So Dd1 has had a cold for over a week now. She had a low grade fever for a few days of that. Today she was in tears over her ear hurting so I'm guessing she has an ear infection. Ok to wait until Monday to take her into our pedi? Or do I need to go to some sort of urgent care? Neither if my kids has had an ear infection before so I'm clueless.
I think it's fine to wait until tomorrow to see. I've had them complain of ear pain that has resolved itself, just a dose or 2 of Advil. Jack was up crying & pulling Tuesday night, was fine with meds Wednesday and seemingly fine until Thursday evening when he was a mess and ear pulling again. Took him in Friday am & they were infected. He's my first baby that has gotten ear infections; it's hard to know what to do sometimes!
Post by rosesandpetals on May 23, 2015 19:55:37 GMT -5
We don't mess around with ear infections anymore so I would bring her in. But I know some kids have a lot of trouble sleeping with ear infections because laying down is so uncomfortable. If she's still crying and/or not being able to sleep, I'd definitely take her to UC.
Post by Kcthepouchh8r on May 23, 2015 19:56:09 GMT -5
The average ear infection will clear on it's own within 3 days so I would wait it out assuming symptoms don't seen severe (higher fever, crying that doesn't subside with pain meds, unable to sleep, etc).
Ugh, she's up crying pretty much inconsolably. I made a 1045pm urgent care appointment....
Also, this is so so stupid, but I'm feeling so sad that she's a daddy's girl right now. Just want to cuddle her and make her feel better but she just wants daddy.
Post by rosesandpetals on May 23, 2015 20:45:20 GMT -5
DD is going through a daddy's girl phase, too. It is rough when they just want the other parent. :/ sorry.
The antibiotics won't work by tonight but I hope she can still get some sleep. Id try and prop some pillows so she can sleep sitting up. Hope she feels better!
Thanks for the sympathy friends. She fell asleep on DH's lap so I think I'll hold off until the morning-- no sense in waking her up. I'm really not sure how I've made it 4 years without any urgent care or ER visits. I feel like such a FTM when it comes to sick kid stuff beyond the basic cold and fever.
That's how we are, too. My first ear infection ever, dd1 was 5. I had no clue about anything behind a cold or stomach bug. Now the baby has had 2 in 2 months plus an er visit at 5 days old for his "infected" belly button.
I'm glad she fell asleep finally. Hopefully she gets a good nights rest and you can reassess.
The average ear infection will clear on it's own within 3 days so I would wait it out assuming symptoms don't seen severe (higher fever, crying that doesn't subside with pain meds, unable to sleep, etc).
[br Well that didn't work out for my niece who has hearing loss. Her mother is an idiot who let too many ear infections go untreated.
The average ear infection will clear on it's own within 3 days so I would wait it out assuming symptoms don't seen severe (higher fever, crying that doesn't subside with pain meds, unable to sleep, etc).
[br Well that didn't work out for my niece who has hearing loss. Her mother is an idiot who let too many ear infections go untreated.
Ear infections are painful and easily treated. Why would you let a kid go days without treatment? Would you sit on a migraine for three days?
The average ear infection will clear on it's own within 3 days so I would wait it out assuming symptoms don't seen severe (higher fever, crying that doesn't subside with pain meds, unable to sleep, etc).
Both of my kids had months long ear infections until getting tubes. I have never heard of an ear infection clearing up on its own, much less in 3 days. DS2's ear drum ruptured because his pain tolerance is so high he was showing no signs of infection until it was too late.
OP, I wouldn't have woken her either but I'd get it looked at today if she complains. How did she sleep?
Post by mamaalysson on May 24, 2015 11:02:30 GMT -5
I agree with having her seen, though I probably wouldn't have woken her last night either. I hope she slept well. FWIW, we've had only one ear infection in our house, and it cleared despite DD refusing to take the meds for it, so they definitely can clear on their own. But after our neighbor's scary experience, I will always at least be in contact with our doctor over any and all ear infections. Like all infections, they can turn bad just as quickly as they turn good.
Some people have shorter eusatcian tubes, making them more prone to ear infections. this is also inherited like height or eye color. All three of my kids have had numerous infections like I did as a child. There is no way I would let one go untreated seeing how miserable it makes them.
The average ear infection will clear on it's own within 3 days so I would wait it out assuming symptoms don't seen severe (higher fever, crying that doesn't subside with pain meds, unable to sleep, etc).
Both of my kids had months long ear infections until getting tubes. I have never heard of an ear infection clearing up on its own, much less in 3 days. DS2's ear drum ruptured because his pain tolerance is so high he was showing no signs of infection until it was too late.
This happened to DD twice. It was one of the things they talked about when we first found out about her hearing loss because the scar tissue can cause loss (But a pp all ready pointed this out).
We took her in this morning... She slept all night but was soooo miserable when she woke up. Just crying and fussy and sad, but said that nothing hurt. But yea, she's got an infection in one ear and fluid in the other. We got the meds and she's currently napping on the couch.
Both of my kids had months long ear infections until getting tubes. I have never heard of an ear infection clearing up on its own, much less in 3 days. DS2's ear drum ruptured because his pain tolerance is so high he was showing no signs of infection until it was too late.
This happened to DD twice. It was one of the things they talked about when we first found out about her hearing loss because the scar tissue can cause loss (But a pp all ready pointed this out).
I am certainly not pointing the finger at anyone here, I hope I didn't offend you. My niece's mother is an abusive POS who is also an addict. I hope your DD is doing well.
