Ear infections....

[MediumBrownDog]

My 9 month old son has his first one, acute onset, bilateral, woke up at 3:00 a.m. screaming bloody murder with a 102.7 temperature. We had absolutely no sign it was coming. He doesn't even have the sniffles. The pediatrician prescribed Augmentin, which he says should knock it out pretty quickly, but right now he's miserable, even with baby motrin. He won't eat and will hardly drink, he just mewls and pulls on his ears and wants to be held. Any experiences in dealing with this, making the baby more comfortable, etc? Thanks!

[phylny]

1. Talk to the pediatrician's office about piggybacking Ibuprofen

and acetaminophen for the pain. Also, a warm, moist washcloth at the ear can help at times. Staying upright instead of laying down seems to help as well.

My youngest, a breastfed baby, had *16* ear infections in her first year. It was no picnic for her. We could never tell when she had them until they were full-blown because she was so pleasant and happy all the time. Never cried, never fussed. Poor thing.

[trotsky]

2. I lost track how many ear infections we dealt with.

In fact, our daughter was about to get tubes but at her final checkup before the surgery, there was no fluid in her ears so they cancelled it. Whew!

I would echo the above poster, check about using Tylenol in addition to or instead of Motrin. We found it to be more effective for ear pain. And yep, our kids were on Augmentin from time to time too. Our son preferred its taste to the pink stuff, but our daughter hated it, so it was always a treat to get her to take it.

[TrogL]

3. I've had one for a month

and I'm pushing 50.

*mewls, pulls on ears"

Put something warm and soft on the affected side like a hot water bottle (not too hot) or heating pad (on fairly low).

[yardwork]

4. I've heard that there are prescription drops that numb the eardrum

We didn't use these when our kids were young because we didn't know about them, but ask your pediatrician.

The other thing that I found worked was to carry the baby outside. For some reason the change in air temperature and humidity always helped. Maybe it had a calming effect.

Try carrying the baby outside and walking around.

[SarahB]

5. Warm compresses (when the fever comes down)

Sometimes if there's an abscess, warm compresses can "pop" it and relieve the pressure. If he's breastfed and is willing, let him nurse as much as possible. That also helps relieve the pressure. I'm sorry. I've been through more bouts of ear infections than I'd like. My 7 year old (with his second set of tubes; my 9 ear old son had a set as well a few yeas back) has draining ears and is an antibiotic ear-drops as we speak. :(

[SW FL Dem]

6. When my son was a toddler

my Pediatrician recommended using a blow dryer set on low to gently blow warm air into the ear canal. Hold it about a foot away. The warm air opens up the ear canal and relieves the pressure which is causing the pain.

My son now frequently gets infections from swimming. A neighbor told me her home remedy which works wonders. Mix tea tree oil with an equal part of olive oil and drop a few drops in the ear two or three times a day. The tea tree oil is an antiseptic and dries up the fluids in the ear. The last time my son had an ear infection, this cleared it up in 2 days with no antibiotics.

Another trick a friend gave me was to heat a baked potato in the microwave for a few minutes, then put it in a sock and place it next to the ear, it is a great portable and long lasting source of moist heat.

Hope your son is feeling better by now.

[wildeyed]

9. I have also used olive oil with a little garlic.

Dice a few cloves of garlic. Saute in olive oil. Cool. Drop in ear.

The garlic is supposed to have some antibiotic properties. Also, I have heard that just the warm oil on the eardrum help reduce the pain. Also, I always have oil and garlic on hand, so no special trips out to the store. Plus the baby smells like garlic bread when you are done. :)

[phylny]

11. I would caution that this should not be done if there is any chance that

the eardrum has ruptured.

[wildeyed]

13. How do you tell?

I have heard mothers say that fluid will start draining out of the ear. Any other tell tale signs? Neither of mine have ever ruptured an eardrum. Ouch!

[phylny]

14. Generally,

drainage of fluid (clear or white), pus, or blood.

[CornField]

7. Late chiming in, but don't let the child lie flat

Lying down flat just increases the pressure and causes more pain. When our daughter had a bad ear infection, I had her sleeping in the car seat so her head would be elevated.

[MediumBrownDog]

8. Thanks for all the ideas!

My son is much better now, thank you. The fever eventually reached 103.5 and scared me to death, but Augmentin knocked it out in short order. I've printed out this thread to keep around to remind me of all these tips when the next one hits (and I'm sure there will be a next one, unfortunately).

[wildeyed]

10. Glad to hear he is feeling better!

When my son got his first ear infection, his temp went up to 104. MY head almost exploded! I was on the phone to the ped telling the receptionist to get me a nurse NOW and don't connect me to that stupid answering machine. They talked me down and he was fine. Phew.

On the plus side, I read recently that two high temps in a baby's first year were beneficial to the developing immune system. So you have one down, one to go :)

[AwakeAtLast]

12. That's exactly how my daughter's first one showed up.

Same time and everything. No signs until it was too late.

I was told she could have Ibuprofen *and* Tylenol for pain. The combo worked.

Hang in there! :hi: