My son is 33 months old and has had ear infections on (mostly) and off since August. He's been on 4 or 5 rounds of antibiotics and I don't want to give him any more. Our option is ear tubes. I know it's a simple procedure, but he has to be put under and am assuming he can't get water in his ears. Any advice either way? The ENT said we could wait another month or two and if he gets another one then ear tubes for sure, but do I want to wairt until he gets ANOTHER ear infection or hope he doesn't. What do I do in the summer with a pool?
So, 5 days after our appointment with the ENT and no colds or other sickness, the ear infection is back (he's been on Zyrtec too). I am in the process of scheduling the "operation." During these last 5 days I have taken milk out of his diet and that didn't help :(
My child has had 2 sets of tubes because after about a year they fall out. Once a child has tubes they can get their ears wet..(pool water - is recommended over lake water) and I use to just put some saline drops in my child's ears after swimming to sort of just clean it out...But I would go ahead and get the tubes because the more antibiotics they take the more of a resistance they build up.\
Hope this helps
I use mullein and garlic oil ear drops that I buy. My daughter went almost a year without an ear infection (previous she had gotten 5 in one year). If you google this on the net you can probably find the Israeli study that said this helped prevent ear infections and tubes. It has worked for me.
My daughter - now 36 months -had a sting of ear infections(6) in the spring/summer.We saw ENT who in Sept. recommended tubes.But,we started her on Claritin in Aug.(given that the ear infections were in allergy season and she had sounded "nasally"/congested before getting the ear infections,but had no cold symptoms).She has been free of ear infections since August- knock on wood. I know the procedure to place the tubes is very quick- 10 minutes or so.Anesthesia risk is generally proportionate to the time under so it's a low-risk procedure.I know different ENTs have different opinions on swimming and tubes.I was told just to "be careful" avoid going under water.We were referred to a pedi ENT,who was seemed like an infommercial for tubes!My impression was that she had already decided on tubes purely by the # of infections w/out reviewing individual record/history.In my daughter's case,we waited to see if she got another infection and luckily w/ time and growth along w/ the Claritin,have not had another infection.What also helped me to decide was that my daughter's hearing and speech were not at all affected by the repeat infections.It is a tough decision to make.Best of luck.
Earplugs for bath and swim time. Drops used, at direction of ENT afterwards.
It was not hard to deal with and all our lives improved so much after the tubes were in. The child was well again and sleeping and we were sleeping! Tubes was a good thing for us.
We had to do tubes as soon as insurance would let us though, b/c son had speech delay at 18 months and it was bad.
That's interesting that they're just now suggesting the tubes.
The standard of care (per the American Academy of Pediatrics) is first time (amoxicillin), second time (augmentin), third time (Omnicef) - fourth time, ENT and tubes.
We had tubes put in our daughter's ears a year ago (just before her first birthday). The recovery was less than a few hours, and we were fine until the last 2 weeks when she got another double ear infection (treated with Cipradex drops and now Omnicef).
The only thing we were told was no lake water for the first year because it's prone to being dirtier. She swam in the pool all last year without any problems. The chlorine in the water prevents almost all bacteria from re-entering and infecting (though it's not 100%)
Good luck. I personally had no problem with the decision when we needed to make it.
tubes have been a life saver for my boys, after tubes have had not has ear infections. you use ear plugs for bath and swimming.
My son has tubes, they were literally a life-changer for him. A happier kid in every way. DO IT, you will be so much happier. He had one cranky morning the day of the surgery, mostly because they have to fast for the anesthesia, but after lunch and a nap, he was perfectly normal. Not even Tylenol. It was an immediate improvement in his sleeping, language skills, and mood. Not kidding.
On the water situation: Our ENT says that once the tubes are in and healed, they only need the earplugs (which they will fit and sell you in the ENT's office) when in dirty water--ponds, lakes, etc., not the bath or swimming pool. We gave up using the earplugs a year after the tubes went in (which was when we got that advice) and haven't had any problems with getting infected, even with lots of swimming and bathwater over the head. :)
I have a daughter who is now 6 and had tubes put in at 9 months. She did ok with the tubes but we always had to have plugs in when she was in the water. After her tubes fell out her eardrums never healed and she started to lose her hearing. She then had to have another surgery to graft skin onto the eardrum so that the holes would close. When she was about 3 I started working for a chiropractor. If I would have known then what I know now I would have NEVER had the tubes put in without trying chiropractic first. Our Chiro has had great success treating children with ear infections. If I had to do it all over I would have tried chiropractic first!
as a mother of a 5 year old child, who has had two sets of tubes, which have done nothing except still get ear infections, the 2nd tube getting stuck in her eardrum, causing its rupture due to another ear infection, during which ear infection her hearing bones were eroded, followed by complete hearing loss, which then led to repair of hearing bones with titanium-made prosthetics, which then led to our (today) 20th day since surgery, with no return of hearing, i say do not get ear tubes. they work sometimes. bathtime and swim time are easy, you get earplugs (child size, they're red, and you can find them anywhere). they work for some. for some, they make your life miserable, they bring you to the point of total heartbreak because we were never warned what could happen, in 1 or 2 per cent, and if you happen to fall in that 1 or two per cent when all things go wrong, you look back and say wish i had never done it.
get this ear infection drained. that is a process that can be done at ENT's office.
if i could do it all over again, i would insist on low dose antibiotics all year round. that is supposed to help your child not get an ear infection from fluid. take this from a mom who has lived in pins and needles for one year now, and i still don't know what the final outcome will be.
Before I became a SAHM, I worked as a chiropractic assistant. Chiropractic adjustments are very effective at preventing ear infections. It is safe and gentle. My two daughters 5 and 4, get an adjustment approx once a month and I also take them whenever they start showing signs of congestion. By adjusting the neck into proper alignment the mucus in the ears and sinuses can drain out so as not to get infected. My oldest had her only infection when she was 3, she got a cold shortly after taking a nasty fall and landing on her head. I didn't get her adjusted after her fall so when the cold came, the infection developed. My 4yo has never had an ear infection.
I watch a 3yo M-F, and she got tubes put in approx 7 months ago and has had two ear infections since getting the tubes. She has never been to a chiropractor.
