An Ear Infection That Just Won't Go Away

My 15 year old had an ear infection for 7 weeks that would not go away when he was about a year old. After several antibiotic attempts we switched his fromula to a soy based and he never had another. We ended up learning it was a milk allergy.

My little guy (now almost 2)seems to get an ear infection with each new tooth. What I have learned is that the traditional pink "stuff" doesn't work for him. If they haven't tried a different antibiotic yet, ask them to try something different.

My daughter gets bad ear infections and the same thing happens, they will give her amoxicilan and it seems to be gone, then its back a week later. Her pedi gave her zithromax and it clears it up for good.. prob is they don't like to prescribe it because its really strong and makes their bodies more resistant to ammoxicilan. BUT it does work.

Ask, they may prescribe it since its the second round of antibiotics.

Good luck.

you should talk to you child's pediatrician about having tubes put in your child's ear(s). My cousin had it done due to constant ear infections - including ones that lasted FOREVER. And it helped ALOT! She's had the tubes removed & she's 100% perfect! No problems with them at all.

If this is her first E.I. (which I just read - SORRY!) then isn't she on ammoxicillin? Or is she allergic to it? Ammox. always works for my son.

Good luck - and oh yea - you're sure it doesn't have anything to do with teething? That was the major culprit in our house w/my oldest - everytime he was about to break a tooth he ended up w/an E.I. hmmm ... definitely talk to the pedi ...

again, good luck!

I had chronic ear infections as a child. When one of the kids I was babysitting was complaining his ear hurt, I remember calling my own mother and her telling me to try a heating pad on low under a towel. When I couldn't find one, she then reccommended a hot wash cloth wrapped in a towel. Something about it helps drain the ear and with any discomfort. At her age, it may very well be the inability to blow her nose right is causing her sinuses to back into her ears. It's very common at that age and will usually subside around 3 years, though each child is different. Mine never did subside so they finally put tubes in my ears when I was 7 while they had me under anesthesia to have my tonsils and adnoids removed. My god-daughter fared far better and never had to have tubes put in her ears; though I think she was closer to 3.5 years or 4 years when hers finally subsided. Ironically, her brother never had any problems like that as a child.

We eliminated dairy from our sons diet and he cleared up completly! Turns out he was lactose intolorant AND allergic to dairy protein.

HTH,

G.~~~

Hi I.,
Chiropractic care for children with ear infections has been, in my experience a wonderful solution. Usually when a child has ear infections that keep coming back there is almost always a subluxation in their cervical spine that needs an adjustment. My husband is a chiropractor and has been treating children for years including our 7 year old son who has NEVER had and ear infection.
I would ask around from your friends and family if they know of a really great family chiropracic practice in your area.
Hope this helps you.
E. K.

Hello,
We had the same problem..my son had a recurring ear infection where the fluid just never drained. So it went on for months, with different antibiotics etc. Finally, we took him to a specialist and had tubes placed in his ears to help drain the fluid. He's been fine ever since and it's only a 5 min (literally) procedure. Good luck!

Hi I.,
I used to get recurrent sinus infections, and when I went off dairy products the infections went away. Even now, if I cheat too much and eat (for example, ice cream during the summer), I can feel the fluid starting to build up behind my right ear.

I would suggest taking your daughter off of any and all dairy products for about two weeks and see how she does.
Also pay attention to how she does when you re-introduce it. For me, that was the key. I didn't notice feeling better so much when I went off of it, I noticed I felt lousy when I added it back in.

By the way, I am also allergic to gluten - I think I removed them both at the same time, but congestion due to a dairy allergy is prety common.

Good Luck!
Warmly,
E.

My son, now 4, has had ear problems for a while. We went through one ear infection where it took almost 2 months and 4 antibiotics. I understand your frustration. But, what happens is they start out with a general antibiotic that usually works. Well, the bacteria is something diffrent so they try again. They will get it. If the infection does not respond once they get to a high dose antibiotic, they will probably refer you to a ENT (Ears,Nose,Throat doctor). Doctors now a days hate to use antibiotics unless necessary so if it keeps recurring, they may recommend tubes. My son did not have to go that far but my girlfriends little girl did and she is now fine. And, by the way, never had another ear infection.

Talk to your doctor about it not clearing up and future plans if it keeps recurring. Worst case, push for the visit to the ENT yourself. Good luck.

Take your daughter to a chiropractor. Whenever you give antibiotics for ear infections on average your child will get 6 more ear infections. 95% of the time ear infections are viral anyway and the antibiotics don't work. Find a chiropractor that treats children... you won't believe the results.

I agree try the chiropracter m y daughter saw the chiropracter for the first time at a few weeks old.

-N.

Once there is fluid in the ears, it is hard to get it to clear up completely. Is the second round of antibiotics a different kind? Hopefully that will clear it up and if she stays free from colds (yeah, right this time of year!) then you should be fine. Unfortunately we had the same issue from our daughter's age of 9 months until 16 months. She was constantly sick and had one ear infection after another and ended up getting tubes (then has not had a single ear infection since and she is now 9 years old). The tubes basically keep the fluid from building up. But you are a long way from that point. Good luck.

I would also recommend going to a chiropractor - one that specializes in family or pediatric adjustments. They work wonders on kids! If you're one the North Shore, there's one in Gloucester that I can recommend.

