Tell me about your preschooler's ear infection

[ecoteat]

My 3.5 yo dd has her first ear infection. She's had a mild cough/cold for about a week and this morning woke up miserable. She was in such pain, but just wasn't talking so she didn't tell me what the problem was specifically. I knew SOMETHING hurt, so I gave her Tylenol, which turned her back into herself. Once she wasn't in so much pain she told me that her ears hurt. I called the dr. and was told to call back first thing in the morning to get a spot with the on-call dr. I know most ear infections clear up on their own, but they said they need to see her. It's generally a pretty laid-back, natural health care friendly practice. I've been thinking all along that her cold is viral, so antibiotics wouldn't help, right? How long can I expect her to be miserable? How long have you kept your child out of preschool in a situation like this? What can I do to help her get better?

[tanyalynn]

Viruses can cause congestion and if, for some reason, ear drainage becomes poor, bacteria can multiply and thus an infection.

That said--DS got an EI this past fall and massage really helped. Long strokes behind his ear, top of ear to the dip behind his earlobe and then down to his collarbone, and our DO, the next day, said long strokes along the hairline, past the ears, again down to the collarbone. You can start those several places--mid-forehead, next to the nose, and/or under the nose (mustache-area). DS woke up in a lot of pain late one night, and with a couple hours of that and cuddles, went back to sleep for the whole night, I was thrilled.

I always do nutritional support during illnesses too, lots of vitamin C, sometimes extra zinc (beyond what we usually give), a multi with Bs wouldn't hurt either. Illnesses really seem to use up nutrients quickly.

[EdnaMarie]

My child had her first ear infection when she was nearly three.

The only thing I'm thinking is, you don't want to mask a fever. My child gets high fevers and that was how we knew she had an infection- it was at 104 - 106 for two days before we took her in, but if you have to give your child Tylenol for that long, you might mask the infection, and miss a window of opportunity to treat with less strong antibiotics.

I personally prefer a course of antibiotics to days and days of Tylenol followed by a course of antibiotics, but we've not been in your situation where there wasn't a fever. In that case, it's hard to say whether she should just wait it out.

My personal experience with ear pain was that chewing a lot of gum helped clear it up, but of course it depends on the child, whether she could be trusted to spend time chewing the gum vs. swallowing piece after piece.

[ecoteat]

I definitely am not thrilled about giving her Tylenol, but she was so miserable I couldn't stand it. After the first dose was wearing off her temp was 100. She didn't feel alarmingly warm before that, but she did kick her blankets off in the night, which she usually doesn't do. My friend's son just got over an EI and she said she was giving him some homeopathic remedy (I'm not sure what) and that helped ease the pain. I'll probably stop at the co-op tomorrow to see what they have--does anyone else have experience with that?

The massage sounds good too. I know when I have sinus congestion rubbing along the side of my nose seems to help. And I'll make sure she gets her vitamins today.

[LauraLoo]

It probably won't help this time, but I have read that when you feel like you are getting a cold (or if your dc start to show signs of a cold) to take a cotton swap dipped in hydrogen peroxide and run it in the ear (not deeply, of course.) This is supposed to help with the bacteria that may infect the sinuses. The peroxide is going to bubble a lot, so it will sound loud since it's in the ear....just fyi.

I never remember to do this, but my kids have been very healthy for a long time so I guess I haven't had a chance. My dh does it from time to time when he thinks he's coming down with a cold -- seems to work well for him.

My dd had a double ear infection when she was 3.5 (her only ear infection) -- we were on our way to the airport when she started coming down with her fever and then we flew.....OMG - I never want to re-live that trip. Hope your dd feels better soon!