Persistent ear infection/fluid

So I'm just at a loss. DS has had three ear infections and has been on amoxicillan twice and this last time augmentin. The augmentin killed his stomach and after seeing a ENT on Fri, who confirmed the infection was gone, we stopped it early (as per his instructions). He's had persistent fluid in his ears at every check up, whether he had a infection or not. The ENT is taking a wait and see approach. Yesterday he was totally off, to...ok his temp in the afternoon - 102.9. Took him to the doctor today, no ear infection but continued fluid. He said the temp was from a virus. He recommended a very low dose "maintenance antibiotic" to take for the next 30 days. He said it was no guarantee that he wouldn't get another ear infection, but at least gives him a better chance, thus reducing the need for another "heavy duty" antibiotic. He seems to be leading towards the thinking that the fluid is going to be a persistent problem that may require tubes. I'm totally ok with tubes. DS is his regular happy self - though he is constantly messing with his ears, and has a raw spot in his lobe from scratching at it so much Otherwise he's sleeping and eating ok. I just think that all the meds and fevers in such a short amount of time is no good! I'll probably go ahead with the 30 days of antibiotics and see what happens. Any opinions or advice? I feel like every option sucks

Persistent ear infection/fluid

Poor kid. My son had same problem..dr made me wait it out. He was on anti's evey 2-3 weeks..I had enough when his ear dtum burst & fluid drained out & took him to ENT & asked for tubes!!! Months of meds, sleepless nights, dr appts & missing work & the pain my poor son was in i was SPENT.
My son has not been on an anti (that i csn recall) since..11 yrs.
Some kids ear canal /drums aren't tilted for normal drainage until they are a lil older.

Persistent ear infection/fluid

Ps : i wouldnt feel comfortable giving my child antibiotics for a month.

Persistent ear infection/fluid

Chiropractors are supposed to help with ear infections. Not sure where you live, but I have a fantastic one in Lindenhurst and S mithtown. PM me for more information.

Re: Persistent ear infection/fluid

My son always had fluid in his ears. From 4 month until last april. He was 3.5 years old. It was mainly from teething . Very.Slow.Teether.
He had about 15 infections. Most of them cleared on their own because I never got more then one full dose of medication into him. The one time I did, he became really sick with it. He would have a fever in the beginning of one and then it would go away after 24 hours. And within 48 hours of being diagnosed the ear was clear. Lots of dr's, mine included, like to hand out scripts for ear infections. I read up a lot about it online and said no more. I never gave him the antibiotics for his last few infections. One day of a fever and then no infection at his 48 hour ear check. HE never complained. I never knew he had his first few infections because he had no symptoms except a fever. 101-102..

Last April he ended up with some type of virus. 103 fever. Off to the dr. Ears clear at first visit on a tuesday. Fever at 104 2 days later. Back to the dr. Ears still fine.. No red, no fluid. Two days later 104 with some coughing and difficulty breathing. Off to the ER.... RAGING ear infection... Never saw it coming.. One shot of penicillian and it was gone in 2 days... They said his right ear was really infected...

I wouldn't do the 30 days of antibiotics either. Too many side effects. If he isn't in obvious pain or has a high fever, I would wait it out for 48 hours and see...

Re: Persistent ear infection/fluid

how long has he had the fluid for?

has he had a hearing test lately?

my son had fluid in his ear that didn't drain. Only had a couple of ear infections (first one at 11 months). The ENT said if the fluid doesn't drain within 2-3 months, we should put tubes in his ears. Which we did. Good thing because he failed his hearing on the left side due to the fluid and we never knew!

He is now 2 and does speech therapy since he doesn't talk. We had the tubes put in at 15 months so the ENT thinks that this affecting his hearing.

So i wouldn't mess around with the fluid. Have his hearing checked by an audiologist.

don't be afraid to have tubes put in. It was very easy and absolutely no regrets.

Re: Persistent ear infection/fluid

Poor little guy! I am a Pediatric Chiropractor and vendor on LIF, Islip Chiropractic. Feel free to FM me if you have any questions. I've helped many kids avoid getting tubes in their ears.

Message edited 2/10/2014 10:40:33 PM.

Re: Persistent ear infection/fluid

Do you have pets? Just something to consider....my DC had ear infections ALL THE TIME. Turns out he was allergic to our cat. The constant drip from his allergies kept leading to ear infections when it would drain.....just something else to consider. The allergies became so bad and the ear infections (among other symptoms) so constant we had to rehome our cat and once all of the dander was gone, never had another ear infection again.

Message edited 2/10/2014 10:53:15 PM.

Re: Persistent ear infection/fluid

Ds was like that. He will be 2 March 2nd. He was always sick with ear infections/fluid. I think we tried every antibiotic out there. We took him to an ENT and he needed tubes (we also took his adenoids out because it would help with the ears as well as he was always congested sounding.) Before the surgery I was worried he would be speech delayed. He was almost 2 and was barely saying words and words that he was saying werent recognizable. After the surgery he is talking so much better and he is definitely hearing better. I didnt want to do the surgery at first, but now I am so glad we did!

Persistent ear infection/fluid

Thanks for the feedback ladies!!