs tubes. I have a friend whose son needs to have tubes (waiting for an op date) and they told her that he had to have 5 infections one after the other before they would consider tubes , no she isn't too young to have it done either , I have another friend who's daughter had tubes put in at 12 months.

Good luck

K.

It sounds like she needs different medication, like the ones given have never worked for her. Get a second opinion.

No shes not too young for tubes, but hopefully she will not need them!
This sounds like one infection that just has not gone away. Good luck!!!

My 9-month-old son had the same problem. I took him to an ENT specialist and they recommended the tube surgery. Once they placed the tubes in his ear, they noticed that the inside of his ear was very little (slightly deformed) and that is why his ear could not drain the fluid. Once they inserted the tubes, he never had another ear infection again. Good Luck!

My son was similar and eventually got tubes in his ears, which have definitely helped. However, I regret not trying less invasive alternatives before resorting to the surgery. I have heard that chiropractic can help, and if you know of a good chiro. I think it's worth a try first (rather than more drugs and surgery). There is an excellent chiropractor I can recommend - she practices in Rockville, named Dr. Mariella Young. If you want her info I can look for it - just send me a message.

Good luck!

You are right. I have found in my many years experience w/ amoxicillin and ear infections that it simply does not work most the time. It is the mildest form of penicillin and therefor its the first one most doctors try. It sounds as if the original ear infection didn't go away. If your child isn't on meds often then sometimes it might work for them. On the 2nd round of meds the doctor should have tried another type: augmentin or omnicef are good.
So ask your doctor for a different penicillin and some saline drops might help the runny nose thing. As always make sure you give the meds same time each day and finish the whole course of meds.

Ear infections are often caused from consumption of cow's milk. Put the child completely on a non-dairy diet and see if the infections disappear. You might also try strengthening the immune system with echinacea-goldenseal extract. This can be purchased at a health food store or Vitamin Shoppe. It doesn't taste good so mix it with food or drink. Dairy foods are very mucus producing which makes the ear, nose, and throat suceptable to bacteria and virus.
Soy milk is a good substitute. AF

Your pediatrician should be the one offering you answers, but if you find he/she is not giving you all the answers you need, then schedule an appointment with an ENT (Ears,Nose,Throat) doc. There are several great ones in the Columbia area (but not sure where you are). Either way, it does sound like your baby may need tubes. She is not too young, friends of mine had to have tubes for their babies at that age or younger. Call your ped first and express your concerns.

Good luck, just keep giving her childrens motrin - it works better than tylenol on reducing swelling which will help a bit with the drainage issues.

Good luck,
jules

Have you talked to pediatrician?..if so..and you feel you need more...Dr. Craig Derkay at CHKD is awesome and will tell you what your child needs...good luck..the way this weather is...alot of kids are sick...doesn't sound like amoxicillin is the greatest choice for this...something you may want to discuss with pediatrician ...sorry to ramble..

I have been there too. My son had 5 in the winter-spring...then the summer came and he was fine. The Dr. said if he got 6 in one year that he would be a candidate for ear tubes. Dr. also switched antibiotics...amoxicilline then zythromax, augmentin he had to go off because of bad diarrea, then cefcil...
Dr. said as they grow older, kids tend to grow out of them because the ear tubes get longer and its harder for the bacteria to get in. So far...so good with us but winter is here and he is always snotty...no ear infections yet though.
A lot of my friends' kids had ear tubes and they swear that it has helped 100% and its a minor procedure. So I am not opposed to that either. We'll just have to wait and see.
Good luck!
M.

Hi J.,
Both of my girls (now 3 and 4) have tubes in their ears. The youngest got the tubes right after she turned one, and the oldest at two. Same story, bact to back infections, multiple running antibiotics (switch one for the next until they ended up getting a shot). Anyway, in over 2 yrs, the youngest has had one more ear infection, and the oldest has had a few. The ear infections now occur around bad colds and the few times we tried to get away from the ear plugs (and head/ear band when swimming). We no longer supplement the tubes with ear plugs in water for the younger, and the oldest just wears them as a matter of course whenever she is in water (including the tub). This may seem to indicate that the tubes did not completely work for my oldest girl, but when weighed against 20! doctors visits in their first winter with us, it is amazing. If the only side effect from the tubes is that she wears plugs in her ears at times, I will take it over the side-effects of back to back antibiotics and pain anyday. The surgery took minutes and the only hard part was the no food or drink the morning ot the surgery. Good luck.

S.

Wow! What a flashback for me! My daughter had CHRONIC ear infections from the time she was a couple months old till about 16 months. I read any theory of cause, and tried to eliminate any factor that could be causing them-got rid of our pets, newspapers, on & on... THEN, we had a water line busted in our house & we lost just about everything (but not really-we gained more!!!) When the adjusters came into the house to do the inspection, it turned out that there had been prior water damage, which was covered up QUITE well, and there was now mold growing underneath the carpet-no odor at all! We had no clue!!! All the vaccuuming I was doing was only spreading the spores. (not to mention tummmy-time!!) We had to live in a hotel for a month while we found a new place to live, BUT she cleared within a couple days of moving out-and stayed clear. Needless to say, I got that "not going to stop my curiosity-it's my child syndrome" and I ran straight to an Allergist, and had the test done (I will admit, it is difficult to watch your child have this done, but much better than the risk of going under) SHE WAS POSITIVE FOR MOLD AND ONLY MOLD! They put Gracie on Nasonex (nasal spray) in a small dose. It was the greatest blessing, & quite an adventure for us to "start fresh" as we told ourselves for sanity sake! (Plus, it was nice to finally sleep through the night) I had asked the doctor along the way of the possibility of allergies, just to eliminate another variable, and he told me it was too soon-the test would not show anything since Gracie was too young, and neither my husband or myself have allergies. The pediatrician was pretty ticked, but I was able to get a recommendation on a FABULOUS pediatrician that has now seen my child through years of health!!
She gets an ear infection here & there if the mold count jumps up too quick & we haven't started her Nasonex in time, or the fluid buildup with a rare sinus cold, but otherwise, she remains clear & with no hearing impairments (other than 7 year old selective hearing )

Hope this helps! I know the feeling of exhaustion & dilemma of what to do next! Good Luck!

