To go to Out of Hours GP?

[Thumperduck]

My 2 year old DS with grommets has had a leaky ear for 15 days now. We've been on holiday for a week, getting back today else I would have taken him to the doctors earlier. He hasn't had a temperature, isn't unwell, sleeping normally, just a bit bothered by the gooeyness now and then and has a rummage in his ear. It started after either hayfever or a cold, so had a running nose for a week but that's now cleared up. It's a bit smelly so is clearly an ear infection.

WIBU to go to out of hours GP to get antibiotic ear drops tomorrow instead of waiting to see my own GP on Monday - turning up to wait at 7.30am for an emergency appointment, then being 3 hours late for work and nursery by the time we've been seen and collected the antibiotics? I tried to book an appointment for him last week but the earliest one is 7 weeks time...

Going to out of hours GP for a suspected ear infection is fine. It's what it's there for. Entirely different to a&e

I don’t know about grommets but without grommets they do not routinely prescribe antibiotics for ear infections is my understanding. Is it different with grommets? If not, I would be tempted to wait.

Thanks, I'll go through the 111 rigmarole to get him seen tomorrow morning. He's had about 16 ear infections in his short life - most of them have required antibiotics. This is his second since grommets, last time he had ear drops when I refused oral antibiotics after reading the Cochrane review about how the drops are more effective in grommets.

My 18 month old has had endless ear infections since her first birthday. Her eardrum keeps bursting and she's been on pretty much constant antibiotics whilst we await our referral for ENT. We've seen the out of hours several times and been given antibiotics, so I'd go.

Can I ask - how old is your child and how was the op to put the grommets in? Has it helped? It sounds like it hasn't. Im really nervous about it given how young she is.

I’d do 111 and request the drops.

I had ear infections since 4 months old. It stopped when I had my adenoids out. Everything stopped. Inner ear infections, tonsillitis, laryngitis. Mum said it was like someone flipped a switch.

We went this morning, got told off for waiting so long and given antibiotic ear drops. It's oozed much less today already.

He had grommets put in at 23 months, after a history of nearly one infection every month since he was 6 months old. It was a clear cut case according to the ENT doctor we saw after about a year, and the operation was done a month later.

It's been life changing with respect to pain and suffering for him, and this is only his second infection since January. We hoped it would sort his sleeping out which was atrocious, but it was about a month or two after that he started sleeping through so maybe just his age.

Just recently he's sounded congested when feeding to sleep and does occasionally snore so I reckon he's got big adenoids too but the ENT said they would stay unless the ear infections didn't improve. We've got another follow up in August to talk about that.

The operation itself was quick and straightforward and he was home the same night, back to nursery the day after. The fasting was the worst bit - I couldn't go to hospital with him as he wouldn't understand not being able to feed all day so daddy took one for the team that day while I tried to distract myself at work!