Is it an ear infection? If so what should I do?

[CheckpointCharlie]

Dd has been fine all day until after lunch she started saying her ear hurt. It got worse and worse so I gave her calpol and after an hour she was ok.
Nothing has come out of her ear, and when the calpol wore off a little while ago she woke up and cried. She said it felt like popcorn was popping in her ear.

I have no experience of ear infections so don't know if we should take her to OOH, leave it till the morning, have her in our bed, wait till Monday or just have a large glass of wine and stop stressing?!
She is just four btw.
WWYD?

I think that ibuprofen (for example calprofen or nurofen for kids) works better than paracetamol based medicine with earache as it is a very intense pain. Nurofen also helps with the inflammation.

It may also help for her to lay down on the sore ear and to lie it on top of a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel as warmth often makes the pain a bit more manageable.

Most ear infections are viral and usually GPs don't prescribe antibiotics but if it is not improving by Monday I would make an appointment with your GP. In the meantime, nurofen and if necessary also calpol (maximum doses for her age, spread out over 24 hours), plus if she goes out, a warm hat.

If she has a cold it is important to help clear the cold asap as the bacteria can spread to the ear and then she will need antibiotics. If she is six or younger you can use saline sprays (sterimar or others, Boots and Tesco etc. sell them), if over six she can have a decongestant like Sudafed which works wonders.

Good luck, hopefully it gets better soon. Earache is horrible.

Thanks v much, she has had a cough and is still coughing a bit but not really snotty.
Oh poor thing, didn't realise it was so painful, I will get a bot water bottle ready on stand by.

Warm chamomile tea with or without (ideally Manuka) honey may help for the cough. Swallowing will probably be painful though.

You may need to give maximum doses of calprofen (basically ibuprofen) AND calpol (paracetamol) spread out over 24 hours to make the pain bearable. This could go on for a few days, then there should be an improvement unless antibiotics are needed.

Earache is one of the most painful things you can get unfortunately.

Thanks dikkert am off to check her now.