Do not allow the child to go to bed with a bottle. If nursing make sure the childs head is elevated. The ear canal has not completed developement. The milk will drain into the ear canal while the child is lying down.. try this yourself. Lay down and try to swallow a mouth full of water. I would speak to my physician,

Hi J.,
For the first two years of my daughters life she had a constant ear infection. Nothing worked and they tried all sorts of meds. Finally an ENT doc looked at her tonsils. They were huge! No one ever checked them. They did surgery as soon as possible taking her tonsils, adnoids and putting in tubes. She has never had an ear infection since. (She's 12 now) Seems her tonsils were blocking proper drainage and everything was getting backed up in her ears. Have someone check!! Hope this helps along with all the other great advice!

Hi J.,
My son was the same way. His infections began at 6 weeks old. I had to tell the pediatrician not to prescribe amoxicillin. There were even times when we tried two different antibiotics for the same ear infection. He got his first set of tubes at age 3. I waited because I was afraid of the anesthesia. But he'd lost 30% of his hearing by then! It came back thankfully after the tubes. He ended up getting tubes three times over the next three years. He's 10 now and has finally grown out of all that.
I would say that you should try other antibiotics and talk to your doctor about when tubes would be appropriate. And pay attention to your daughter's hearing.
Hope this helps,
T.

We went throught this with my son last spring. Its very common during cold season. The fluid builds up with congestion and it needs to drain, but the ducts (in the nose, eyes and ears) become swollen and trap fluid, which leads to bacteria growing.

Amoxocillon may not be strong enough to completely knock the infection out, therefore leading it to come back. My son was put on eurythromycin after his 5th ear infection in 7 wks and that stuff knocked it out of him! (harsher on the tummy, but with the BRAT diet and yogurt he wasn't too bothered).

Often times people jump to do tubes prematurely. I would suggest seeing an ENT to have her evaluated to see if they can determine some other 'cure' than surgery. My husband had sinus surgery last year at Good Samaritan and the ENT was Dr Sohn. He was great and he also sees children (we asked because it was at the time we were having the issues with my son's ears). He said that with children, particularly young ones, he prefers to put off surgery until he determines its absolutely necessary.

The other thing to keep in mind with tubes is that they don't prevent ear infections from occuring, they assist in the fluid draining and reduce ear infections, but its still very possible to have recurring ear infections even after the tubes.

hi J.,
both my boys had ear infections, and in desperation we went to tubes (i couldn't stand the only other option i was offered, prophylactic antibiotics) but in retrospect i wish i'd explored more homeopathic (and just plain common sense) methods. my older boy might have needed tubes anyway, but i'm pretty sure we could have cut way back on my younger's infections if we'd investigated allergies, both environmental and dietary. i would certainly try that, and chiropractic (i hear it has great results) before getting surgery. good luck!
khairete
S.

my son had several back to back ear infections (and several times back to back strep throat). Amoxicillin didn't seem to work either. I think it was Augmentin they gave him and that cleared it up. Same thing with sinus infections with him. Also, don't know if this applies or not, but once we got him off the bottle the ear infections went away too. His dr said something about the sucking motion with the bottle and being on his back. I can't recall his exact explanation since it was 7 years ago. We had to go cold turkey with the bottle but he's had very few ear infections since (though strep is a 6 times a year fight) and he didn't have to get tubes. His nose was/is always running too. Good luck. See what the dr says too.

It may be too soon to have her tested for environmental allergies, but it isn't too soon for food allergies. They can test using a blood sample.

My son had cronic ear infections/high fevers/stomach pain. The drs. would just say 'its a virus' or 'its a cold'. I started keeping a food diary, watching the daycare menu,etc. One day I noticed hives. I looked at the school menu, and realized that looking back, he had always had a specific food a day or 2 before onset. I ran to the allergist, against my hubby who thought I was paranoid, and had him tested for the 1 thing I was pretty sure of, and 3 other things that I wondered about. Sure enough he broke out into hives immediately on the 1 item. Pears! We removed the food (pears and pear juice - which is in everything!) from his diet, and he became a different child!

Follow your gut, take notes and ask questions.
Also, depending on what the allergist says, I would visit a Ear, Nose, Throat dr. that specializes in Pediatrics.

My son had chronic ear infections as well. I was in the same situation. the ear infections seemed to be constant. amoxiciline did not work for him at all. I asked his doctor if there was a diffrent medication he could try. he put him on omnecife(not sure if that is the correct spelling)that did not help it on caused him to have bad dirreahh. so he had tubes placed and they are amazing!! he is like a completly diffrent baby because he is not in pain. he has had no problems with them whats so ever!! it is an extreemly quick procedure. i would highly recommend tubes i wish i would have gotten them done sooner so he was not in pain! good luck.

Check into allergies before moving on to tubes as the answer. My son had the ear infections and after he was diagnosed with food allergies and given a nasal spray the infections stopped completely. Once his nose stayed clear then there wasn't the drainage to create the ear infections..

good luck