Can you rule out ear infection without visiting the doctor

[fruitstick]

DS2 is 9 months. He has recently had a tummy bug and a cold, as well as 2 new teeth. For the past few weeks he has been impossible to settle to sleep. During the day it can take 40 minutes of comforting before he nods off and goes to sleep, but then he is only sleeping for 30 minutes whereas he used to sleep for over an hour and a half. Bedtime is the same, often waking later in the evening and being impossible to settle back down. He's exhausted and miserable.

Now, I am well aware that this may be just that he has been disrupted by his illnesses over the past few weeks and got out of the habit of settling himself to sleep. People keep telling me I need to be firm with him and get him to settle himself again.

But I want to make absolutely sure he doesn't have an ear infection or anything else that may be making it difficult for him to sleep. He keeps grabbing at his ear but that maybe just tiredness.

Do I have to go to the doctor? What are other symptoms?

Usually a child with an ear infection will have a high temperature and be generally unwell, grizzling and maybe pulling or rubbing the ear. Sometimes there will be a discharge from the ear and it may look red.

Most ear infections are viral and follow on from a cold or viral illness, and so don't need antibiotics and will settle down on their own within 3-5 days. Regular painkillers eg Calpol is the best treatment.

If it persists for more than a few days and he is also hot, unhappy and off his food and/or drink then see the GP.

Thanks sidge. It's so difficult to tell with so many bugs and colds going around at the moment.

he's a bit hot but not what I would call a temperature. And he is not his usual happy self but that could just be tireness.

I'm not expecting antibiotics but I also don't want to keep administering calpol for separation anxiety!

but then again, I don't want to waste the doctors time if he's just going to say 'ear infection, give him calpol'

if he has an ear infection ,he will need antibiotics.Calpol and nurofen only get rid off the symptoms...they do not get rid of infection. There is no harm in having it checked as a long term infection that remains untreated can lead to hearing problems in later life ,if not dealt with promptly

is this a new ruling starlight...i have worked in pharmacy for 35 years and have never come across that in my experience, and not with the doctors we work with.

DS given antibiotics for ear infection last week. Mind you, it had perforated by that point...

no i believe you, but it is an odd policy because it is difficult to visibly see an inner ear infection...as the drum looks red with both minor and major infections. If an ear infection is left untreated it can cause hearing problems later on in childhood. personally i dont think i would like to take the risk. My DS1 had lots of ear infections when he was a baby and he has been left with an ear that pops now, and he is 21. Whether it is due to the infections or not, i will never know...but antibiotics have always worked within 24 hours to stop the intense pain for both my boys. I am not one to overuse ABx as i know the related problems.

i have never understood why all PCT's dont do the same thing. For gods sake it medicine ,it should be uniform across the country...i despair sometimes...its all about money and cost cutting.
But i dont agree with people getting ABx just cos they demand them.

yeah ...me too..mine do the same with me.I wonder if they have lost interest or if they genuinely havent got a clue.But ive been a dispenser for 35 years so i presumed thats why they ask me...respect..LOL and maybe its your parenting too. I have to say over the years i have found some...and i carefully say some...that do not seem to be too well read...slightly worrying.
One hadnt even heard of a condition that i had and its really common....I had parvo virus,which is slapped cheek...but parvo is its proper name{der....what do they learn at med school)Its the fifth childhood disease...so as a consequence ,i have slightly lost faith. And to boot i ended up diagnosing it myself and asked for a blood test for Parvo virus B19...and guess what,it came back positive.Then after 3 years i managed to get the correct treatment.

The policy here is antibiotics only if the eardrum is perforated ( gunk coming out) or if there is a history of perforation. If your child is getting recuring ear infections tey need to be refered to ENT at the hospital.

surely perforated is too late...as once you have had a perforated ear drum there are certain sports that you cant do.ie scuba diving...its on the forms...i know cos i went scuba diving 3 years ago and had to fill it in.it excludes you from this sport completely

My daughter got them once a month each winter ( sep - mar) until she was 3. The consultant told us to use sudafed at the first sign and she's not had a perforation since because the gunk doesn't build up behind the ear. The problem with the perforation is a secondary infection i guess becuase the ear is open to the air.

Out of interest Bonjour - what Sudafed did you give your DD?

DS is 2, we had a year of ear infections and monthly perforations, then he went on prophylactic ABs for three months, that fixed it from March until last week when he got another one. Am keen to avoid another winter sat in out of hours surgery watching Strictly even Saturday night(never perforated on a week day!)

I think the adult and children's sudafed syrup are actually the same just in different packaging. We had the childrens syrup. We used it with the go ahead of our consultant from when she was 3. Its worth getting refered though to check there isn't any scarring on the eardrum, or anything congenital.

Well he has got an ear infection. I went to the doctor and have been given some antibiotics.

It hasn't perforated and I didn't demand them but she said, given how long he has been under the weather, and how disruptive it was to his sleep, she would prescribe some to be on the safe side.

I feel much better now (and so glad I didn't just let him cry) and hopefully he will too.

Thanks Bonjour. We've been referred, then signed off when the infections stopped. No damage to hearing it appears, though his speech was a bit delayed though seems to be picking up nicely now. If the infections start again we can get the GP to give prophylactic AB and see how we get on. ENT system round here is a bloody nightmare so want to avoid it again until we know we have no other options except grommets.

BonjourIvresse..how old is dd...just wondering because of the sudafed syrup not having a licence for under 6years and i believe a new directive came out from the GMC stating that cough medicines were not to be recommended for children as they had no therapeutic effect. My Gp wont give them and especially sudafed because it is pseudoephedrine with all its side effects.

Our daughter has had sudafed since she was 3 under the advice of our ENT consultant, as recurring ear infections will lead, in his opinion to scarring and hearing loss, so in my daughters case its was important to stop the perforation happening. I advised the people who have asked me to get refered. I'm not sure if sudafed is included in the cough medicine advice as it is a decongestant, and anyway i'm happy to take the advice of my ent specialist.

yes i agree ,anything to stop hearing problems I dont understand some gps not treating them though..do you?

Its common sense to prevent rather than to have to deal with the consequences of not treating.
The sudafed will help to dry up the mucous...was it the build up of mucous that was leading to the ear infections...or vice versa. DS1 used to suffer really badly too.

That fine as long as ENT specialist has said its ok. Was just worried that a pharmacist had recommended it.

I'm not sure about the mechanism for infection, all i know is that sudafed has stopped my DD going through a week of pain every month ;-) I think there is quite a body of research to show ABs for an ear infection without perforation is pointless, obviously recurring ear infections and perforation is different.