Fever, ear infection… help

[YourEagerWasp]

So my 16m/o went to the gp on Thursday and was diagnosed with a double ear infection spreading to his throat and was given 5 days of amoxicillin. Yesterday he had been progressively getting worse so we went to out of hours and spent the night in PAU having tests done and being monitored.

We saw 3 doctors and each doctor said something different, one even said he had a viral chest infection but his chest is clear and we went for his ears…

I was told when leaving that he is to drink 600mls of fluids in the next 24hrs but I can’t get him to drink or eat. The whole time we were in PAU he drank 50mls of juice. I feel like I’m going insane and over thinking this but I feel like I’ve been fobbed off and my son is really not well.

Hes slept since we got home from the hospital (still currently sleeping) and when he’s awake all he is doing is moaning and whining. He can’t even cry properly, he’s had calpol 30 mins ago and his temp is 39.2, I can’t give ibuprofen because he hasn’t eaten.

any advice? Should I go back?

Yes, go back.

If he's not drinking, sleeping too much, his temperature isn't being kept under control with Calpol (note: sometimes Calpol takes 45 mins to an hour to really work for fever, but even aside from that, I would still go back), and the amoxycillin isn't fixing the infection (I think you started the course on Thursday) - he needs to be seen again.

Of course, one of our fears as parents is sepsis (which can arise from simple infections like these) but with ear infections you also need to be conscious of mastoiditis which can also be dangerous.

DD used to have recurrent ear infections (often spreading to her throat, sometimes causing her eardrums to burst). Sometimes they had to try a few types of antibiotics before they found the one that worked.

Note: now DD is 8yo - she rarely has ear infections (less than annual), but there was a period between 1 and 3 years old when she was riddled with them :-(

Sorry to hear this ☹️
just a quick point but you can give ibuprofen even if he’s not eaten - you wouldn’t want to do it for days on end, but as a paeds nurse we alternate calpol and nurofen and happily give ibuprofen on empty stomachs - it often brings the temp down much more effectively than calpol. Hope he feels better soon x

@Atlasstars1 how many days can you give it to them on an empty stomach? He’s been having it for 5 days now and he’s not eaten anything. And then when I checked the nhs website it says not to😞

@FloralQuestions Thankyou for your advice I most likely will be back in with him as he’s only been awake for 2 hours total today, he woke up at 8 and has been sleeping since 10am.
he did wake up and drink some juice and then went straight back to sleep which I’m happy about. His temp is now 38.2 so it’s come down a little bit but is still high.

Has he not eaten anything at all for 5 days?

@Atlasstars1 nope! I think in the last 5 days he’s eaten two quavers. Everything I try and give him he cries and pushes it away😭