Help with Ear Infection Pain

There is a prescription ear drop on the market that is not an antibiotic just a pain reliever. Our pediatrician prescribed it when my daughter had her very first ear infection along with the antibiotics. You put in two drops every two hours. It really worked!!!! He even has advised me to use the drops when we are flying if she has a cold. The drops are called A/B Otic Drops QUA. I've heard there is an over the counter version too; you could ask at the pharmacy.

C.,

My youngest son Chris had chronic ear infections from a month old to 3 years old. I have a couple of suggestions. One is that there is an ear drop antibiotic that works a lot better than oral antibiotics. I used to put a few drops in his ear and he would quiet right down. These ear drops have a pain relief agent that dulls the pain at the site and reduces fluid in the ear causing the pressure to drain (our specialist recommended this- beware that these drops are not the same as swimmer's ear drops.) Then there are some over the counter ear drops (natural and synthetic) that can be used to dry the fluid up which will reduce the pain. Here is a simple solutions that sounds crazy but it works: Take a washcloth and soak it in whatever the baby's favorite drink is and let him suck on it. Sometimes I made ice cubes out of my son's favorite drink and put it in a cloth allowing him to suck it through the cloth. The sucking helps to 'pop' the ear like when you go up a huge hill. It is soothing to the baby to do that, but if the infection is really bad, it can hurt if the tube is not draining. Any way, these are just a few ideas that I have done. I hope they help. C.

This may sound weird C.....I met another mom at my chiropractor's office who had the same problem with her son...
He was ALWAYS getting ear infections and the antibiotic route wasn't helping at all...my last pediatrician actually told me that they don't automatically give antibiotics for ear infections any more...this was a few years ago so I'm not remembering specifically what she said, but I think it's bacterial vs. viral....and the bacterial should be prevented from one of the immunizations (which I am VERY careful with)so if they've been vaccinated and have one it is probably viral and antibiotics don't do anything in that case, but they will give them if the child is really suffering....?....
It doesn't make much sense to me, but they're the doctors right!!
Anyways, this mom at my chiropractors office said taking him to the chiropractor has stopped his recurring ear infections!!
She also brings him right to the chiropractor if he gets sick with a fever rather than giving him tylenol...and his fever will be gone the next day...she hasn't had to give him ANY medicine whatsoever since bringing him to this chiropractor!!
Everything is connected to our spine and if something is pinched or blocked it could affect us in MANY ways!
My children were both c-section babies, and a c-section birth is more traumatic for babies than natural...I would have thought the opposite, but it's true....the way they actually pull the baby out with their heads...my kids have been going since they were infants and they've together had maybe 3 ear infections between them...my oldest is 5 and a half, my youngest 3 and a half....I had ear infections ALL THE TIME as a kid..I don't know where you live, but this chiropractor is in Lynnfield (MA) and he specializes in children (he has a 2 yr old and a newborn himself!)
If you are open/willing to talk to him I can give you his information.....No I don't work for him...but I believe he can help your baby..with NO side effects....it's definitely worth a phone call to him!!!
C. D.

C.,

I know how your friend feels. My son is 9 months old and has had about 6-7 ear infections since he was 4 months old and it has been tough. Ear infections are genetic and unfortunately he took after me. We just made sure we had plenty of Tylenol on hand and the doctor had us up his dose a little and that is really all you can do as far as medication. I found my son liked to be held with the ear that hurt against me. It is a tough time, but I hope this helps. He will start to feel better pretty quickly with the antibotic, hopefully the second one helps. My son had to switch too, that is not uncommon. Any way hope any of this helps.

A.

My son had a million ear infections before he was 18 months old. We eventually put tubes in and he has been ear infection free since. I used to put him to sleep on a pillow or prop his crib up so it is tilted, his ear hurts the most when he is laying flat. The antibitics stopped working for my son also, they put him on Augmentin. It is chaulky and white. It seemed to work. Also, Motrin worked better than Tylenol for my son, I gave it to him to help him sleep at night.

Good luck! I know your pain.

Sam
Mother of 3 - 5, 3, and 2 years old.

Dear C.!

there is a store on So.Willow st in Manchester A-Market where is the Shaws plaza behind Dyna Tune.They have a very good and very professional pharmasist.She always! recommends great medicine,all natural, for any ages without antibiotics and complication.Talk to her,she is wonderful.

Sometimes warmth helps soothe an ear infection. She could try putting a heating pad SET ON LOW under a towel under his head, or a wash cloth soaked in warm water in a plastic ziplock bag, wrapped in a towel over his ear when he is awake. My doc also let me do a combo of tylenol every four hours and advil every six hours (at the same time) for the first couple of days of my son's last ear infection.

I used Ear Ache Tablets by Hylands. They are all natural, and worked wonders for my son. They make great Teething Tablets as well. You can get them at Walmart in the vitamin section, or places like Wild Oats.

has she tried motrion and maybe a warm washcloth near is ear. the antiboitics should make him feel better within a day or so. i feel for the little one. my son is teehing and has an ear infection now and he is 7 months old.

You might want to see if she can put a warm facecloth/compress on his ear to help relieve the pain & pressure. I find this can help from time to time with my own children. Since he's so small, she might be able to do it intermediately throughout the day. Also, she might want to give him some motrin to help alleviate his discomfort, as well. But, she should check in with her pedi. before adminmistering it.

Hope that helps!

Hi C.-
You could check with his pediatrician to see if they are o.k. to give so young-Similasan earache relief drops. You should be able to find it at your local pharmacy. Good luck.

Hi, C.~
If she's nursing, I'd suggest that she put breastmilk in his ears a few times a day, so long as he hasn't ruptured his ear drum (if there is any pus or bleeding). Breastmilk has amazing healing powers!! Also I would highly suggest taking him to a chiropractor. My son went through a pretty bad ear infection when he was a little over a year. Nothing helped, including the antibiotics (of which, I am totally against for ear infections). After an ENT started talking tubes, I took him to a chiropractor and within a week his ear infection was completely gone! Hyland's Homeopathic Ear Ache remedy is great too! Oh Yeah, Wally's Ear Oil (found in natural food stores) is great! It is a mix of Garlic and Mullein oils plus I believe it has echinacea in it. It really works to prevent the infections too if used on a regular basis!

HTH and good luck!
P.