My 9.5 year old is a breast fed baby. She is developing well. However, just about a week ago I noticed her rubbing/fussing with her right ear. She doesn't do it consistently. I notice it more when she is sleepy or irritated, she will start taking her fist and appear to tugging at her ear. She is not fussy,in pain, no fever, easily consoled, laughs and very energetic. I called the nurse who advised that I take a wait and see approach.
At 9 mos, she can sip out of a sippy straw.I am wondering could this harm her?
Bottom line, what are the signs of an ear infection? I don't want to delay trmt and then have her hearing be affected later.
thanks
I would recommend that you take her to a Pediatic certified or family Chiropractor. Whether it is an issue with the ears or neck, most times an adjustment will clear both. My nephew was about 3 months old and pulled on one ear all the time. My husband (a Ped chiro) adjusted him and he never did it again and his general health improved as well.
It could be an ear infection or it could be linked to teething, the nerves from the mouth where the teeth will come in are connected in the ears, but to be on the safe side I would take her to the doctor.
It is so hard to tell at that age. They often do things like that when they are sleepy. If you are concerned you could always give her vitamin C and or take garlic(natural antibiotic) in addition to her multi vitamin. I often did this with my children. I have 11 children and only once had to give them antibiotics for an ear infection(he was older and didn't let me know what was up until he was out of control with pain). I have raised my children with this kind of preventative care if I felt they might be getting a bug or where exposed to something and it has worked quite well for me. I can count on less than two hands how many times my kids have been on antibiotics. Just make sure you use whole food supplements and not the cheap synthetic over the counter variety. They cause more problems than they can solve! Let me know if you need any specific info but vitamins as prevention before something really gets going is great!
Sincerely,
K.
My son started pulling his ears around the same time and it was just a self soothing technique, as long as she does not have a fever and doesn't seem like she is in pain she is probably fine. I had the same worries and he never got a fever or ill until he was 18 months old. He has been using a straw and sippy since 9 months and we have never had an ear infection.
Get the ears checked! My son had chronic ear infections and sometimes I didn't even know anything was wrong because he had gotten so used to it. If it is infected, try a little peroxide in that ear, it will clean the ear (if its just wax build up or if it's infected). Do Not put peroxide in your child's ear if he or she has had tubes. If your child continues to pull at it, go to the doctor.
It certainly could be an ear infection. This is quite normal and such an easy fix for a Chiropractor!! When neck (cervical) bones are misaligned, pressure will stay on the eustation tube in the middle ear until the problem is resolved. If not, it errups to a full blown ear infection. If corrected by a chiropractor, this immediatly takes that pressure off and allows any excess fluid to drain properly. When my daughter was 9 months, she had a double ear infection, she was adjusted 3 days in a row and it completly cleared. She didnt need anything for the pain because after the first adjustment, she immediatly started feeling better! So simple! We continued on with our regular adjustments and now at 4, she hasnt had anymore:) Good luck!
First, breastfeeding your baby does not mean that she will not have ear infections. I would not look allow that aspect to sway you one way or another indetermining if she has an ear infection. She may be playing with her ears just because she wants to. My son does that sometimes too. I just keep a close watch on his ears to see if they look red inside or if he has any other symptoms. If/when she gets an ear infection, she will more than likely have cold symptoms with it. My son has only had one very minor ear infection, and I could not tell because he did not have any obvious symptoms of an ear infection. Look for inflammation and irritability when she touches her ear. It sounds like she's okay for now though.
K.:)
If I were you, I would take her to the doctor just to be safe. They can usually look into her ear and see if there is a problem! I started my breastfed daughter on juice and such via a sippy cup at 6 mos so that shouldn't be a problem. Hope this helps!
I would take her to the doc. None of my three have ever exhibited any symptoms of ear infections aside from pulling on their ears - no fever, no irritability. My now 17 month old was diagnosed with a really bad double ear infection at her 15 mo well check up. For several weeks she had been poking her fingers in her ears (not even pulling on them)but b/c she wasn't showing any other signs, I assumed that she was just exploring a new-found spot. I felt horrible!!!
As for the sippy cup, I can't imagine that being a problem, but ask the doc when he checks her ears.
While rubbing/tugging the ears can be a sign of an ear infection it is usually in conjunction with something else. Even without a fever she would most likely resist eating and drinking if she had an ear infection. Also, as another mom stated, most pediatricians will now tell you that a majority of ear infections will clear on their own without any medications. So I would have to agree with the nurse on the wait and see approach. Trust me, if her ear is so badly infected that it could cause long term hearing issues she will let you know. Good Luck!
T.
If she recently had a cold, I'd say it may be the start of an ear infection and you should go to the ped. just to be sure. Otherwise, my best guesses would be that it is either teething or she just found her ears and likes playing with them. Usually fevers and ear infections go hand in hand, so I would probably wait and see. I've never heard anything about sippy cups affecting the ears and I think it takes a very severe prolonged ear inection to do permanent damage to hearing.
I learn when my lil boy start hittin at his ear he had a ear infection and the bad part was he had them in both ears. The one he was hitting at was not infected as bad as the one he wasn't hitting at so it doesn't hurt to take her to the doctor to make sure.
This may just be her "thing." My son would pull his hair. If she isn't crying and doesn't seem to be in pain, listen to the nurse. It may just be her way of saying, "I'm tired."
Well my baby is now 26 years old but I remember I always went to the doctor the first 24 months just to make sure there was nothing wrong with him I know us that only had one child run to the doctors office more often that we need but I always better be safe than sorry
I think it's totally normal. My son does it too when tired or frustrated. Look behind the ear and make sure it isn't red and crusty back there (I forget what it's called but this is normal as well b/c lots of babies get skin conditions) and if it is, apply a 1% cortisone cream to stop the itching.
Good morning! First, let me say that both of my kiddos were breastfed (which is supposed to cut down on ear infections) but they both had LOTS of them. Most of the time I had no idea there was a problem-no fussiness, fever, etc. There has been a lot of research lately that suggests that minor ear infections will resolve on their own. What I found most commonly when my kids (who are 3.5 and 2) messed with their ears (especially when tired) was that new teeth were on their way. Teething pain can certainly radiate to the ears, which can send us "worry-warts" on a wild goose chase! :) Obviously this is just ONE possibility, but my point is, I agree with the nurse-wait and see for now, but also trust your instincts! If you really think something's wrong, go make sure. You'll sleep much better! Good luck!
It's probalby nothing. Ear pulling/rubbing isn't a tell tale sign of an ear infection either. Running a low grade to moderate (100 on up) fever is a sign, lack of eating, increased crankiness and clinging will happen. Also, most of the time, they need to have a cold in order for a ear infection to happen. Because while they are laying flat like sleeping, their sinus will have a harder time to push the snot out the nose so it can back up and possibly end up in the ears-hence an ear infection.
My son has had 2 in his 2 1/2 yr life span and has only ever ran a fever, stopped eating, got crankier ever day and on the 2nd one, he startd walking around like he had been drinking!!
Good luck!
S.
Hi L.,
Even if it is an ear infection (which I would get checked for), you can certainly use a natural treatment like Garlic and mullein oil heated slightly to help ease the discomfort and heal the ear. Most ear infections should not require treatment unless it becomes severe....which rarely happens.
Have a doctor keep an eye on it. I like the idea of chiropractor or a natural preventative medicine doctor alot so they will give you guidence to maintain the health of your baby.
J.
