Hi,
I have a 4 month old girl who is starting to teeth and she is excessively drooling. Also, she has gotten her first ear infection! I was very upset about her getting an ear infection. I think most parents hate to see their kids get sick. I know that kids will get sick and that is part of building up their immune system, but I thought I wouldn't have to deal with ear infections till my daughter was at least a year old.
My 4 month old is my second child, my firstborn is 3 yrs. old and had very few ear infections and did not have this issue till she was about 2 yrs. old. Anyway, I would love feedback from other parents on what they did to help their kids through the teething process, any kind of great teething rings, suggestions on oral products that help with teething?
Although, I am a Mom a second time around, my firstborn did not have any problems with teething, nor did she drool excessively. I remeber I used Tylenol for the really bad toothaches, and I used orajel, but it never seemed to help.
I have another question. Do babies who drool excessively tend to have more ear infections? I was wondering if the drooling may have contributed to the infection.
Any help will be appreciatted! Sincerely, R.
I have to agree with the one lady. Wet washclothes and put them in the freezer seemed to work for my daughter who is 14 months and cutting even more teeth now. As far as the drooling it does ease up eventually. I just kept her in some cute bibs to keep her clothes dry. But trust me the washclothes seemed to work. And the best part is you just throw them in the wash after and don't have to worry about a build up of germs.
I am right there with you. My son is 5 months old and does the same. He hasn't had any issues with ear infections and this started way over a month ago. We use teething tablets. They work great and are all natural. I found that he likes smaller teethers he can hold and that have bumps on them. Also the cold ones are great for him. The tooth is now starting to actual pop through the skin. He bothered him when we first noticed the gum tuning colors. We have never had to use Tylenol or anything like that.
Hi R.,
Both my kids were excessive droolers. My daughter who just turned 13 had ear infections like you wouldn't believe and tubes at six months. She also used the nebulizer constantly until she was three. The good news is that now, the kid is made of steel. She never gets sick any more (knock on wood). My son, on the other hand, drooled unbelievably because he had very weak mouth muscles and couldn't hold suction on a bottle or keep his mouth closed. We ended up with about a year of oral therapy which helped considerably, but he still doesn't keep his mouth closed most of the time and he will be three on Sunday. Unless, the drooling is contributed to by something like my son, all you can do is stock up on bibs and change shirts a lot. It will end. So, in the end, I do not believe that the drooling contributes to ear infections. My son did not get his first one until he finished with the therapy. Good luck and stay dry!
KarynG
Having been through this three times, I can tell you all about it. The best way to deal with the drool is simply to have lots of bibs around. AS for the teething pain, Highland's Teething Tablets (found at Publix, Wal-Mart, CVS or Walgreens) are a God-send. They are all natural, they are a little sweet to baby, they dissolve instantly so you don't have to worry about your baby choking and they work like a dream. Just give your little one about 4 of them and it should help tremendously. As for the ear infections, they are typically caused by fluid buildup, so if your baby is an excessive drooler or gets congested at night, ear infections can occur b/c when they are laying down to sleep the ears can't drain. Try proping one side of the crib mattress up a little to help with drainage. Good luck and enjoy those sweet girls!
Hi R.,
I gave both of my girls Humphrey's teething pellets. I never had to go through any fevers, diahrrea, runny noses or ear aches associated with teething. They never woke up crying in the middle of the night from teething, either. I would swear by it. Also, Hyland's makes a dissolvable teething pill, but i felt Humphrey's worked best. I just dissolved three pellets in a few drops of water and gave it to her at nap time and bedtime. I don't know if you can do anything about the drooling, though.
about the ear infection, call your doctor.
about the teething, that might not be the case. around 3 to 5 months, pt start to drool, excessively, but lack the ability to swallow it back so some believe they are teething when they are actually not. it is totally normal and will go away on it's own. until then, make sure to keep her chest and chin as dry as possible so she does not get a moisture rash. my babies are 6 months and have been going through it since month 4, but it has gotten much better. IF it does turn out to be teething early, just bide your time, try orajel, and my favorite that worked for me, wet washcloths that i froze then let my oldest (2 year old ) chew on when he was teething. when she gets a little older, try putting a mini bagel in the freezer, then tie a string through the whole in the middle and attaching it to her high chair. that way she has something cold to chew on (the texture i think is what they like) and when she throws it it does not hit the ground. good luck and i hope this helps!
Hi Rachael,
My daughter is 7 months now and she has been drooling since she was 2 months old. She even got her first ear infection (right side only) about a month ago. I have asked her pediatrician about her drooling and her infection, and he states that lots of baby drool alot and it is okay every kid is different. the ear infection was a sign that her teeth is coming soon since she got it so young. She still does not have any teeth yet but she loves chewing on toys that have "bumps" on them and the teethin ring (frozen) has helped her alot. She is still drooling like crazy
My son is two and he drooled A LOT at that age--I pretty much kept a bib on him at all times because his clothes would get soaked! This way I would just change the bib when it got really wet instead of having to keep changing his shirt.
He's only had one ear infection--which was around 8 months-and I've never heard of a drooling/ear infection correlation. I think some kids are just more prone to drooling and/or ear infections.
Once your daughter is 6 months old, you can start giving her baby Motrin which lasts longer than baby tylenol and I find helped a lot more. The orajel did NOTHING for us too....but the homeopathic teething tablets seemed to help when he was actually cutting the teeth (when the gums were are swollen and red). I've heard mixed things about those too though.
So I wouldn't worry too much about the ear infection--if she does start to get them chronically or can't get over the one she has--tubes is always an option and a very easy procedure--but really nothing to worry about with just one infection. I hope she feels better soon!
R.,
I don't know if excessive drooling can have anything to do with an ear infection or not. In my case, I'd have to say no. My child is 2 and has drooled most of his life. He's never had an ear infection. When the drooling was really bad, I'd keep a bib on him all the time. And as far as teething, he never had a temperature. But was fussy for a few days now and again. The only thing I did was tylenol and give him something to chew on. I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones.
The drooling does have effects on the ears due to when they sleep the drool drips into the ears as well as they wipe the drool with their hands and it sometimes ends up in their ears. Try baby ambesol. I tried ora-gel and that didn't work So I tried ambesol and that does the trick as well as Pure Vanilla extract.The vanilla takes the pain away quick and the ambesol keeps it away.
try the baby teething tablets in walgreens, they are ALL NATURAL! and they really really work, in fact when i was desperate i used them myself (wisdom teeth, no less) and the throbbing stopped. They have chamomile and other natural remedies to slow the throbbing and let them sleep.
As far as the ear infection, i would try propping up her head whenever possible, this helps with the throbbing as well.
GL to mom, and kisses for the baby! :(
