High Fever & Ear Infection

[TinaFay]

Hi, my 11 month old ds has been diagnosed with an ear infection. He's never been ill before (other than with colds) and has a very high temperature (104). He's been to the doc and been given antibiotics (I know not everyone on here agrees with them, but I'm hoping and praying they'll knock this on the head by Christmas) but my question really is, how on earth do you get your baby to drink if they refuse to? The nurse on NHS direct said he should be having 15ml every 5 mins, but I can't get him to drink any. It doesn't matter whether I offer it to him in a bottle, cup or on a spoon, or whether it has juice mixed in to sweeten it, he just bats it away. I've offered him some milk and he took a couple of oz, but threw up his lunch so I am worried about him getting dehydrated and how I get his temperature down. calpol/nurofen seem to be having very little effect (it was 102 this morning, but has been gradually rising as the day's gone on.) He will eat those little pureed fruit pots, and I wondered if they would help? Anyone else been through this who can offer some reassurance/advice? Tina

poor little thing

he might not want to drink much as it hurts his ear

sucking on an ice pop, or sucking a flannel or even giving water via a medicine syringe can be helpful, hopefully in 24 hours ,the ABX will hve made a difference,

the fruit pots will have some water in, and offer watery foods too

is he weeing?

His last nappy was damp. If only you could explain to them how important it is.. grrr!

jsut offer sips of water or diluted juice or breast milk if you are still feeding, or v v dilute formula. just offering little sips here and htere will help

hope he is ok soon, and if you are all worried he is getting worse and dehyrdated, go back to the docs,.

poor you. DS has had so many ear infections he got referred to ENT so I know what you are going through. Once you get the antibiotics into him, he will probably get better within hours (DS always does). In the meantime, alternate calpol and nurofen every two hours (of course keeping an eye on not exceeding the maximum daily dose)

As for keeping him hydrated - try slightly warm orange squash in a bottle if he has bottles (terrible for teeth but just for a few hours is worth the risk IMHO), or breastfeed him if he doesn't have bottles.

Don't panic about the temperature - easier said than done I know. DS regularly has temperatures of around 40.8 (about 105) when he has ear infections. While fevers are very unpleasant and scary, the GP assured me that a high fever is not in itself dangerous. Just keep him lightly dressed so that he doesn't overheat more, and keep going on the nurofen and calpol.

Keep us posted about how you get on.

Try syringing a little water/juice/milk into his cheek every few minutes. Sucking really hurts with an ear infection, hence the reluctance to take a bottle or beaker. Ice pops or fruit purees have a fair bit of water in them too.

My ds had bilateral ear infections with tonsillitis last weekend (his 1st birthday), was spiking temps up to 41C and having rigours. He got better after 2-3 days with regular ibuprofen and paracetamol, no ABs required.

If your baby gets really hot, strip him down to his nappy and cuddle him in a loose blanket. If he does less than 2 wet nappies in 24 hours, looks pale or repeatedly vomiting- call NHS direct or take to A&E/GP.

Thanks for all the advice. Was hoping he'd be much better this morning, but he still has a temp of around 38.5 - I know that's not particularly high, so I'm just hoping it doesn't increase as the day goes on as it did yesterday. Strangely enough, when I took his temperature in the night (after any calpol had warn off) his temp was normal - so I was fully expecting him to be his usual bubbly self this morning but not to be. He's been on the antibiotics now for 36 hours, but I'm guessing this may well be viral in which case we'll just have to wait it out. He ate a reasonable breakfast this morning though, so at least that's something.

Yes, syringing small amounts into the side of his mouth fairly regularly should help. Keep checking for wet nappies... good luck

I can't work this out! His temp seems to be down, but in himself he seems worse than ever - very grizzly, has refused water and lunch. I've given him nurofen, more for the pain I'm assuming he's in, rather than the temp. He's taken his medicine fine the past 2 days, but today even getting that down him is proving a challenge. Can anyone give me an idea of how long ear infections usually last? This is day 3 now and I was hoping he'd be feeling a bit better.

hi again
sorry to hear that your DS is still unwell. It is possible that the ear infection was a complication of one of the many flu type bugs that are going round at the moment. If that is the case then he may well need time to recover from the underlying virus even if the ear infection is better (and hence he doesn't have the dramatic temps).

Another thought - antibiotics can cause a bit of a stomach upset. Is it possible that he is nauseous or has a tummy ache? having a virus as well as a dodgy tummy would explain the bad moods and refusal to eat or drink. If you can persuade him to try it, actimel/yakult type drinks really help this type of stomach problem

Both my Ds's had flu and it took DS1 (3.5) about 5 days to recover physically and another week to get out of his bad mood and get his energy back. DS2 (7 months) recovered a lot more quickly though and didn't have the bad mood phase afterwards.

REally hoping that your DS is better in time for Christmas

Have you had a look in his mouth for ulcers/blisters?

Children with hand, foot and mouth (which is also doing the rounds) are notoriously reluctant to have anything at all in their mouths.

Ear infections can take a week to resolve. The pain tends to last for a couple of days after the fever calms down.