Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Allergies and intolerances

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Constant problem with ears since allergy started. But not infections? What could it be?

11 replies

WhiteTrash · 30/01/2012 08:06

Ive decided, my baby cant be the only one who has suffered with this.

His ears irritate and or hurt him (not sure which, sometimes it seems like one of 'tother, other times it seems like both).

He pulled his ears when tired before he developed all these allergies, but since then he yanks on them constantly, daily, getting really bad with teething, and really bad with eczema break outs.

9 different GP visits, 7 different GPs the last one is ENT. All say the same, theres no infection, his ear canals are red.

He claws at his ears until they pouring (liteally all down the side of his head) with blood. It gets worse at night.

We've elimimated all allergy foods and hes now on a very basic diet of fruit, veg, rice and unprocessed meats.

After a recent eczema flare up over every inch of his body I wondered if it was eczema in there. I'll be calling his dermatologists PA this morning.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Painkillers sometimes work, other times they dont which is why we think its only sometimes pain and other times irritation.

This is not habit, it wakes him at night.

OP posts:
garliclover · 30/01/2012 11:32

My DS used to pull at his ears a lot when he was about 7 to 9 months, when we were only just discovering what he was allergic to. But he never drew blood. It was the constant scratching of his head which did that.
How old is your baby? And are you already seeing a specialist about his allergies? What do they say?

WhiteTrash · 30/01/2012 12:33

8 months. We did, we are to avoid milk and egg that hes allergic to. They were painfully useless. I asked to be referred to someone else only to have a letter through the door last week for the same specialist.

OP posts:
3isthemagicnumber · 30/01/2012 12:40

Sounds awful for you all.I get eczema in my ears and it can drive me to distraction, irritates not only my ears but I feel it down my throat too.Thankfully have less and less outbreaks now but do talk to gp/dermatologist about it.
I had cream but could never get it in enough!sometime antihistamines helped too
Hope you get results soon

freefrommum · 30/01/2012 12:42

Like garliclover, my DS has always scratched his head not his ears, although interestingly enough his eczema first appeared at 8 wks old behind his ears. Eczema inside the ears sounds perfectly plausible to me but I'm no expert. DS is 4 & 1/2 now and still scratches his head, especially when tired, hot, upset or allergies/eczema are bad but not like when he was a baby - he would scratch until he bled, his cot would look like the scene of a massacre in the morning, truly awful. Hope you have some luck with the dermatologist.

garliclover · 30/01/2012 12:55

Sorry to hear they were useless. So frustrating! Like freefrom, I think eczema in the ears is plausible -- one of my friends had it as a child. Or it may be his throat irritating him, and pulling at his ears is the closest he can get to scratching his throat, iyswim. Have you discounted oral thrush as a possible cause? I'm a bit obsessed about this as an explanation for lots of symptoms, because DS had it for 8 weeks (it was undiagnosed for ages) and it caused him a lot of discomfort: I now realise his mouth and throat must have been really sore, and it wreaked havoc with his digestive system too. Gradually with oral medication and probiotics he got rid of it. But sometimes it is difficult to detect. Our GP missed it at the 6 week check-up, and it was only a very knowledgeable breastfeeding consultant who spotted it. Anyway, just mentioning it as a possibility if you are looking to eliminate causes systematically.

freefrommum · 30/01/2012 13:48

Interesting thought garliclover, my DD also had undiagnosed oral thrush as a baby despite numerous health professionals telling me everything was fine and I was just being a wimp when I said that bf was agony. By the time it was eventually diagnosed by GP I was told I had to stop bf asap as I had permanent scarring :( Babies do often pull their ears when they're teething so I guess any mouth/throat problems could make them do the same.

WhiteTrash · 30/01/2012 13:55

He scratches his head a lot too. Hes done that all his life, hes always covered in tinu cuts but we accept that as part of him now.

I dont think he had OF. My eldest got that as a baby so I think Id recognise it. Plus I dont have it on my breasts. They said his ear canals are red. Can you get ear thrush (I need to grow up, that made me laugh!)? Id have though one of the GP's would have mentioned it?

OP posts:
javo · 30/01/2012 14:00

My (school age) child recently was diagnosed with eczema in his ear by the GP- he had been scratching away inside it and it had bled etc. I was given an ear spray (which made him cry first time as it was astringent)- it cleared it up in about a week. My DC does suffer from eczema on his body too.

WhiteTrash · 30/01/2012 14:10

Thanks Javo.

OP posts:
eragon · 30/01/2012 16:01

ezcema in ears, and a dustmite allergy?

incywincyspideragain · 10/02/2012 20:35

This link might help
www.deafnessresearch.org.uk/1896/ear-infections/itchy-or-sore-ears.html

Could you ask GP if you try an antihistimine? to see if it relieves it, I think over counter stuff is only from 12 months.

There are home remedies you can use for relieving itchy ears (garlic oil) but sounds like you need to rule out if its ezcema

hope you find a solution, sounds horrible for your ds x

New posts on this thread. Refresh page