Starting round 4 of antibiotics for ear infection - anyone been through this? What worked??

DS is 19 months and has had an ear infection for over a month now.  Started in one ear, first round of abx didn't work and it grew to a "raging infection" in both ears (Ped's words), second round of abx cleared up one ear but not the other, and now after the third round the left ear is still infected.  This morning the Ped sent DS to an ENT in the same building who got DS in right away.  The ENT is putting him on round 4 of abx now and it's the same med as round 3.  If that med didn't work over the past 10 days, why would it work now??  Has anyone been through this, and what finally made your DC's ear infection go away??

And, would you consider getting tubes put in?  I really don't know anything about it, so any info would be enlightening and appreciated.

BTW - DH took DS to the doctors this morning so I wasn't there to ask questions or hear what she and he had to say.

Sorry you are going through this!

We haven't been through anything like that, but we did get lots of EIs when DS first started daycare. We got a new doctor for him about 3 months ago and one thing she told us to do to help stop EI from getting started is to clean his nose with LOTS of saline solution (5 ml up each nostril while he lies on his side) and then suction it with a nasal aspirator at least 4 times a day whenever he has a cold. The infected mucus can back up very quickly into the eustachian tubes in babies and toddlers because they are so short and turn a simple cold into an ear infection. DS hates having it done, but since we started doing this 3 months ago he hasn't had a single EI (and he was getting at least one a month before).

Hope he feels better soon!

Have you considered taking your DS to a chiropractor for an adjustment?

I would 10000X recommend that before continuing with more antibiotics or going on to tubes.

CandCfam:

Have you considered taking your DS to a chiropractor for an adjustment?

I would 10000X recommend that before continuing with more antibiotics or going on to tubes.

This I sometimes wonder if getting the tubes was the right decision in my son's case as his ears are clear now but he keeps getting sinus infection after sinus infection I have a long thread over in children's health about my son's experience-I am sure he still would've needed his adenoids out though, but part of me wishes I wouldve consulted my chiro first-just to see if we couldve worked on the ears and maybe we couldve avoided like 7 different antibiotics in his first year of life because the fluid wouldnt drain and it eventually went into his lungs. It couldnt hurt to try first-just so you could say you've exhausted all medical avenues before proceding with surgery. It also depends on the severity of the illness right now as well. Good luck

I'm actually taking my DD to the chiro (today will be her last appointment) to try to drain fluid from her ears before we proceed with tubes.  I don't know yet if it has worked, but I can tell you since her first visit she has STTN every night since.  That's something she hasn't done for 2 yrs!  So I know it must have helped something.

I give it a third vote to try the chiro.  Even if it doesn't help you can at least say you tried all you could.

Thanks everyone.  I made an appointment for DS with a pediatric chiro for Wednesday morning.  Unfortunately DH is not sold on the idea, but he hasn't done his research yet.  Fingers crossed that he will at least give it a try.

My DS, now 19 mo, started daycare when he was 14 mo.  He caught every cold and then the EI started in late November.  He went 7 rounds of antibiotics.   We would get the ears almost clear and then another cold hit.  It was a vicious cycle.   We just finished our 7th round and have an appt for a recheck on the 25th.  

Our Ped. was hoping that with his age and that spring is right around the corner (fewer colds) that we could avoid tubes.    I was really not excited about the 6th round let alone a 7th round....but, I went with it in hopes that it would help.  

We did start doing Probiotics along with a daily dose of multi-vitamin about a month ago.  That seems to help.  I could not believe at our last appt that he still had puss in his ear - he just seemed to be doing so well.    Keep your fingers crossed that this last round did the trick.

GeesMom:

My DS, now 19 mo, started daycare when he was 14 mo.  He caught every cold and then the EI started in late November.  He went 7 rounds of antibiotics.   We would get the ears almost clear and then another cold hit.  It was a vicious cycle.   We just finished our 7th round and have an appt for a recheck on the 25th.  

Our Ped. was hoping that with his age and that spring is right around the corner (fewer colds) that we could avoid tubes.    I was really not excited about the 6th round let alone a 7th round....but, I went with it in hopes that it would help.  

We did start doing Probiotics along with a daily dose of multi-vitamin about a month ago.  That seems to help.  I could not believe at our last appt that he still had puss in his ear - he just seemed to be doing so well.    Keep your fingers crossed that this last round did the trick.

Lots of prayers that your LO gets better-I hope the fluid is not stuck in there like my son's was and they had to put the tubes in because no antibiotic would get through that-have you tried the Chiro?  I am hoping to hear that it helped the original poster's LO. 7 rounds is alot of antibiotics but from what Ive heard and the support Ive gotten with my son-most seem to grow out of this when they hit a certain age.

I'm so sorry that you are going through this!!  The chiropractor told me that over 90% of ear infections are viral anyway, which is why antibiotics won't clear them up.  They just have to run their course.  I hope and pray that your little one and mine get better right away!

Does anyone know at what age they start to grow out of these??

My niece had chronic EI and we never had to have tubes put in and she stopped getting them around the age of three. She has had one EI since that time and she is 4 1/2yrs old now.

My daughter had a ear infection pretty much November through March of last year. She was on antibiotic after antibiotic and when we were finally at the point where if she got one more infection she was going to get tubes, it cleared up! I think she has only had one infection since then and it was months later. Have you tried a more natural remedy, like garlic oil/willow bark? It comes in drops and you just put it in their ears. Smells nasty but seems to help too.

Here's an update:

We have three more days on this round of abx, and I've decided that whether the infection is gone or not, there will be no more abx for a while. 

Right after I wrote the OP, we started putting garlic and mullein drops in his ears twice a day and massaging them (which DS loves ), and that has seemed to help.

We also had the chiro appointment yesterday morning, and DS actually did very well and let her adjust him.  He was a little unsure, but I got underneath the table to play peekaboo with him while it was going on and he gave me some kisses through the hole in the table while she was doing it.    She also showed us how to drain his lymph and we are to do that twice a day. 

He has a follow-up appointment with the chiro next Wednesday, and a follow-up appointment with the ENT next Thursday, when we will find out if the infection is still there or (god please) has finally gone away. 

DS has slept totally through the night for 11 straight hours for the past two nights, so I am hoping and praying that that is a good sign, but don't want to jinx it. 

So glad to hear! I tried those garlic drops on my niece and my DS and they didnt help a whole lot but I could kick myself for not trying the chiro-but I think he still would've had to have had the adenoids out.  Hopefully at the ENT visit-the fluid will be gone.