This happened to DD twice. It was one of the things they talked about when we first found out about her hearing loss because the scar tissue can cause loss (But a pp all ready pointed this out).
I am certainly not pointing the finger at anyone here, I hope I didn't offend you. My niece's mother is an abusive POS who is also an addict. I hope your DD is doing well.
No, not at all. We didn't even know she had an infection the first time because she (apparently) has a very high pain tolerance. The second time, she had 3 antibiotics and they still had to clean it out during surgery to get where they needed to be it was so bad. So not really anyone's fault. I was just saying, wait and see isn't always a great idea. Infections can cause permanent issues.
I am deaf in one ear from ear infections (which were treated with antibiotics). I am also now antibiotic resistant thanks to taking them so frequently in childhood. About a year ago I got a terrible bladder infection that antibiotics didn't touch. Because of how bad the infection was I now have recurrent bladder spasms which are accompanied by very severe cramping, painful and frequent urination. Of the meds to treat one puts me to sleep and the other makes me terribly sick to my stomach so most the time I just have to suffer through it. This has negatively affected my life more than an earache for a few days.
Post by Kcthepouchh8r on May 24, 2015 20:14:59 GMT -5
Also I'm surprised this isn't more common knowledge. Both my PCP and my pedi have posters from the cdc in their exam rooms of what kinds of infections warrant antibiotic use and which ones don't. Ear infections are checked off as no.
Also I'm surprised this isn't more common knowledge. Both my PCP and my pedi have posters from the cdc in their exam rooms of what kinds of infections warrant antibiotic use and which ones don't. Ear infections are checked off as no.
But how do they know it's not bacterial H Flu causing the infection? I do know there are some that do not respond to antibiotic but there is no way to tell without taking a culture, which takes 3 days to come back and it could get bad by then. Without a culture it is impossible to know what is causing the infection and what type of antibiotic will cover it. There are also numbing ear drops and other treatments that aren't antibiotic.
Also I'm surprised this isn't more common knowledge. Both my PCP and my pedi have posters from the cdc in their exam rooms of what kinds of infections warrant antibiotic use and which ones don't. Ear infections are checked off as no.
But how do they know it's not bacterial H Flu causing the infection? I do know there are some that do not respond to antibiotic but there is no way to tell without taking a culture, which takes 3 days to come back and it could get bad by then. Without a culture it is impossible to know what is causing the infection and what type of antibiotic will cover it. There are also numbing ear drops and other treatments that aren't antibiotic.
I have never heard of an ear culture when there's the possibility of an infection. Per the cdc/aap the current recommendation is waiting 72 hours minus the child presenting with a high fever. If symptoms worsen/don't improve then it's considered necessary to treat with antibiotics.
For most kids ibuprofen is adequate. Honestly anytime my kids have had one they needed a dose at nighttime when lying down but otherwise were fine during the day. If an infection was to the severity that numbing drops were needed because ibuprofen didn't make them comfortable honestly I would do antibiotics (and assume my pedi would too).
And I think we've established that it is significantly more than an earache for a few days. But ok. Sure.
Yes, we shouldn't trust cdc/aap recommendations if they're on a poster.
Per the OP the earache had started that day so yeah you don't need to run to the doctor same day.
it is kind of ridiculous to get your information from a poster instead of a doctor. That recommendation is heavily contested within the medical community. We've seen several doctors who specialize in the ears over the last couple of months and they all recommend antibiotics for even routine infections. Ruptured drums cause scar tissue which leads to hearing loss, which is more than an earache for a couple days.
But if the poster disagrees then I too am surprised it isn't more common knowledge.
But how do they know it's not bacterial H Flu causing the infection? I do know there are some that do not respond to antibiotic but there is no way to tell without taking a culture, which takes 3 days to come back and it could get bad by then. Without a culture it is impossible to know what is causing the infection and what type of antibiotic will cover it. There are also numbing ear drops and other treatments that aren't antibiotic.
I have never heard of an ear culture when there's the possibility of an infection. Per the cdc/aap the current recommendation is waiting 72 hours minus the child presenting with a high fever. If symptoms worsen/don't improve then it's considered necessary to treat with antibiotics.
For most kids ibuprofen is adequate. Honestly anytime my kids have had one they needed a dose at nighttime when lying down but otherwise were fine during the day. If an infection was to the severity that numbing drops were needed because ibuprofen didn't make them comfortable honestly I would do antibiotics (and assume my pedi would too).
Yes, we shouldn't trust cdc/aap recommendations if they're on a poster.
Per the OP the earache had started that day so yeah you don't need to run to the doctor same day.
it is kind of ridiculous to get your information from a poster instead of a doctor. That recommendation is heavily contested within the medical community. We've seen several doctors who specialize in the ears over the last couple of months and they all recommend antibiotics for even routine infections. Ruptured drums cause scar tissue which leads to hearing loss, which is more than an earache for a couple days.
But if the poster disagrees then I too am surprised it isn't more common knowledge.
These posters spread new medical information. Many patients come in expecting an antibiotic and may get annoyed when the doctor doesn't. CDC drives the point home. Obviously the doctor isn't going to have that in their office and say just kidding, I don't really believe that. My children's hospital ent who treat my daughter/did her surgery recommend watchful waiting as does the ent that treats me.
I have ruptured an ear drum more than once (it doesn't always cause hearing loss btw) and telling you it's a far better alternative than antibiotic resistance considering the latter could kill you.