# How will I know the ear infection is gone??



## mamacarla (Jul 25, 2004)

My 10 month old ds has been fighting a head and chest cold all week. He was doing just fine until last night when he just couldn't sleep and wouldn't stop fussing. He had a fever of 104 this morning and just sounded awful. I was afraid of pnuemonia so took him to doc. Lungs clear but red and pussy in one ear. Ear infection - prescribed antibiotics.

He bf and such a healthy baby, I want to give him some time to fight it first. The fever is much lower and often normal now. I have done garlic ear oil and heat.

My question is, how will I know if his body is fighting it off or if I should go ahead and give the antibiotics (with appropriate probiotics of course).

Please give me your expertise.

Thanks

Carla


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## stirringleaf (Mar 16, 2002)

i am not an expert but i am awake...

it sounds like you are doing the right thing. i have heard garlic oil works really well for ear infections. just keep a close eye on his temp, let him nurse alot , and monitor his pain levels. if he seems worse, you might consider the antibiotics, but honestly the dr's even say these days that ear infections clear on thier own alot of times. did you ask the dr if it would be OK to hold off on the antibiotics since ear infections can also be viral? could you get a nurse or Dr to look in his ear again in a couple days to see if it is working?

a low grade fever that hangs on for days can mean he still has the infection though. so i would say if he isnt doing alot better in the next 24 -48 hours to either take him in again or give antibiotics.

my son hasnt had ear infections yet thats why i am not an expert---


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## mamacarla (Jul 25, 2004)

I didn't ask the doc if I could hold off on the antibiotics as she seemed to think it was a good idea since it started at the end of the cold rather than the beginning

I am watching his temp closely and it is staying down -- he has been sleeping all day -- nursing well -- I really don't know how to tell if it hurts though because he is still a babe -- I mean I had no idea before we went to the doc -- Well, I guess if he starts crying again like last night

I was so surprised when she said ear infection -- he is such a great nurser, really healthy -- It's a good idea to have him looked at again -- I guess it's time to find a naturopath -- My old one left her practice and we haven't needed one in over a year

thanks for responding - I appreciate it

Carla


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## party_of_seven (May 10, 2004)

I would stick with the garlic oil...it really does work.

I don't know how you made your garlic oil, but here's how I do mine.

I peel a clove of garlic, and slice it thinly. Then I put it in a pan on the stove on really low heat with just a little oil (2 TBS). I let it heat slowly until the garlic sweats....don't let it brown. After it has gotten warm for a while I take it off of the heat and let it cool. While it is still warm I soak up some of the oil with a small cotton ball and place it in the affected ear.

You can use a heating pad or hot water bottle on the affected ear too. I keep doing the garlic oil treatment for about a week to make sure that the infection clears.

Garlic is not only a natural antibiotic, but its an anti-inflamitory too, so it will help to relieve the swelling that goes on in the ear...which should help with the pain.

I usually give my kids a dose of tylenol if their ear is hurting because I know its painful. If they aren't hurting then I would just support their fever....bundle them up and keep them warm. Hot baths are nice too, but make sure they are supervised.

We have had several ear infections in our family, and we haven't used antibiotics since my oldest was a baby. Garlic oil has always worked just as well as the antibiotics. Usually the pain is gone in 2-3 days.

I hope that that answers your questions!!

Good luck, and I hope that you little one feels better soon!


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## Penelope (Jul 22, 2003)

I'm a little biased toward antibiotics in babies with ear infections for a couple of reasons. One, if he's in a lot of pain, you might not completely realize how uncomfortable he is, because he's not able to communicate it well enough.

Two, although the research on this is conflicting, there is some evidence that a loss of hearing from an ear infection (during the infection) can impact babies' language development - if he can't hear well for a couple of weeks, and then it happens again... it adds up.

If it were me - I would treat a "pink" ear myself (an infection that wasn't far advanced.) I would not treat a "red" and pussy one - that's a pretty serious infection. I'd give him the antibiotics this time and then get myself an otoscope (from eBay - a decent home one is $20 or so).

With the otoscope, you can track the improvement of the infection yourself - an Ear Nose Throat guy told me that the time between when we got the antibiotics and when our regular pediatrician wanted us back for a check up (3 weeks) was too *short* and we were getting false positives at the check up. He said to give it at least a month to stop being pink.

And (and this is it, I promise!) you might as for a prescription for drops called Oralgan (I'm misspelling it but it's "ore - al - gen") which keep the ear from hurting so much. Don't use them on a puss-y ear, though.

Good luck, mama! Our four year old grew out of ear infections, finally, and I feel like we learned to be judicious about the antibiotics along the way.


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## mamacarla (Jul 25, 2004)

Thanks for the suggestions -

Hahaha - make your own ear oil - that's a good one! Sorry couldn't help it -- I had some in my first aid kit -- It's Willow/Garlic Ear oil - Ear Support -- Seems to be working well.

My son slept for about 16 hours (with a couple of sleepy nursings in there) and he is up and fever free and playing like normal - Though he is still gunky in his nose and chest -- I have a call in to a naturopath to get another look into the ear. I was thinking of getting an otoscope but I don't know anything about how to choose them -- Maybe I'll get some answers here or if not I'll start another thread.

I have the antibiotics at the ready should he start to act like he is in pain or spikes a fever again. I am not opposed to using them if needed I just want to be sure and I haven't agreed with everything my ped says. SHe was really pushing the prevnar vax saying how much it reduces ear infections. The 2 weeks later I am back with an ear infection - I don't know it just felt like we could have taken a wait and see approach for a few days.

ANywa
Thanks
Carla


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