GP for perforated eardrum or not?

[AWimbaWay]

My Dd1 (7yrs) has been suffering from earache all week. It appears to have just perforated, she said it went pop and now lots of liquid coming out.

I didn't take her to the gp earlier as Calpol seemed to ease the pain and I know you can't do much for earache anyway, but I don't know if you're supposed to see the gp if it perforates to check for infection or something .

She's definitely more comfortable than she was but says it still hurts a bit and is making funny noises.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

If it still hurts then I would. DDs ear always bursts after an earache but it doesn't hurt and I never take her.

Go to GP
May need antibiotics
It will probably heal without problems - but if infection stops it healing, that can lead to permanent problems.

I would. When my daughter's ear drum perforated the doctor prescribed anti-biotics for the infection and also wanted to see her 2 weeks later to check how it was healing. She couldn't go swimming until the doctor was satisfied with how it was healing. I wouldn't mess about with ears to be honest.

Yes, I would recommend taking her. The GP will need to check the size of the perforation & monitor it to see if it heals up properly. Similar thing happened to DD when she was about 3 & unfortunately it has never closed over. We have to take care when she goes swimming & washes her hair & it is likely that she will need a graft to close it eventually.

Thanks all, I'll call for an emergency appointment in the morning, (like most surgeries all the normal appointments will have booked up ages ago).

My ds's eardrum has burst in the past but I can't remember the doctor really doing much other than confirming it had perforated, but then my memory is terrible!

What a nuisance your Dds didn't heal properly RustyHalo.

I would take her. I had a perforated ear drum as a child, which never healed properly and over the years had a series of infections, culminating last year in the need to have an operation to sort it out, and then do a graft to fix it. All is fine now, though I have some hearing loss in that ear, but am not supposed to get the ear wet, ever - have to be very careful washing hair and have a special insert for swimming.