Ear Infection? - Kansas City,MO

Ok this I have alot of experience with. I personally would put her on a decongestant and an allergy med. This helped my son immensly. Mine has tubes and still gets infections. The playing with the ear is either an ear infection or possibly pressure from being congested. Tylenol will work for the night and if you give the allergy meds at bedtime they will help her sleep. When she wakes at night just give her some tylenol and leave her be. Now it was also suggested to me to prop them on pillows this does seem to help the pressure with no ear infection. Mine never gets fevers either. Keep an eye on her if she seems to get worse then go to the doctor. Mine also sticks his fingers in his ear and tries to scratch them. I think that is the fluid draining. Keep taking her to cvs and keep an eye on it make sure it doesn't get reinfected. I know all decongestants and allergy meds say 4 yrs old but the pharmicist told me what to get and how much to give.

I use a mucus med for the congestion in his chest which he actually feels in his ears. I use sudafed it has two ingrediants they need to help with ear infetions. The allergy med seems to help more than anything else.

Chiropractic adjustments can help tremendously with this, too. I would try to go twice a week if you can.

I would hold off on the meds, with the possible exception of baby Tylenol of she seems to be in great pain. They are not tested and approved for children under 2 and even then, use w/great reservation. They also contain other ingredients that we should avoid, such as preservatives and artificial colors, both of which have been shown to adversely affect behavior/mood/irritability in kids.

She's probably draining and the pressure is what is bothering her. I agree with the mom's-try benedryl to help her sleep and dry up the draining and give her tylenol for the pain.

We have spent the last 10 months fighting sinus and ear infections w both our kids and that helps a lot when they don't actually have an infection.

Try getting her to sleep with her head raised a bit too. Also-if she is NOT running a fever but is displaying the other symptoms, she prob doesn't have an EI--not to say that it can't turn into one, but that might save you a dr visit.

It is time to take her to an ear nose an throat specialist for an evaluation.
And yes I hate when drs keep putting you off until the kids gets really sick.

Because I took my son to a chiropractor, we never had problems like this. When he was older, I worked out of a chiropractic clinic and have worked with many children over the years as a therapist. The parents who went with the antibiotics to treat ear infections most commonly ended up having the problem repeat time and again. The parents who opted for the chiropractic approach solved the problem without any meds that disturb digestive functions or surgery.

The chiropractor would explain what causes the problem in the first place. Just about every time, it begins with an allergic reaction to something that causes inflammation. The inflammation does not allow fluids in the ear to drain normally. The fluids retained in the ear attract the normal friendly bacteria that lives on our skin and in our hair. It is not that there is too much bacteria in general. It is just too much in one place. As one doctor put it, the friendly bacteria just thought they were invited to a pool party. His solution was to drain the pool.

So, he would make sure the spine and skull were aligned to help and taught the parents how to do a simple massage behind the ear and told them to do that every time they changed the baby's diapers. Within 3 days the infection would be gone... every time without fail. He would tell them to come back in after those 3 days and they would find out which allergy caused the problem.

Most often, food allergies were the problem. But, if it happens when pollen or mold counts are high, it may be air-born allergies, or a combination. Sometimes our bodies are able to handle one or two allergies without us even knowing we allergic because we do not show symptoms. But, if we are exposed to too many allergens at once, it is more than the body can control and we become symptomatic. For example, if I have a mild allergy to milk, I may not know it until ragweed season. Then I cough my head off, but only if I drink milk during ragweed season. But, if I stay completely away from milk at that time, I get through ragweed season without any symptoms.

So, just as when searching for any type of doctor, you have to vet them. I always found great chiropractors by asking around at places like holistic food stores about chiropractors who are really good for kids. The one whose office I used to work out of would even provide a wellness program for kids once a month. He would set aside time one Saturday a month and called Kids Come First. Any child under 12 could come for $12. The kids loved it because the place was full of kids. They would get weighed and measured and then assessed and adjusted by the doctor. It was always a bit like a party that day.

I always have much more respect for health care practitioners that explain what the real problem is and then helps you find the simplest and safest way to treat the issue. The chiropractic adjustment does help the body's natural ability to heal the ear infection, but any nurse practitioner or doctor could choose to teach the ear massage and look for the allergic cause. But, to be honest, I would expect that any nurse practitioner that works in a pharmacy is going to always offer something the pharmacy sells instead, even if that is not the healthiest thing for your child. Science has know for many year that the approach the chiropractors are using is far more effective and safe. It just is not an approach that keeps the pharmacies in business.

Also, if we ever get that itchy feeling in the ears, it is usually the first sign of mold issues or a cold coming on. If that happens, I gargle with warm salt water and put a drop of lavender essential oil on a q-tip and swab the ears. Then I make sure I am taking my zinc and eating foods that are high in antioxidants. Seems to prevent further problems just about every time.

I hope this information helps you find the best solution for your little darling! I sure wish, for the sake of the children, we could get the word out about this sort of thing. Some parents just about go mad trying to deal with this and the poor kids suffer so with it.

This is what I did w/my son. He was prescribed amoxcillian, but I took the alternative route...everyday, clean both ears w/peroxide in the morning (a few drops) - may need to throw in a favorite dvd while doing this. Then drop in some warm garlic oil (you can buy a little bottle at your local health food store). Alternate garlic oil w/colloidal silver in the evening as in one night is garlic oil, the next night is colloidal silver (they're both antibacterial, one smells and the other doesn't). Also in the evening, if fever is over 103, give some tylenol to alleviate the pain and so they can at least sleep.The bacteria in the ear became resistant to the prescribed antibiotics - that's why it came back. My son hasn't had one since. He got his because I slacked in cleaning his ears. We usually clean our ears every weekend w/peroxide.

Has she already gotten her two-year molars? I have heard that ear pain can be a symptom of teething, and those two-year molars can be the worst!