Recurrent ear infections/grommets

[Bunny2607]

Hi everyone
my almost 11 month old has been on antibiotics every 10-14 days since September for an ear infection that won’t shift. We go through the same cycle where she gets irritable, waking every hour, then one day she wakes with pus and gunk coming out her ear (always the same ear), so we get antibiotics for 5 days she gets better then a few days after she finishes the course it starts again. GP thinks she needs grommets to clear a blockage somewhere so
we have been referred to ENT but the earliest appts are march. Does anyone have any experience of going private? Has anyone been in my position? If so what did you do? It’s starting to have a big impact as when she is poorly we get zero sleep, and when she is on antibiotics she has to have been on them 24hrs before nursery will take her which means i end up taking time off work depending how the days fall. I’m worried about how much medication she is having with calpol/ibuprofen and the antibiotics themselves. It can’t be good long term. I just can’t carry on like this and I don’t want my baby in pain. We can’t really afford private we only have £1k in savings but we’ll find the money if we have to. Thank you xx

Hi there. I wondered how you are getting on with your little one? I went through a similar experience with my son. After a few very tough years I learnt that dairy could be the problem for children with recurring ear infections so I decided that eliminating it was worth a try. We cut out all dairy which was tough as my son loved most things dairy, but the results were nothing short of miraculous. At age 3 1/2 he slept through the night for the first time in his life. That was a good enough sign for me that dairy was causing a lot of his problems. His behaviour and mood changed over night.it led me on a journey that was enlightening, but it is this starting point that made all the difference. For anyone who has a child with any ear nose and / or throat issue the first thing you must do is remove conventional dairy, it doesn’t have to be forever, but six months should give the system a rest. No drugs or surgery will be needed.

Hi, my baby is dairy free as she’s allergic to cows milk so been on prescription formula since 3 weeks old. She’s now 13 months nearly 14 so i know its not dairy causing it but i do think there is a link from
what i have read with other children.
we’ve decided to go private for grommets. She’s constantly poorly with infections and we just can’t get anywhere through the nhs unfortunately.

Hello I'm just wondering how you have got on with your baby, I'm going through a similar thing with my 10 month old. I've just seen ENT at the hospital and he said her ears were clear and not concerned about the past 12 weeks where she's had 4 lots of antibiotics and mucas and perforations in both ears. Only 2 days later shes had a bad night and mucas coming out of her worse ear again. I just felt I'm not getting good advice or being taken seriously. It's awful to see them in pain 💔

Hi I’m going through the same thing with my 4 year old. Did the constant antibiotics have any affect on any of your children’s teeth? I’m really sorted about this as my daughter has had so many antibiotics over the last 4 years for ear and throat infections. I’d love any advice x

@ElleDani
Ds is 17yo now and has no issues with teeth, despite having probably more than 20 antibiotics a year for his first 3-4 years and plenty since then too.
In fact last time he went to the dentist, I slipped in the day before to ask the dentist not to say what he did the previous, which was "you have excellent teeth - you obviously brush them well."

Because does not brush them well. I think a quick dab is his preferred option, and he loved to quote the dentist back at me when I told him to brush.

It's more genetic than anything else. My oldest does everything to look after her teeth and has had issue after issue (dh's teeth), whereas the other two are much more cavalier about it and have had no issues at all. (my teeth).