Posted on 12/26/2010 9:52:43 AM PST by DCBryan1
Need some advice for peace of mind of the wife and I. We have a beautiful baby boy, almost 4 mos. old (next week) that had a high fever last weekend before Christmas. Monday we took him in and Dr. said that his cold/upper respiratory infection has given him a secondary inner ear infection ( acute otitis media (AOM).
The good Dr. gave us Cifdinir (Omnicef) 3/4 TSP for 10 days and thankfully his fever has gone. However, this Christmas has been a nightmare for Mom and I due to his frequent waking and screaming. His schedule over Christmas was sleep 45 minutes, wake screaming for half an hour, and then take an hour to get back to bed. So for every half hour he sleeps, Mom and Dad DONT sleep for 2 hours.
New symptom this AM is when we went to give him a warm bath, we noticed green/yellow fluid in the ear that he tugs at and you cannot touch without setting him off. We called the Dr. Exchange and got a nurse to call back that said to keep giving infant tylenol and maybe to try olive oil 3 drops, every 3 hours until they can see him Mon 8AM.
This is the same black nurse that said to alternate Ibuprofen and Tylenol (which is a BIG NO NO in <6mos) so of course, I questioned her methods.
I called a family friend who is an ER pediatrican and he said that he had NEVER heard of olive oil as a remedy, but heard that blacks like to use something called "sweet water", but doesn't suggest its use.
Anways, Dr. friend said that we are doing the right thing with Tylenol every 4 hours (0.8 ML/every 4 hours) and keeping up with the Omnicef (Cifdinir) and to just deal with it.
1. Agree, emergency room - as already noted!
2. When the child is about 2 years old and can carry out basic verbal comms, go get a hearing test. If there is hearing loss - sooner it’s tackled aid and habits wise, the better especially for school.
=8-)
(Half deaf myself....)
PS: Does the term maternal instinct still mean anything???????If my folks posted my infant afflictions on a web site and waited to act from the reply,Home boy probly been dead long time back........
I looked and found these two which would be perfect! Still can’t find the exact brand I used to use though! Hope this helps!
http://www.morningstarhealth.com/9070000411.html
http://www.hbees.com/tuisearoilfo.html?productid=tuisearoilfo&channelid=FROOG
Warm the oil (sweet oil) in a pan of hot water, tested on your inner wrist so it’s just barely warm. Cover a hot water bottle in a receiving blanket so it’s just warm and put that up against the ear or side of the face or the neck right under the ear. The warmth will help sooth the pain and break up fluid in the ear. Your little boy is a doll.
I think the race of the nurse was mentioned because the poster believed that using olive oil in the ear was a home treatment based on black culture. I don’t think it was meant in a negative way. In fact, I’ve seen this home remedy used in all cultures.
My daughter (who’s 38 now) had chronic ear infections. We used to use “sweet oil” in a pinch. You used to be able to buy it at the drug store. Warm it up, drop a couple of drops in the ear, then a little cotton to hold it in. It helped.
Finally had to have tubes put in her ears.
Ditto on the mullein.
“An oil produced by macerating Mullein flowers in olive oil in a corked bottle, during prolonged exposure to the sun, or by keeping near the fire for several days, is used as a local application in country districts in Germany for piles and other mucus membrane inflammation, and also for frost bites and bruises. Mullein oil is recommended for earache and discharge from the ear, and for any eczema of the external ear and its canal.
Mullein oil is a valuable destroyer of disease germs. The fresh flowers, steeped for 21 days in olive oil, are said to make an admirable bactericide.”
I’m a long-time mom and I can tell you, I wouldn’t be waiting around with an infant that young until the doc opened on Monday. And I wouldn’t be putting oil in his ear, even if it does ease symptoms. He needs to be seen in an ER or urgent care walk in. At the very least, if you’re tired and miserable, imagine how miserable and in pain he is. Don’t let a baby go on suffering like that for another 24 hours. It’s possible the first antibiotic did not completely clear it up or now he has a secondary infection of some sort. Drainage from an ear isn’t something to treat at home.
And I’m with the others. Not sure what difference it makes what color the nurse was.
As an RN that worked in a children’s hospital for 6 years, you need to take your child to either an urgent care center or the ER. Do not put anything into the ear. If there is pus draining then the most likely reason is because the ear drum has ruptured. It needs to be treated to prevent hearing loss. Oil is fine as a comfort measure with an intact ear drum, but not treatment and not for your situation. Perhaps there is new info, but we used to alternate Tylenol and ibuprophen for fevers. I personally think Tylenol is unsafe and only used ibuprophen with my kids. As for tubes, they should be a last resort after years of recurrent infections. Wishing you the best and a quick resolution/ healing.
use a hair dryer on low to blow warm air into the ear. Not too close. You must keep the ears dry. I used to get ear infections all summer long because I lived in the pool. My doctor told my mother to make sure my ears were dry with q-tips after swimming and that cleared it up. Also, make sure that you hold your infant if bottle feeding. Do not prop a bottle and let him sleep, because the milk will drip into the ear. (I’m not implying that you do that, just that is good advise for all parents of newborns.)
