Reoccurring tonsillitis and ear infections

[BAST1]

Hi all,

My son has been suffering from reoccurring tonsillitis and ear infections since May 2021. They come on every 2 weeks and he's on antibiotics constantly. We are seeing Nhs ENT in a couple of weeks but I have a feeling they won't help. He's 2 years, 3 months. On the pathway to a diagnosis of autism and also suffers from glue ear. I got him seen by a private ent consultant a few weeks back who put him on a preventative antibiotic for 6 weeks but we still had a breakthrough of tonsillitis and worse one yet. Couldn't get fever done for 24 hours, hitting 40 and pus on the tonsils. We can't live like this every two weeks. Has anyone been through similar? He's currently on high does amoxicillin for 10 days and still after 5 days being on it his throat still sore. Has anyone had some other tests for similar? He's had quite a lot of bloods tests already and have showed white cells raised when infection in his body but they always go down so that rules out anything very scary. We have had vit d, Calcium checked etc. He's dairy and soya free.

Ds was like that from 10 weeks old. He had his first grommets at 20 months, second at 3.6yo and third at 6yo. He was finally discharged at 12yo, although he still has some glue ear, he no longer gets constant infections.

Dairy free made no difference. Grommets did. When the grommets were in, he hardly had any infections.

We got the grommets on the NHS, in fact the third time he asked for hearing aids instead, but they said he needed the grommets for the infections as much as the hearing.
The only time we had any problems getting the grommets was the 2nd time when we saw a registrar who wanted to adopt a wait and see for a couple of months. Two days later we were back at the GP with another infection, and he said that wasn't the right approach for ds.
Three weeks later we saw the consultant who simply asked me if he was off to school soon. By the time I'd said "Yes in September", he'd written the form to say he was to come back the next day to have grommets put in.
So do try the NHS, they've been good round here.

They didn't take ds' tonsils out, because they weren't a major problem, but I suspect in your case that will be strongly considered.
Things that will help your case: Speech-do you think he struggles to communicate? Hearing-does he struggle to hear? How does that effect him? Often they want to know how it is effecting as much as the infections because that has a potentially longer term effect.

Ds has recently been diagnosed with ASD too. But when I asked when he was younger they said that glue ear behaviour can mimic ASD behaviour, so that's why he wasn't diagnosed until later.

I was like this as a child, very poorly for nearly two years on and off and almost deaf. I had long term antibiotics for nearly a year. The only thing that cured it was a tonsillectomy aged 5. I was supposed to have grommets too but once my tonsils were out my recurrent ear problems resolved. My tonsils were so permanently swollen that they were pressing on my ear canals and causing them to close up.

Definitely speak to the GP about getting long term solution sorted. It’s been more than 25 years and I still remember how miserable it made me as a little child.

Zinc

Op my dc stopped with piriton. Just a very small amount daily.
However her permanent teeth do seem to be yellowed. (Though this could be unrelated or due to so many lots of antibiotics.
Worst was hers would cause 40+ fevers and burst both drums.
Imo she behaves like she has odd/pda her speech has always been fine though. Now over 9yo.

Google mannose binding lectin deficiency and ask the paediatrician for a simple blood test.

10% of the population have a weakened immune system causing recurrent infections. My 7yo has mbld and hers transpires as regular chest infections. Prophylaxis antibiotics are the treatment for now but she'll likely grow out of it.