Ear Infection

When i worked in the ER as an EDT we would take a syringe with warm water and gently flush the ears out until the wax would come out. I suggest doing it in the bath tub and having him tilt his head so that the ear you are working on pointed down for maximum drainage. They do not like it, but it works. You might need someone to firmly hold the head. hopefully this will help.

Have you tried an ear candle? It is a wax cone sort of thing that pulls the ear wax out as it burns. As I write it it sounds a little scarey, but it work GREAT to get ear wax out! You can find them at Natural food stores or alternative medicine shops. Best of luck!
~K.
PS: Our son was a late talker and now (he is 3 1/2) he is way ahead so don't let them scare you!

There is some over the counter ear wax drops that you can get to add to his ears to help reduce the amount of wax in there. I suggest putting them in your pocket to help warm them up before you put them in your little ones ear.

I am surprised that the doc did not try to remove a little bit of the wax when he was seen.

HTH,
K.

you might try some warm garlic oil - a couple of drops. it will help with the pain and help it heal. i had the best luck putting it in when my son was sleeping. hope this helps! also make sure he is getting a good quality vitamin and some optiflora. does he eat yogurt? here's a great infant and toddler vitamin: http://www.shaklee.net/build/product/20073

Good Evening J.~
I understand how you are feeling with your son. I have 5 sons. What we have always done (secret from my grandma)get an eye dropper, and some mineral oil, extra virgin olive oil or liquid garlic. You warm up the oil to just a little more than room temp, stick the eye dropper in fill it up, lie him down and squeeze the liquid into his ear, keep him lying down if you can for about 3 minutes, this gets into the ear loosens up the ear wax and takes away the tinkling crackling. It doesnt hurt at all especially since it is warm. Yes we found that with all 5 of our boys that the 2 year teeth are rough, however this little myth that my grandma gave me was a blessing.
I hope this helps, it did for us.

Many Blessings,
A.

J.
I had my Ped tell me to use motrin when the child is having symtoms of ear trouble cus it can reduce the swelling in the ear, let the fluid drain from ear so the pressure doesn't cause any further problems. I've done this many times for 2 of my kids and has saved me alot of grief.
The one time I didn't know what to do, couldn't figure out why my daughter 6yo at the time was crying for 4 hours (cause her ear drum was about to burst). Hence when she stoped crying was when the ear drum burst and the fuild drained, leaving a mess on her pillow. She had no fever so I didn't assume ear infection. OH well live and learn. But doc told me I could have advoided that if I had given her motrin. Passing on the info to you.

my doctor recommended debrox for my daughter to remove wax. i found it at fred meyers. you will need something similar to the snot suckers to flush the ear.

You might try using an eye dropper to place a few drops of baby oil or over-the-counter wax softeners in the ear. This will help soften and loosen the wax. You should use a few drops a couple of times a day for several days. Once the wax is softened, you can usually remove it by directing a gentle flow of warm water directly into the canal. (Never use oil or anything else if he has a perforated eardrum, though.) One of my boys produces more earwax than SHREK! I have to place a couple of drops of baby oil into his ears about once a week to prevent the heavy build-up; otherwise it gets so severe that I have to take him to the doctor to have it removed.

My son was the king of ear infections up until last year (he's almost 4). I guess he outgrew them. However, he has major ear wax. The last time we went in they flushed his ear for 45 with a salt water solution and syrringe. He didn't mind this but I think most kids would be very upset by this procedure. Plus, it didn't get out all of the wax. I called my naturopath who suggested the ear wax cones. You place them in the ear canal and burn the opposite end. The draws out the ear wax. You can buy these at any store that sells homeopathic merchandice. Hope that helps.

Hi J. -

I didn't have ear infections as a child, but I did have problems with wax in my ears, so I used to have them irrigated at the doctor's office. He'd fill an ear with a warm solution, let it sit there for a minute, then let it drain out. You might want to ask your son's doctor about irrigation. Don't try to do it yourself, though, as if you use plain water and don't get it out completely, you may leave bacteria in your son's ear which could cause further problems.

PLEASE do NOT insert a syringe into your son's ear, as someone here mentioned. This is potentially dangerous, as the pressure of the suction on the eardrum can damage it. Also, ear "candling" is a questionable practice for anyone, but DEFINITELY should NOT be done on a small child...

I don't know much about garlic oil, but that sounds fairly innocuous to me so if others say it works, I'd give that a try. Just be careful with your son's little ears - wax buildup is better than the injury you may accidentally inflict trying to get it out.

Good luck!

If you put colaice (I don't know the spelling) in his ear it will get the wax out all on it's own with out having to flush it.

Hi...As far as removing the wax a dr can do it or they sell over the counter products to remove it. However my dr said that the wax helps protect their ears so I wouldn't worry too much about removing it until he is older. I have 4 kids 2 of which had chronic ear infections. One ended up having tubes in his ear to drain the fluid...also he started talking much better after that was done. A pretty simple procedure if need be. A specialist can tell if he has fluid build up even if he can't talk or tell you. So that would be an ear nose throat specialist. The other thing that I just learned is that generally antibiotics are not necessary for most ear infections and that the ear infection will clear up just as fast on it's own. Of course a dr can only tell you which type of ear infection the child has, but be aware that they always give antibiotics but again you can question this. The reason I say this is using antibiotics often breaks down the system and no longer works when used too many times. Personally I'd rather use them when absolutely necessary. As far as ear pain goes I found these drops at Safeway completely safe to relieve earache pain. It's called Similasan. My son loves them. He gets water in his ear from swimming and ear infections and I just use them as he has pain. He get's immediate relief. He's 2 almost 3. Anyway I'd pick some up even if it's just pain from molars I think it will help and you can use it as often as you like. Safe for all ages. Well...I hope something I said helps your little guy. Take care, G.

I don't know how you feel about natural remedies, but I'll give ya one anyway. My son has had several ear infections in his short 2 1/2 years. After always getting yeast infections from antibiotics (plus, I've always hated antibiotics anyway), I decided to use natural remedies. My husband's boss & his wife take their kids to naturopathic doctors ONLY and told us to use garlic oil drops in the ears. It 1. takes care of the ear infection and many times prevents them from coming back...and 2. helps keep the ear healthy. Anyway, you can get them at many places that sell healthy stuff...we got ours at Whole Foods.

I would look for infant ear drops, especially in the Fred Meyer Homeopathic section I know they have drops that help and having him lay on a warm damp washcloth can also help (thats what I do when I have a earache) the doctor used a nifty little tool on my son (who ALWAYS has alot of wax) it was a slim stick with a small loop at the end made of soft plastic, maybe they would give you one or just use it on him, but I would go with the eardrops and warm washcloth. Good Luck, Jen