Your baby should be getting better on the antibiotics not worse. Please go to the ER now!
I agree with the other comments, the Tylenol could be masking a very high fever. Don't wait until tomorrow morning.
He is a beautiful baby - best wishes.
Our oldest daughter had numerous infections and mumbled badly. After tubes at age 4, no more infections plus her speech cleared up immediately.
I had frequent middle ear infections up until the age of 30. No fun!
2. Sweet oil (not sweet water) is and has been a good remedy if there is not a bad infection. You can even buy a small bottle of it with a dropper in the pharmacy. It is a form of olive oil, but it is more sterile than using oil from a bottle that has been sitting around the house. But, in a pinch, olive oil is good too. Any oil that is warmed will ease the pain, but not the cause...use when there is no discharge.
And, place a wad of cotton in the ear after you put the oil in. Only a few drops of oil are needed. It is the cold air/breeze that makes the ear hurt again once the oil has cooled. Make sure the cotton will not go down into the ear canal, make it large enough, and place in the ear to keep it warm.
3. Do not have tubes put in unless this continues many, many times. Even then most times children outgrow these ear-aches. I had tubes put in my daughter at about age 5. It caused scarring that, as an adult, affected her hearing. So do not consider tubes unless you have two doctors agreeing that is the only thing you can do. And, after many problems. Do not rush into this method.
4. As others have said...hold your child on your chest and let him sleep there, upright. Put his head with the "bad" ear down, keeping it warm and where the draft will not reach it.
So, bottom line...after the ER...is sweet oil from the pharmacy, cotton in the ear, sleeping upright, no tubes (unless much older and really necessary).
Good luck. You and your child will get through this. God Bless.
At the age of 9 months, I had had enough of the reoccuring ear infections my daughter was dealing with and made the pediatrician refer me to a specialist. The specialist took one look and decided to put tubes in her ears. After the surgery, she started sleeping all night and no longer had problems with her ears.
A lot of people today are so PC that they jump to conclusions right away. The instructions given by the black nurse are old timey ones from the black culture; and also from many cultures going way back. Not inferior, or uneducated, or ignorant, just different than young parents today are familiar with.
No ER...Doc gonna stop by and sample our homebrew after his 2nd XMAS this afternoon. He doesn't want child in ER if no fever, no incoherent, nonstop, inconsolable screaming (which hasn't lasted over a few mins).
Doc said that he would rather come to the house than ER visit due to all the other nasty stuff in ER.
He said that the antibiotic he is on is great, multi-spectrum, and most powerful short of IV/IO.
He had said to hold off on introducing foreign liquids until he sees the ear himself.
I guess wife and I will make him a plate of leftovers ;).....little angel been sleeping a couple of hours now....might be time for us to take a nap.
No ER...Doc gonna stop by and sample our homebrew after his 2nd XMAS this afternoon. He doesn't want child in ER if no fever, no incoherent, nonstop, inconsolable screaming (which hasn't lasted over a few mins).
Doc said that he would rather come to the house than ER visit due to all the other nasty stuff in ER.
He said that the antibiotic he is on is great, multi-spectrum, and most powerful short of IV/IO.
He had said to hold off on introducing foreign liquids until he sees the ear himself.
I guess wife and I will make him a plate of leftovers ;).....little angel been sleeping a couple of hours now....might be time for us to take a nap.
They acted on maternal/paternal insticts and called their “medical exchange” but the advice they were getting was contradictory to what their gut seems to be saying...they came to wise FREEPERS for advice. Insurance or money issues might be a factor here so we need to tread gently but accurately!
Olive oil, also called sweet oil, is an old remedy for painful earaches.
It looks like several others have weighed in with great advice.. Omnicef is good for ears but can really cause stomach cramps.. Drainage from the ear = perforation of the ear drum so NO OLIVE OIL in the canal- might wipe out the delicate hearing mechanisms behind the drum.. suggest frequent suctioning of the nose to decrease fluid backing up in sinuses/draining down the back of the throat. The pediatricians will stroke out but think yogurt for replacing the stomach flora killed by the omnicef..Control the fever and you are well on your way to earning grey hair and ulcers that marks all successful parents.
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