does an ear infection actually need a gp visit?

[MummyElk]

thoughts on gunge coming out of DD1s ear? she has been complaining of ear ache (again....) (groan). It's NOT clear fluid (or i'd be dashing somewhere more medical ) but it's sort of infectiony looking...

reckon i can dose her up with calpol til tomorrow? docs will have run out of appointments now anyw

she had an ear infection about 6 weeks ago, give or take..and has been pretty clingy etc this week, which would sort of account for it now i think about it!
i haven't checked her temperature but i've seen her much iller..... she's asleep at mo

Just took DS1 to GP for an ear infection yesterday only to be told they wouldn't prescribe ABs unless it persisted and I should just give ibuprofen/calpol. Waste of a whole morning sitting in the waiting room!

Having had a horrendous ear infection myself and having seen ds struggle with a few Id call the GP now.

Definitely give her ibuprofen to bring the swelling down.

how much pain is she in and how swollen and tight is the ear area? if loads... then get ye to the doc, eardrum might burst. (though unlikely if the fluid is getting out). if not much... will be fine till tomorrow.

I am in no way medically qualified. just had an ear infection recently.

I'm very wary of ear infections.

When I was little we lived in a rural village, DM had no car and the GPs was in the next village. When I had an ear infection, she delayed going to the GP by a day or two because the difficulty in getting there.

By the time I got there my ear drum had burst. I have had a succession of operations on my ear since then and have been left with permanent, albeit not profound, hearing loss.

I'm sure your DD wil be fine - but please be cautious about getting ear infections properly treated.

Depends on your GP - you can always try phoning and asking?

Many GP's no longer prescribe AB's for ear infection as they only reduce the infection by maybe 24 hours (I personally think that is a long time to be in excruciating pain!).

However, I am sure that if there is any discharge from the ear then you should get it checked out. Since you mention an ear infection previously, it could be a chronic ear infection. This would be slightly less painful but has the risk of greater complications.

If she can take junior nurofen, it may be better due to being anti-inflammatory. It's the only thing that works for my DS ears!

My DS4 is currently recovering from mastoiditis which was pretty fucking horrific, and developed from a series of ear infections that weren't treated properly. It is very rare although on the rise, possibly due to reduction in use of AB's.

thanks all, appreciate the quick responses
GPs has had a cancellation so we have an appointment within the hour, huzzah. teuch 2littlemonkeys et al, we also weren't prescribed abs last time but different gp/timing, will see what they say. Mastoiditis sounds horrible, poor ds4!
i hated ear infections when i was little so I do feel sorry for her!

Hey, hope you got on ok at docs and DD is on road to recovery!