Timothy Kingsbury in Kittery, Maine (Doctor of osteopathy)

With one treatment (he manually readjusts the child's skull bones from birth trauma) he fixed my 13 month old's recurrent ear infections. He is known throughout southern maine for his amazing work in osteopathy (hands on manipulation/treatment)--and my kid was about to have to get tubes. She got ear infections with every cold (which was a lot from a day care center--10+ in 12 mos) and she hasn't gotten another since (she's 17 mos now). He is amazing.

I had an ear infection for 6 months - turned out I had a milk allergy. Uck. Apparently that's a very common side effect! Good luck!

I don't know where you live or if you'd consider any alternative medicine, but my son had frequent ear infections from the time he started daycare at 6 mos old (2/2008) till 8/2008. Early in Sept, I tried seeing a homeopath because I hated the idea of putting all those antibiotics into his little body!

He went the longest he's ever gone (about 3 1/2 mos) without an ear infection after the homeopathic treatment. We just treated his most recent ear infection homeopathically, and he seems much better!

The woman we saw is located in Hanover, MA, and her name is Diane Scott. ###-###-#### or email ____@____.com http://www.quantumhomeopathics.com/

The best of luck to you!

Peace,
S.

My daughter had the same thing. She would have an ear infection every two weeks. We had tubes put in her ears at 2.5 yrs old and it was a miracle. She no longer had any ear infections and now that she is 5 the tubes have fallen out. The other part of her having tubes in her ears was a marked improvement in her hearing. She had a hearing test before the tubes and after. All the "gunk" in her ears was causing some hearing problems that were found in her test. After the tubes her hearing improved and she talked a lot more because she could hear more of what we said. It was pretty cool to see the change of a related problem that we had never even thought of. I know the thought of surgery is scary but the benfits were worth it. Good Luck!

Hi I.! It is common for this to happen; it happened to my youngest last year on two separate occasions. It was really frustrating because I hated having her on antibiotics for any longer than necessary. Sometimes the infections are just stubborn and don't go away with one round. It is awful when it affects sleep and the child's habits in general, believe me, I know! My suggestion is to take the second round of medicine, see if it's better (it probably will be) and go from there. A friend of mine suggested a homeopathic doctor to me when my youngest was dealing with this, and I was about to take her, but it cleared up and she has been fine for a year now. It might just be the season for your daughter and ear infections. Keep practicing good hygiene habits when she is better and hopefully you will see the last of these. Good luck!

Sounds very familiar.... I have gone through this with two of my kids.... My youngest is now 4 and may shortly have her adnoids removed... She is also being tested for allergies. You may want to consider your baby's environment as well.... Make it as free of dust, smoke, pet dander as possible. Young children do get a lot of colds so you might just have bad luck.... Do all the basics when she gets a cold (elevate head of bed at night, put on a vaporizer, use a bulb syringe if she won't blow her nose, etc....) An ear infection is just a cold gone wild.... She's really young , but I would probably give her a bit of Benadryl (with your pedi's permission) at night. Good luck!

If you are still nursing put a little bm in it! I have heard wonder stories about doing that. Good luck!

If you want to cure something without drugs, you have to support the immune system, right? Especially since the drugs aren't doing the trick. So why not go with a supplement designed for children (no warning labels, no drugs) that is developed just for that purpose? Reliv International has a 20 year history and plenty of business magazines endorsing it, plus a science advisory board that guides their product development based on food science and the latest research. Since you are asking for help, I'll tell you that I'm a distributor for these products and would be happy to arrange a phone call with pediatricians, nurses or other parents who will endorse what I'm saying - thousands of moms can't be wrong, can they? We can do this by phone better than email but let me know if you want some connection with others who've been down the road you're on and have gotten off it!

Is she eating dairy products or a dairy based formula? There are links to dairy and ear infections. If she is try taking her off it for a while and see how she does. My youngest was my only child to have ear infections and when we finally discovered he was allergic to dairy they stopped completely. When he was little his ped also suggested giving him a liquid antihistamine at the first sign of a cold to keep the fluid from building in his ears. It can also be useful for drying up fluid already in the ear too. I personally have done this for myself when I've gotten water in my ear that I just can't get out any other way. It does work! Good luck!

Has your pediatritin suggested seeing an ENT? If not ask to see one about having tubes put in. Is she on the same antibiotic as the first time? I would have them change the antibiotic she may not be responding to the antibiotic. My two youngest children had to have tubes put in so that not only their ear infections would clear up but they could not hear properly due to the fluid build up. So a trip to the ENT is a good idea they can test your daughters hearing to see if there is any hearing loss.

I could hear fluid in or near my ears even though medical staff couldn't see it. It went away after I changed my diet. You may not want to do what I do what I do, Paleo Diet - no grains, legumes, potatoes, or dairy, but you could look at what in her diet might be affecting her. This may be easy since the infections started about a month ago. Did she start eating something new before that? Or maybe it might be something else in her environment such as a new pet? Good luck!

if she in pain at night and during naps they ahve numbing drops your ped can prescribe for you. I know they helped my nephew a lot he also had to do 2 rounds of antibiotics for an ear infection. he gets them everytime he has a cold I think it has something to do with the way he sleeps because its always on the same side. It may not be bacterial not all ear infections are bacterial if its viral it won't clear up with anitbiotics. Good luck and I hope she is feeling better soon.