HELP - 3 infections in 30 days - do we need Tubes???

Oh, we just spent a joyous 4 hrs in the ER to get a script for an antibiotic (we are out of town) for Lachlan's ear infection. He took his last dose of the old antibiotic (omnicef) this morning but had already had a fever since last night. His ears were red and almost infected and his tonsils were also enlarged and red.

We are obviously going to see our Pedi as soon as we get back to town. I really don't want Lachlan to have tubes but I think at this point it seemed unavoidable.

Any suggestions or tips??????

Merry Christmas - I hope no one else has to spend this weekend in the ER!!

Erin

 

Oh, we just spent a joyous 4 hrs in the ER to get a script for an antibiotic (we are out of town) for Lachlan's ear infection. He took his last dose of the old antibiotic (omnicef) this morning but had already had a fever since last night. His ears were red and almost infected and his tonsils were also enlarged and red.

We are obviously going to see our Pedi as soon as we get back to town. I really don't want Lachlan to have tubes but I think at this point it seemed unavoidable.

Any suggestions or tips??????

Merry Christmas - I hope no one else has to spend this weekend in the ER!!

Erin

 

Is it just one continuous infection that doesn't clear up? Catherine would take antibiotics and the infection would clear but the fluid wouldn't and then it would just get reinfected again. So it was a cycle of infections. The ENT was concerned about her hearing, so we went ahead and put tubes in. If you haven't seen an ENT yet, that would be my next step. They have better diagnostic tools than the pedi and can measure pressure in the ears, etc. I hope he feels better soon! Poor guy Ear infections are miserable.

 

My boys had several ear infections in a row they were on antibotics for 2 or 3 months it seemed like and finally they went away. Good luck and maybe a ENT like pp said wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

I made an appt with the ent for Olivia after her 3rd infection in 6 weeks. When we saw her, she diagnosed her with her 4th ear infection, and said her hearing was decreased from what it should. She suggested ear tubes, which is why I had made the appt. So we are getting them Jan 3rd. She finished her antibiotics Thursday and I brought her back in today for another ear infection. So that is #5 in 8 weeks. Some kids are more prone to ear infections then others.

Here are the things I can remember that cause more kids then others to get ear infections:
- boys
-daycare kids
-bottle users
-pacifier users
-other siblings with ear infection history

My ent told me that when I had tubes put in Zack that if I had another boy the next boy would probably have ear problems. Well Johnny has only had 2 infections, olivia has now had 6. So she is getting tubes.

 

I have never had the whole ear infection problem with any of my kids **knock on wood** but during the 1st part of the year my sister was going through it with my nephew. His pedi sent them to an ENT who put him on a combo of antibiotic(augmitten sp??)and allergy meds (zyrtec) with intentions on putting tubes in if this did not work. They even went as far as to set a date for 3 weeks later. But the meds worked and cleared the fluid and infection, he is now an Zyrtec daily since the ENT thinks his ear infections are caused by his allergies.
If he misses 1 does of his meds he is so stuffy.
Good luck I hope it gets better and you can avoid tubes

 

Thanks so much for all the replies! He has had an infection since Thanksgiving. The infection clears but the fluid remains and then gets re-infected. Liam has has no problems...

Lachlan only had 1 ear infection before and it was 1 year ago. I guess the trick is to get rid of the fluid. I will call the Pedi and then ask about seeing a ENT.

 

Another thing that works to help drain the fluid sometimes is any drug with pseudoephedrine in it. It helps to drain the fluid out.

 

Our ENT explained to us that it is normal for fluid to remain in the ears for up to 3 months following an infection.

So our two go back in February for a recheck, although it seems that Jenner has another infection according to the Pedi, but she did not prescribe any meds because he is not bothered by it whatsoever.

 

My boys both have tubes and I am very thankful for them!! Without them they couldn't hear properly and of course I was unaware of that because they were only 1.5 when they each got them. They both still have them but they are no longer on their eardrum which means we are waiting for them to fall out. Unfortunately, Jalen still has fluid behind his eardrum so the ENT is considering another set for him...my poor baby, but at least his ears won't hurt anymore!!

 

Are they new infections each time, or one infection that hasn't responded to meds? There is a difference.

It's 4 infections or more in 6 mos for our ped office.

 

My guess is that the infection never really cleared up. My dd had months on end with antibiotics.

Tubes aren't a bad thing. My dd has had 2 sets and Boyd's 1st set it still in and Brody's on one new in his left ear, and the right tube has fallen out and he's already had one infection since that.

Is there a reason why you don't want tubes?

 

I think the first time - the infection cleared but the fluid remained and it became re-infected. This time - the infection never really went away even with the drugs. We have an appt tomorrow to see ENT. The nurse at Children's said it was very important to get him seen ASAP - I guess they don't want to risk his hearing.

I am not at all against tubes. If it will make his suffering go away - I am all for it! I just want to do what is best and I don't think staying on antibiotics is it. I will post tomorrow after we see ENT.

Erin

 

Good luck!

My theory was that too many antibiotics aren't good vs a hole in the ear

Then when my dd (she had a ton of ear infections/antibiotics) started growing her molars, we found the wonderful negative of too many antibiotics, the stuff eats the enamal off teeth!

So with my twins, I got the tubes as soon as I could.

 

3 of my 4 kids have tubes. My first ds got them when he was 15mos old. He had had 11 ear infections. He got the tubes...such an easy procedure and he will be four next week and has never had another infection. Mitchell had them when he was 8 mos old after only 2 infections but they were doing surgery and since we have a family history of lots of ear infections (I got tubes when I was 22) they just put them in. My McKenna got them when she was 9 mos old after having ei after ei. We don't know if it was one that didn't clear of if they were new ones. She did have tons of fluid behind her ears her ent said. But I did find out that she was on the antibiotics and I was giving her the meds along with her zantac. Turns out the Zantac can lessen the strength of the antibiotics or something like that. One time we had to go for the shot of Roceffin (however the heck you spell it) bc the infection would just not go away. Her tubes fell out 6 mos post op and she already has fluid again so my ent said she may need them again but so far she is doing fine without them!

Good luck!