double ear infection blues

[Anonymous]

ok. i should never count my lucky stars. through age 2, hannah had only 2 ear infections that cleared up quickly and easily with amoxicillin, which i might add hannah actually enjoyed taking. however, since the end of feb (maybe longer) the poor thing has had a double ear infection which has gotten worse on 2 different antibiotics and now we are on a 20-day course of bactrim. let me tell any of you who have trouble giving meds to your kids, hope that you never have to give this one…you’d think we were really torturing the poor thing and even though i think she makes the connection between medicine and feeling better (being a wise two year old), i still struggle to give her this med. a smiling face and stickers just don’t work.

anyhow, i digress. i am writing more for the input of those of you who have experienced ear infections more than me. we are finding that her appetite isn’t great when she is feeling bad (not really a stretch), she refuses to nap (though this might be developmental), refuses a bath (except when tricked, then she loves it)…and oh, my, she is such a CRAB…our ped has suggested that seasonal allergies might actually be to blame and proposed zyrtec or claritin to “see” what happens. i am bracing myself for another med struggle…but i’ll do anything to help.

at first i thought food allergies (after the first two meds failed), but negative skin tests and the duration of dairy intake reassure me. but if its still an intolerance issue, has anyone heard of a delayed ear infection reaction??

so confused…i’d appreciate any input.

[Anonymous]

i would doubt that it has anything to do with intolerances. we went through 5 antibiotics with molly’s first ear infection, and she did not have any allergies or intolerances (but she has celiac now). since i had already had one child with a zillion ear infections, and my twins both had had tubes, when the docs kept saying molly might need tubes, i told them i would just as soon go ahead and do them now. she got tubes at 8 months old and never had another ear infection.

where hannah has only had 2 infections before now, i’d say this is probably just a fluke, or maybe allergies like your ped has suggested.

[Anonymous]

I get ear infections really badly and finally after 2 years straight of them i decided to check and see if i was allergic to anything. Sure enough I have a lot of enviromental allergies that were causing them. With the right medicines I don’t have any allergy symptoms. I just thought i would share my story! I hope she feels better soon!

[Anonymous]

thanks, i find both posts very reassuring. we will have a re-check next week (after 3 weeks of this awful med) and hopefully we’ll have a direction from there.

anyone know how the claritin/ zyrtec is flavored for little ones?

[Anonymous]

hey becky! glad to see you- but sorry that hannah is sick! we’ve had our share of ear infections too. julianna is on her 3rd round of antibiotics right now for an ear infection, (along w/ an accident requiring stitches- and an allergic reaction to augmentin)- anyway i can sympathize!

about the zyrtec. jack has it. it is yummy. clear liquid w/ a mild banana/grape flavor.

have you tried measuring the liquid meds and putting them in a little paper dixie cup- the ones with the characters printed on them? i have disney character ones.

[Anonymous]

My own childhood story is that I was an extremely sick child from ages 2-3 because of ear infections. My mom said that I was sick the entire year, I got tubes put in at age 3 and I never had an ear infection again. I had no allergy issues until age 8 (even then it was never food related though) and have basically been a healthy person ever since.

I hope I do not have this to look forward to with Hailey. She also has only had 2 ear infections that have easily cleared up with amoxicillian!

I hope she gets better soon!

[Anonymous]

Becky- Kayleigh will only take her zyrtec cold. Maybe it enhances the flavor? Like Laurie said it is a banana/grape mix but smells more like a fruity bubble gum. Sorry to hear about the birds ear troubles. Hope she feels better soon. Sending you guys healthy wishes*~*~*

[Anonymous]

Hi Becky,

Well, we joined the double ear infection club as well. Started three weeks ago when I was at the hospital, and went back today for a check and not cleared up yet.

I would explore the environmental allergies. I found that Claritan (I think cherry flavored or something) over the counter did NOTHING for Dylan.

I think the zyrtec helped a little, but it made him sleep a lot. This was a blessing at the time as he was sleeping so little prior to starting the zyrtec, but it was definitely a night time med.

I think it’s worth a shot to see if it helps. To ease some of the pain, we heat up mineral oil till it’s warm and put some in Dylan’s ear. I think it helps loosen things up and also soothes the pain for him. Not sure if this works because he has the tubes, but it might be worth a shot. I think the warm is soothing.

Hang in there!!!

Ann Marie

[Author]

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