Chronic ear infection

[Willis15]

My 18 month old dd has had an ear infection since she was 9 months old. She has had amoxicillin every second week. When on the amoxicillin she is ok and then the next week the ear infection comes back starting with excess mucous and then a fever. With the fevers she has convulsions which are awful. Then she has the side effects from the amoxicillin, thrush and mouth ulcers.
We were initially referred to a paediatrician who has done bloods twice. All the bloods have come back normal. She has finally been referred to ENT with an appointment on 27th. Her hearing was tested last week and she passed, only slight fluid in her right ear.
I have tried changing to goats milk and nasal sprays. I was just wondering if anyone has been through a similar situation? Is there anything else I can do? I have no idea how we can help her.
I have a few people recommend the eye drops for the ears but the GP won't prescribe them and said that they would not have any effect as her ear drum is not burst so it would not get to the middle ear. Today the GP said that she would not get grommets from ENT as she has no hearing loss. Surely they can't leave her like this? She is in agony all the time! Any advice would be appreciated.

Big hug to you and DD. I know how horrible it is having a child up most of the night with ear pain. I can remember with DS1 he always went to sleep fine and then he would start crying during the night, and I would think oh no not again. DS1 had constant ear infections, always had antibiotics in the fridge. They would not fit grommets for him either. However, ENT did clear out wax from his ears, with a tiny instrument with a flexible hook on the end, that did seem to help. They said he would grow out of them by the time he was 7, which was true as if by magic they disappeared. His hearing is fine also thank goodness. I know it doesn't help you and DD at the moment, but I can completely understand how helpless it makes you feel. Good luck op.

Oh no 7! Don't know if I can handle this for so long. It is so hard and they just don't seem to care. I have to pin her down to get medicine in her and that is horrible. Thank you for replying and I'm glad your ds is ok.

Have her adenoids been looked at? Enlarged adenoids and tonsils can back up fluid to the ears I believe.
You desperately need an ent appointment - it will all get better after that. At very least get them to try and switch antibiotics- ask if azthryomcin (not sure if that's right spelling) could be used instead - you only have to give this once a day for 3 days for full dose. My lo still gets thrush/ulcers but at same time I give antibiotics I put oral daktarin in her cheeks once or twice a day just to prevent the thrush.

Not yet, I have huge tonsils and should have had them removed when I was young due to tonsillitis but they never were. I have never had any ear infections though.
I have been fighting towards this ENT appointment and I was just worried that they would just say the same as the GP. That there is nothing else they could do so thank you for the advice and hope!

They will 100% not just fob you off. It's often the way that you have to fight past gp's and health visitors etc. once you get to see the right specialist things are dealt with properly! good lick!

Luck!

My DS had a drums bursting about one every 2 to 3 weeks, for around a year. They would heal over then burst again pretty much straight afterwards. It turned out he had a non-IgE allergy to wheat. Took wheat out of his diet and they cleared up Immediately. He also had multiple other allergies but different response/s to those

My son had tonsillitis constantly constantly for about 2 years, it would go and come back.
Now looking back it was the same infection recurring I'm sure, it just never got knocked on the head properly.

Anyway one time he was very bad and in hospital, he was given a very strong, 3 day antibiotic, and he never got it ever again. (That was years ago)

I hope you get sorted too and it clears up for good.

It was called Zithromax. The antibiotic. (I know it's a different ailment but it's worth trying another antibiotic) best wishes x

I have mentioned allergies to the GP's and was told it would be "highly unlikely". I will put that on my list to mention to ENT along with the different antibiotic. The GP did talk of another antibiotic but said they like to keep that up their sleeve in case of serious illness. Thanks

Willis, my ent was worse than useless. I had a years history of his eardrums bursting (I had a record by date of every one); he had one burst drum at the time of meeting. He said nothing to do, come back in a year. I fought for an appointment with someone else, got one for 6 weeks later but dropped wheat before then so it was no longer an issue. GPs don't usually have the specific experience either. Mine told me my son didn't have allergies and I was just anxious. He was anaphylactic to nuts, dairy, soy & has other allergies less severely. If you suspect something, the best thing is to just remove it from the diet completely for 2 weeks, then reintroduce and see what happens (might take a few days to see reaction). I'm not saying allergies are the answer, just that they were the answer for us.

Is worth investing in some probiotics too, after all those antibiotics

Best of luck!

Thank you. I had a look at allergy testing today but I can't see anyone that would do it on a toddler. Did you get the testing done privately or through the NHS?

We were finally referred to the NHS at 8 months old (after problems since 2 weeks old), but the wait was so long we went private. There are a lot of 'odd' ways people will try and sell you allergy testing. I'd only bother with skin prick testing and RAST testing. Having said that, the gold standard is just to do food trials and keep a food diary. Particularly if it's what is called a non-IgE reaction, which, if it were an allergy, it would likely be (and won't come up on skin prick tests, which is what the nhs will likely do). The basis of my DS' issue was, so far as i understood, that his eustachian tubes were swelling, which meant they weren't draining properly, which led to the infections/bursting. It always took 4 days from the eating to the bursting...

like many my dd developed an ear infection. fine one round of atb.'s. i went back for a recheck at two weeks and the pediatrician recommended a second round of atb.'s, okay but unusual. then again at the two week check again she suggested another course of atb.....i said explain more to me about this, the reply in my dd's case was "well there is fluid in the ear and although not infected yet it will become infected".

that it was due to allergies and eventually grommets would be necessary.
i noticed that when we travelled to my mom's house (6 hours away) my dd walked better (tripped less) spoke clearer and rubbed her ears less. my mother lived in a huge metropolitan city, it made me think....
we chose to move.

i assumed she was allergic to the insulation type (formaldehyde) specifically found in Styrofoam insulation.
i chose to treat her with decongestants and we moved.
although no longer recommended (online)to treat ear issues with decongestants do speak to your pediatrician about it.

I will speak to the ENT to see if they will test her for allergies and if not I will get it done privately. I have wondered if she was allergic to the flat we live in as her nose doesn't run when we are outside.
She is in agony tonight! We really need to get this sorted out soon.
Thank you for everyone's advice. I need to go to this appointment as informed as I can be so we don't get fobbed of as usual.

Out2pasture is that cavity wall insulation?

Ds was like that. He had ear infections from about 2 months until 20 months when grommets were put in.
He's been checked thoroughly for allergies and isn't anything there.

We had our ENT appointment today. She has glue ear and has been put on the waiting list for grommets. The waiting time is 2-3 months. I went through my list of allergies, antibiotics etc and was told no. Amoxicillin is the best thing apparently and we need to just keep taking it every time she gets infections. So another 2-3 months of this unless she gets a cancellation. I was quite surprised that it was the only option she was willing to try but I can only accept it as I am desperate for a solution. Just thought I would update the thread. Thanks again for all the advice.

My ds was v similar It affected his development.

Amoxcyllin is crap. It is not killing the bugs properly. DS's problems were only sorted out when we changed GP. He was then given a much stronger antibiotic for two weeks. After that, he did not have an ear infection again for seven years.

He had been very slow with words; had even been diagnosed with a 'specific language disorder' (we were told he would never attend a normal school).

He started speaking in full sentences very soon after he#d finished the ABs, and has never looked back.