My son is 22 months old and he got his firt earinfection a couple of months ago, and then about month after that he got another one and now he has a cold again and is acting like he has another one. Is this normal for kids to keep getting them like this? I worry about giving him so much antibiotics but I don't know what else to do. When do they think about putting tubes in his ears. Also I feel like I should be doing something different so he doesn't get sick so much. But I don't know what we could do. He eats pretty good. He eats most fruits and vegetables. But He keeps getting sick. Anyway just wanted to know how other kids are and if this is normal or if I should be more concerned. Thanks.
yes that is common and they won't do tubes in the ears unless it's so many in a certain time frame or they aren't going away.
My daughter had ear infections constantly and back to back but outgrew them by 4 years old.
I work for an ENT and we use 2 main criteria for putting ear tubes in: 1) frequent ear infections--usually 4 infections in a year or 3 infections in 6 months and 2) chronic fluid--that's been there 2 months or longer. It's not actually the ears that are the problem. It is the adenoids (they are in the back of the nose above the roof of the mouth). Kids often get sick with a cold, which causes irritation of the adenoids. The cold may turn bacterial. The germs in the adenoid area will jump off the adenoids and travel up the Eustachian Tube to the middle ear and cause the ear to become infected. Often just putting ear tubes in isn't enough. We will put ear tubes in and remove adenoids in kids that are 17 months old or older. Some ENTs won't take the adenoids out with the first set of tubes, only if the kid needs a second set of tubes. The doctor I work for feels that the kids will benefit from the adenoids being removed the first time, as long as the kid is old enough. That often prevents the kids from having to have additional sets of ear tubes being put in. Hope that helps!!
When I saw your request I got so excited because I went through this with my son and found a product that stopped the ear infections in their tracks. Garlic and Mullein Oil drops! They cost about 8 dollars and you can find them at health food stores or some chiropractors. probably online too. The brand I bought was from Nutrition Dynamics. Just a couple of drops in the ears take away the infection and sooth the pain. I have used them on myself and made my brother-in-law use them too. They are wonderful!
Some people are wary of chiropractors but it really does help. There are places in the neck that directly effect the drainage of the eustation tubes (I hope I am explaining this right) and a simple, pain free adjustment really helps.
Also, you can boost his immune system with a good acidophilous, probiotic, whatever you want to call it. He will be better in no time!
Good luck!
Hi S.:
My son had three back to back ear infections recently. Our doctor explained that for her there are two main problems she looks for with ear infections. First thing is that the ears are clear in between the infections. The second issue is that the antibiotics are working meaning that he wasn't building a tolerance to them (he is still on the 2nd stage or type).
Another important fact for me was that she also suggested that if he got a 4th infection that she would gladly refer us to a ear, nose and throat specialist to check his ears to make sure there wasn't any problems. She also asked that I monitor his speak development. If I noticed a decrease in his speak or language skills to inform her and she would then refer us.
Luckily for us my son has not development a 4th infection. I would recommend speaking with your doctor along with doing some research. Good Luck.
Hi S.:
My son had one ear infection after another when he was a baby. Now, my daughter (4 yrs) has been having something similar. (DD is adopted and I have NO medical info before 14 months - so not sure how long this has been going on w/ her) Anyway, with both kids the doctor said the little tubes in their ears were too short and so it was very easy for any fluid (from bath, colds, even drinking from bottle at a certain angle) to get in there and cause an ear infection. From what I understood, the ear tubes eventually "mature" so they don't cause fluid problems anymore. My son did outgrow it at around 2 1/2. The doctor was just starting to suggest ear tubes but we were not sure yet. Now our daughter's doctor is starting to talk about tubes but is willing to wait a bit to see how she does/did this winter. We had a few infections but nothing like the last two years. So, hopefully her ears are maturing as well. She has a cold right now and just told me this morning that her ear hurts...lol. But, she also said her feet hurt, so maybe she's just goofing around. We have a DR appt on Monday just to be sure! :) They know us well! Hope this helps some. Good luck - I know how hard those ear infections can be on baby AND on mom!
I think it depends on the doctor that you go to. My son got tubes put in his ears in February after he was 2 and after about 10-12 ear infections he's had...his started when he was just over 4 months. I think my ped. said...or at least this is how I understood it...that when it's more than 5 a year is when they start considering it. It also depends on how their eardrums are when they are healthy...my son's a lot of the time were very dull in color and inverted, where I've been told they are supposed to be shiny and where they are kind of coned out. So I would talk to your doctor and see what her opinion on tubes is...
I know what you mean about being worried about giving too much antibiotics. We are currently at the stage of considering whether or not to have our 26 month old son get tubes or not. We have been fighting ear infection since January with the fluid never going away. He hates the antibiotics so that is such a pain to try to give to him. We saw an ENT yesterday and he said that in our case we can try and wait or get tubes. We have tried the chiropractor and other items than just anti-biotics. In our son's case he is getting the ear infections because the fluid that isn't draining is a breeding ground for infection.
My daughter got her first ear infection at 32 months (a little over 2 and 1/2) she average 1 a month for the next year until tubes were finally put in. It was not unusual for to her wake up from a nap screaming because the ears were infected. (She screamed so long and so loud in the er one time that we had a prescription for motrin back when it was prescription only.)
No one in the medical field was very worried until her speech started to slur then we got tubes within about 2 weeks. (she flunked a hearing test) Even then the doctor saw her on Friday for her pre-surgery physical and told me Monday morning after surgery that if the tubes at gone in that morning I'd have been in the er that night cause the ears were starting to turn read and act up again.
Not sure if that's helpful but she's almost 17 now and pretty normal for a teenager. Normal immune system and all.
Don't worry -- its very common to have ear infections like that. My baby girl had tubes put in when she was 5 months old! She hasn't had one since (for about a year now). Just keep talking to your doctor about it -- hopefully they will start being fewer and farther between infections. There is nothing you are doing wrong -- its just how things go. Their ear canal just isn't developed enough yet to let the fluid flow out -- totally normal!
Stay on top of it and ask your doctor about alternatives if they keep coming!
