Baby dd ear infection still going nearly 2 months in!

[bobstersmum]

My dd is now 14 months and she has been suffering with ear infection since just after her birthday. She has just finished her 5th course of antibiotics and my doctor has given her a low dose of antibiotics to keep taking to hopefully keep it at bay. I trust my doctor he's pretty wonderful but I am getting a bit concerned that we've not been seen at ent to confirm what's actually going on. She's been really unsettled this afternoon and I'm quite sure she's starting again already even though she only stopped her antibiotics yesterday, and started her low dose this evening. Her constant flare ups are really disrupting our whole family as my two ds are having to put up with me constantly tending to her, I've not slept in my own bed (or slept all a) in all this time as I end up in with her so hardly seen my dh, but the worst thing obviously is my poor baby girl suffering so much! I have ended up at the doctors with her every single week for almost 2 months. What do I do next? Do I take her to a&e the next episode or am I driving myself mad? I can't rest because each time I do she starts up all over again, I'm exhausted with the worry and lack of sleep. I hope someone can help tell me what to do!

Anyone at all?

I used to have constant ear infections as a young child. My mum says (and this is second hand and on the medical advice of 30 yearsago) wishes she had pushed for grommets etc. F.C. you find sth to help baby x

I don’t have direct experience but I would definitely ask for - and if necessary demand - a referral to ENT. The GP can’t allow this to continue without proper investigation. I’m sorry you’re going through this, and I hope someone else comes along perhaps with more info.

Is it the same antibiotics everytime? If yes, go back to the drs and ask for completely different ones, i know 2 dc that have constant ear infections and they are drug resistant to particular antibiotics. Also have you been refered to ent, if not insist on an urgent referal. Continuous ear infections can cause lifelong damage to hearing if not treated effectively.

Another thing that could be worth trying not is to get her assessed by a really good cranial osteopath. Where I am you can get referred by your health visitor or GP for a free cranial osteopathic check up for babies, but that might be very local.

www.osteoworks.co.nz/Conditions++Osteoworks/Children+Osteoworks/Ear+infections+and+glue+ear.html

www.cranial.co.uk/cranial-osteopathy/babies-and-children/

Thanks for the replies! Grommets have been mentioned so it's possible that might be the next step. No not same antibs, she's had amoxicillin 3x, clarithromycin once and trimethoprim.

The gp saw her this morning and I expected him to refer us tbh. Not he decided to try her on a preventative course of antibiotics which I agreed with because I thought at the time might be all she needs. But after thinking it all through and her being unsettled this evening I feel I should demand a referral!

We had this with our little on at that age. If you are still on oral antibiotics go back and insist on a referral.

Oral antibiotics don't really reach the ear well. If a couple of courses don't work it isn't that they aren't the right antibiotic, it's that they aren't reaching the infection. You need ear drops- which usually require a specialist, because there are some (small) risks.

The longer it's left, the greater the chance of hearing loss.

Hmmm. I don't like hearing that Don! It seems totally pointless her taking them at all if it's not going to help. Do you know how long a referral would take in this instance?

Don't dismiss the preventative out of hand. They've worked hot my adult UTI- might not work for your baby, but a sensible option to rule out x

I feel your pain my daughter (14)is on her third lot of antibiotics ,having been at Dr's three times, she has suffered on and off for the past few years.Had a referral to the ent who said nothing underlying 🤔😐This time has been the worse by far with constant night wakenings and what worries me also is the amount of painkillers she is taking to try and keep pain at bay. We are going on holiday tomorrow and dreading in case this lot still doesn't work .The Dr did take a swab this time to try and pinpoint exactly what type of bacteria has been lurking and adjusted the antibiotics to hopefully blast ,but it's hard when ur child is in so much pain especially being so young .

Thanks to everyone that's replied I don't feel so alone and clueless now! I think I will go along for the next couple of weeks and see how she goes with this low dose and give painkillers as well if needed. But if she seems poorly again I am going to take her back because I just don't think it's right a baby being in constant pain. She's the loveliest happiest little girl you could meet and it's just awful seeing her upset and poorly.

It seems totally pointless her taking them at all if it's not going to help.

They help if the infection is in a part of the ear with lots of blood flow. Much of the ear is boney. You've had 5 goes, but it hasn't worked- the obvious answer (because it's very common) is that the antibiotic is not getting to the infection. The much much less likely answer is she has something resistant to 3 different antibiotics. Don't stop taking the oral antibiotics though, they will probably be reducing the infection even if they don't clear it up.

Do you know how long a referral would take in this instance?

Took a good few weeks for us. Specialist was pissed off it hadn't been referred sooner. DD needed general anesthetic and a clean out in the end- not nice. Turned out to be eczema in her ears- easily manageable once the antibiotic drops cleared the infection. No relapses.

Please insist on a referral ASAP if the infection returns. I would be tempted to leave off the painkillers to avoid masking the issue- if there is pain, the infection isn't gone.

Forgot to add: I know how worrying this all is, and how unpleasant, but honestly once you get to see a specialist it gets sorted pretty easily. Ear infections are common.

My LG was the same, 5 different courses of antibiotics. In the end GP decided not to give any more as it must be viral and just to let it run its own course naturally, instead treating with paracetamol and ibuprofen if needed. My daughter would be in pain up until her ear drum
burst then the release of pressure would reduce and we'd get gunk coming out of her ear. We did see ENT off the back of a paed referral but that was because she was slightly behind with her speech so they wanted to check her hearing. She had classic glue ear but her hearing was actually just at ok levels so they opted to re test every 6 months rather than do grommits. She's 4 now and the frequency and severity of her ear infections has reduced dramatically.

Thank you for that, I have been told to keep up with the painkillers because they said they even after an infection there will still be some pressure and discomfort? That's what I was told. I do know though that GPS only know so much about it all. I am going to speak to the surgery on Monday to ask if they'll refer her I think.

I myself am suffering from a chronic infection and have been for 6 months. You need to take her to someone who actually knows what they're talking about. If you're in or around London, take her to Harley street. I was also given 5 courses of antibiotics by my inept GPs. As the courses were never long enough or the right type of antibiotic, they just made my infection more and more resistant. I'm currently being seen by a Professor and have been told that on average it takes 300 days to clear this type of chronic infection. So there is hope but it is very very serious. I wouldn't trust your GP at all if he is playing around with antibiotics, especially given your daughters age, and still after 2 months has not referred you. I'd also consider giving your daughter a probiotic (at least 30 billion) as antibiotics kill all the good bacteria as well and it can make you feel pretty rough and cause issues with your gut as well as your feminine flora so you end up with nasty and uncomfortable things like thrush on top of the pain of your infection though I doubt your daughter would suffer from the latter due to her age. My advice is take her to see someone, pay for it. Readers have, research, research and find the best doctor for her illness. Then ask about NHS referral to be expedited so you can continue seeing said doctor although this is not always possible and you may either have to wait a long time if you want it payed for on the NHS (which means the infection will most likely continue to get worse and worse.) Just stay positive and strong for your daughter. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Just be cautious, I don't trust the NHS after several issues I experienced. The demand for their services is too great so the quality of care is falling rapidly.

I think if this next lot doesn’t clear it up you should push for a referral. I know someone who was in a similar situation with their child and it actually was something requiring pretty major surgery and hearing loss. Although that is a very rare outcome, it was only the persons concern which got it diagnosed.