Ok, let me start by saying that when Caroline was a smaller child (infant-present) she has never really been sick. She has never been on an antibiotic, never! No ear infections, nothing.
So when Will came along and required lots of medical attention, it was really uncharted territory for me. This has all been new.
I took Will to the pediatrician today. Here are his symptoms or lack there of:
No fever.
No cold symptoms (no runny nose, cough, etc).
Crabby, more than usual.
Sleeping through the night (about 11-12 hours per night).
Occasionally sticks his finger in his ear.
Since I had noticed that he has been sticking his finger in his ears some times, I decided to take him in to have his ears checked. I really wanted to check because it is Friday and I didn't want to have to wait until Monday if his symptoms did change.
Diagnosis: Ear infection.
It has always been my understanding that if there is an infection that the child will likely run a fever. Not Will. Really the only reason I even considered ear infection was because of the finger in the ears.
He has had 3 ear infections since September. I asked the doctor how many infections does a child need to have before they are referred to an ENT. She said that if the child has 5-6 infections during a year. My response: A YEAR??!! I am not going to wait that long to determine if he needs ear tubes or not. Am I wrong?
Here are my thoughts:
He already has speech delay and if he has fluid behind his ears that could cause his hearing to be off, thus causing more speech delay. Plus, some RTS kiddos are prone to hearing loss because of issues like these. I am not willing to take that chance. A year just seems like too long time to "wait and see".
So I think that I am going to make an appointment with an ENT. Sometimes I feel like I have no clue what to do.
Sam's Mighty Roar
1 year ago
10 comments:
I am with you...go with your gut feeling! Moms are always right!
Kelly W.
Marissa had four ear infections, 3 in two months and her ENT said she should get tubes. As soon as she got the tubes in August, her speech improved. Not a ton, but it was enough to be noticeable.
In my opinion, 3 ear infections in 3 months is enough to warrant tubes, or at least a consult with an ENT. I would go with your gut and get him in with an ENT, pediatric ENT if you can. You always have the right to seek a second opinion.
Good luck,
Alicia
Lukas had his first ear infection at nearly 2, with no fever...just crabby and pulling on his ear.
I would push for the ear tubes ASAP. I think an ENT will give him tubes right away if you go with the RTS medical lit and show that RTS kids often get tubes, and discuss your concern about his hearing as well as infections. I hope you get the right ENT!
Natalie (sitting on my lap as i type) says "hi will!"
I hear ya girl..I'm in the same boat with you! ( I have no clue what do either on this subject either) but I'm taking the advice to have Logie see an ENT this year also...just to ease my mind...can't hurt...keep me posted on your decision!
the best thing i know about for ear infection is the eardoc, it is non invasive and it solves the problem rather than the symptom.
Austin had 4 infections in 4 months and that's when they referred me to the ENT. I agree a year is a long time to wait!
I would go to the ENT right away. Noah got tubes about a year ago only after 3 infections. I love the tubes.. He had standing fluid behind his ears so I was really glad I had already established a ENT. Plus with tubes you will be able to tell when Will has a ear infection. There is drainage from the ear. good luck
Almost all of our ear infections had no signs, I had to guess when all of the usual things I did to get him to calm down never worked.
I have the same reaction you do about 5-6 infections in a year, I wouldn't want to wait that long either. When we were at the ENT and we mentioned how Sawyer has already had about 4 or 5 ear infections he looked at us like that was too many. I would go with your gut feeling, I always feel better when I do.
Good luck!
Ya, I would go with what you are feeling. I agree, a year seems like a long time to wait. After a couple ear infections, Max got his tubes right away maily because of his RTS diagnosis. Hope he is feeling better. Kelly F
That is correct Missi, if the fluid stays in there it is a problem, they should be more than happy to put tubes in his ears to solve the issue.
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