I am an earache novice. Please advise.

[lovelydear]

My dcs have both got a virus that started with extreme headaches, nausea, temperatures, and now 3 or 4 days in they are just coughing and not hungry. I have been busy with the calpol. BUT this morning my dd (5) has come in crying that the bit behind her ear really hurts and was reluctant to stand up, prefering to lie on the bathroom floor . More calpol and she's now sitting watching tv with no further complaints. in fact she says it doesn't hurt. Is she brewing something i should deal with today? or is gp tomorrow going to be ok?

I'd wait and see how she is overnight/in the morning.

If she's feeling ok with regular calpol, I would leave the GP until tomorrow.

I used to get the most terrible earaches as a child, luckily DC have only had them very rarely (bizzarely, I just "knew" DD had one at 3mths - confirmed by GP!)

I would see how she is when the calopl wears off and get to the emergency GP is she complains again. It is the worst pain, along with toothache

If she's fine with Calpol I would leave it. They seem to go one way or the other - either get much worse fairly quickly (if it's a full-blown infection) or get better of their own accord (if it's just a bit of redness/soreness caused by the ear canal being irritated by the gunge associated with the cold. Apparently they slope slightly to help them drain but children's ones are very narrow and don't slope as much as an adult's which is why they block more easily. Prob also why she gets a bit of relief from lying down - gravity is helping!

ds1 had earaches when he was about 1 - 2, and in 3 instances he got more and more upset until his eardrum burst, the pressure was rteleived and liquid oozed out of his ear [gross]. i didnt know what it was till the first bursting, then the subsequent ones happened in the year or so afterwards. other times he got sore and they didnt burst. its v sore for them if they do, and theres a chance of it affecting hearing, so might be worth getting the doc to have a look and if its an infection on which antibiotics may work, getting them.

wow thanks everyone. Will wait and see how she goes on then. bickering with her brother so can't be that bad...