Wait Out an Earache ?

I just looked this up myself a few days ago and it stated that after age two you can wait a couple of days to see if it clears up on it's own. I would give him something for the pain though.

warm as hot as he can stand wet, not dripping though wash clothe on his ear.
The warm moist heat will help clear it up. that ear on top. not on bottom. ( it laying on him not him laying on it) if he will let you do it.

I think waiting on antibiotics is very reasonable - most otitis clears up in the same time frame without them. However I find withholding pain relief to be inhumane. We rarely gave my son antibiotics, we always gave him tylenol. His ears were generally better in well under 24 hours.

I remember having ear aches when I was a kid.
No way I'd have anybody wait with that kind of pain.
Take him to see a doctor soon as you can.
A heating pad on low on his ear might help in the mean time.
Additional:
No decongestants for an ear ache!
If you give him anything - give him an expectorant (Mucinex or Robitussin).
You want the mucus/fluid thinned out so it can drain from his ears.
A decongestant makes the fluid thick and it won't drain (and pressure builds up even worse).

Doctor.

I have an ADHD kid who meltdown with meds. (Loooooove Children's Hosp! They had so so so many sensory tricks! And are just USED to sensory kids. Which makes a night & day difference in receptivity! I try to do most of our daily needs there, now, as just saying "sensory kid" is enough to alter their approach. Granted, sometimes they could be riding on unicorns & it wouldn't change things, and other times he'd smile through having his hair set on fire. Wheeeeee.)

Anyhow... Point being... I've gotten to the point of just having to roll with it. If we can do urgent care @ Children's, we do. If not, then I buy myself a book as a treat for the bad day in front of us.

Some meltdowns I'll go to extreme lengths to avoid.

Even though I might want to avoid medical meltdowns (and I do), those are on my Nike List (Just Do It).

___________

Ear drops (which cause the screaming flails at our house) I do after he's asleep, by the by.

Do you have one of those otoscopes with the light in it so that you can see his eardrum? I have had one before and used it to see if the eardrum was really bad, when the earache wasn't severe. The times I waited were okay because it turned out that it was just fluid behind the ear, and not infection. You might see if you can find one of these - you also might find a used version on ebay...

With his cold, it could be either way - fluid or infection. Both hurt. Can you give him some Dimetapp? That might help dry him up some...

Hope he feels better quickly - good luck with your decision (I know it's a hard decision to make!!)

Hugs! Dawn

Don't wait. Nowadays they only give antibiotics if severe infection. I would have it checked.

I have heard of heating dry rice or a potatoe and putting in in a sock to hold/mold around the ear to help with ear pain.

Ears HURT really bad with they are infected and can rupture the ear drumif the goo/infected pus fills the space behind the ear to its capactiy.

You can try homeopatic remedies...but this is one infection where an antibiotic might be best...

Ear aches really hurt. I would take him to the doc. Maybe the one time pain of a shot of antibiotics would be better than the struggle of daily meds. Ask your doctor.

I treat all our ear infections at home unless they get really out of hand. I just give a OTC decongestant and do massage in front of and behind the ear in a down ward motion and down the sides of the throat. The massage helps clear the tubes behind the ears. often after a few minutes of massage I can actually feel something break loose and the ear starts to feel better quickly after that.

I use Auro drops & they work really good.You can weigh it out till tomorrow given him a pain reliver & drops.I know you said what he has & how he deals with the medications but it's worth a try.Especially to avoid an ER visit.Also putting cotton balls in the ears will help.As for now comfort him& try to relieve his pain

you can wait on ear infections.. I wait until my dr is open. it is not really an urgent care situatioin. we go to our dr during normal business hours.

our dr is quicker, and knows the kids. they are less scared cause they know the dr.

I wouldn't risk waiting, even with autism and ODD. Poor guy, take him in.

Garlic in the ear works. I haven't tried the garlic or eucalyptus oils, only because I haven't had them when my daughters have woken in the night crying with ear pain. But every time I've cut a garlic clove to fit in the outer ear, covered it with (olive/veg/coconut) oil, and held it in with a headband it has cured their ear pain. The garlic is anti-inflammatory and antibiotic. I also give them a warm compress to lay their ear on.

What about taking him to the Chiro? I often get earaches when sick and one adjustment has relieved the pressure before.

Okay. With my autistic daughter, we go with the medication that she takes the best. She hates liquid but will take pills. She has to take daily seizure and ADD meds so we don't have a lot of options, and we had to get her on board with taking them... and she only takes them at night. She won't take them any other time. Otherwise she wouldn't agree.

When it comes to illness and antibiotics, it takes some finessing. She loves her female doctor, but isn't as fond of the male doctor. She knows that she has the option of being sick longer if we have to wait to have the male doctor. She knows that when it comes to antibiotics she either takes the pill form as often as the doctor prescribes. She also knows that she has the choice of a pill or an injection of the antibiotic if she puts up a fuss.

A good friend of mine has a son with profound ASD and he'll go to the doctor but won't take any medication. He could be held down, but will vomit back up anything they give him. So instead they just hold him long enough to give him an injection of his antibiotics. It's just a given. He has to live in a special home where my friend visits with him daily, and she's luckily able to coax him to take his daily meds in his food, but antibiotics? Nope.

All that said, when it comes to ear infections the majority of them do clear up on their own. If they go on for more than 3 days or they get worse instead of better, then they require treatment.

I did see your SWH, so I hope he takes the Rx and pain management. If not, at least you know there's an alternative. If he has sensory issues, it might be something you can reason with him about.

Ear infections are almost always goo from the sinuses that can't get out any other way. So give him half a dose of liquid Sudafed. This will often make the goo runny enough to empty it out of the ear canals.

If that doesn't work then it's a true ear infection that does need powerful antibiotics.

Try garlic oil. We bought that for my husband last year and it worked really quickly. We bought Mullein Garlic Compound from Herb Pharm. It is garlic and olive oil. You don't want to put straight garlic in, that will burn like heck.

Unless there is a fever or the ear pain lasts for over 48 hours, do not give antibiotics. That is the new reccomendation. My son had ear pain a few weeks ago and he let me put homemade garlic oil in his ear a few times a day and took tylenol for the pain. He was fine the next day. I know it's more complicated with your child, but you know what works and what motivates him so I reccomend going this route first. My son also hates taking medicine so I tell him that unless he lets me put the drops in his ear or take the tylenol/motrin we have to go to the doctor and maybe take antibiotics, which he absolutely hates.