My daughter had an abcessed tooth, she had complained that her tooth hurt the night before. Unfortunately, we were going to a dentist who preferred his Nitrous Oxide over his patients' well-being. He met us at the office on a Friday because he was a personal friend and looked at the tooth and said it was okay. I asked him to x-ray it (which he Should Have) and he wouldn't. He said to give her some medicine for pain and come back Monday if it wasn't better.
The next morning the whole side of her face was very swollen and she had a headache. I took her to our doctors' after-hour care. The doctor on call said she had severe cellulitis and a sinus infection. I worked with these doctors and he put her on an antibiotic and asked me to call him if she got worse and let him know how she was the next morning. The next morning was worse! The swelling had increased quite a bit. The other side of her face looked normal. I called him and he told me he was not at the clinic, but he would inform the Dr. who was. He told me to take her in immediately. As it turned out, they were both there when I arrived and they put her in the hospital.
Her regular pediatrician was out of town and did not see her until the swelling had subsided and she had been in the hospital three days. He was shocked at the amount of swelling that she still had. After she was past the 'danger zone' they told me the reason they had admitted her to the hospital was because the cellulitis had entered her sinuses and it is so close to her brain, they were watching her for meningitis. Had they told me, they knew I would not get any rest, but I stayed with her at the hospital and they were extremely attentive. We later realized this was all due to her tooth which was indeed abcessed and we found another dentist and once the infection was gone; we had the tooth removed because it was a baby tooth.
Cellulitis is a serious infection and should be treated as your doctor orders! Facial cellulitis in children is not to be treated lightly, and can turn into meningitis in 8% or other complications. I am not trying to scare you, but this can develop rapidly if not treated correctly. Listen to your doctor; 90% treated properly is effective! The others require more extensive care.
You did not say how old your daughter is. If she is an infant or toddler, you might consider putting a sock or mitten that you can use soft medical tape around her wrist to keep her from scratching her ear. If she is older, I think some discipline is in order. When you see her reaching to scratch her ear, calmly tell her that you love her and she cannot do this. Put her in 'time out' according to her age, (1 minute per year) for example: 2 minutes for a 2 year old, 3 minutes for a 3 yr old, etc. I hope this helps and good luck!
About me:
I am a mother of three wonderful kids. I have medical experience as a nursing major and I’m going back for my Physician's Assistant degree. I've already had many of the courses for the PA program. I have quite a bit of "hands-on" experience raising a daughter with multiple medical issues. I cannot tell you what to do, as I don't have my license, but I can make suggestions.