Nora's 1st ear infection since the tubes.

amynicole21 wrote: Last night no one got much rest... Nora was miserable and cried all night. When I woke up this morning there was yellow ooze all over her ear It was really gross. I took her in and they confirmed the ear infection, plus did a strep test because I told them I tested positive last week. She does have strep. I think she's had it for weeks... I'm a terrible mother. She's been sick forever, but I was just trying to wait it out. I feel horrible.

Please send some hugs our way. Between Sophia's mouth/chin boo boos and Nora's ears and throat, we are all a mess.

coasterqueen replied: Ahhh Amy. You are NOT a horrible mother. IMHO I would have waited it out too . I hope both your girls feel better soon and hope you and hubby get some much needed rest.

MommyToAshley replied:
Poor Nora. And, poor Mommy... you've certainly had your hands full. Don't beat yourself up. It's so hard to know when to take them to the doc and when to wait it out.

Sending some get well, get some rest, and heal quickly vibes your way.

huggybugboy replied: oh I'm so sorry Amy. You are not a horrible mother. and lots of rest to you.

sunrosejenn replied:

1lilpeanut2love replied: Awwwh poor baby! I hope she gets better soon. You aren't a bad mommy for waiting it out! I hope all gets well soon for you all!

gr33n3y3z replied:
Your a good Mom Amy
Are the tubes still in her ears?

I hope things start looking up for you and everyone heals very fast

lisar replied: Lexi has had tubes twice and her adnoids removed. The second set of tubes seemed to be alot better than the first. I know what you are going thru. Take her to the ENT. I hope she is feeling better soon. And you to.

Kaitlin'smom replied: poor thing. Hope everyone feels better soon

ediep replied: awww, poor baby!! You are not a horrible mommy!!!
hope she feels better soon!

aspenblue1 replied: Poor Nora I hope she feels better soon.

DansMom replied: Wow, you are getting slammed right now. I hope everyone heals quickly!

kit_kats_mom replied: Oh man. Sorry dear. Not a bad mommy. Give them both hugs and get well soon hugs from us all and while you are at it, wrap your arms 'round yourself and give yourself a squeeze too. Then go home and have a glass of wine after the girls are in bed..ahhhhhh that's better!

mammag replied: Poor baby! I hope she, and everyone, are all better soon!

You are a fabulous mommy!!!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Poor Nora! You're not a bad mother at all. I hope she gets better soon!

My2Beauties replied: I can't believe she got an ear infection even with tubes in her ears. I'm sorry Amy!

ian'smommy replied: So, she actually had a full blown ear infection with the tubes in? That is odd. I guess it happens but not that often. When Ian had tubes there were 2 times that his ears hurt him. He ran a fever once and his ears would drain. Both times I brought him to the doctor and they said even though it hurts the draining was doing the job and no infection actually developed. Once all the fluid drained he was fine. No meds, no nothing. Granted I had to put ear drops in his ears to keep the tubes clear. If they are clogged, then they can't drain obviously and the infection will develop. My only guess would be that she had a large amount of fluid and before it could all drain, the infection developed. With Ian, during the day it would drip from his ear to his shoulder. I always felt bad for him when he had an infection.
His tubes fell out in August. No sooner did that happen, he got an infection AND pink eye at the same time. I thought, oh no. A bad sign if the tubes just fell out and he has an infection already, but the ENT told me that is actually common. He hasnt had an infection since.

Hope she starts feeling better soon.

amynicole21 replied:
The fluid that came out was yellow - not sure if that meant it was infected or not. It was draining fine, but before the tubes she never got fluid unless she had an infection. Our doctor warned us that tubes don't prevent infections, they just allow the fluid to drain so that it doesn't build up and cause her pain. She was super uncomfortable anyway, even though they seemed to be draining well.

She does get a lot of ear wax... he didn't say anything about drops to keep them clear. Of cours, they were working fine and draining, so I guess that means I don't have to worry about it...

ian'smommy replied: See, something is screwy because The ENT that we saw didn't tell us what you were told. It's not impossible to get an infection with tubes but it is rare. Both times that Ian's ears drained with tubes he was still in pain so being told that it prevents only the pain, isnt all that true which Nora seemed to prove too, right? She was uncomfortable. Ian wouldn't even let me TOUCH his ears. When he got his tubes, I was given an ear drop that I was supposed to give him every day. 3 drops in each ear to prevent clogging. I was to do that for so many days after the surgery and then I didn't have to do it unless his ears began draining. His was tinged yellow too, btw. It doesnt really run completely clear. He was in just as much pain during that as he was with a full blown infection without tubes. Infections only occur when the fluid builds up and sits there. When it sits there, it causes the bacteria to grow. I don't really understand how she could have developed a full blown infection if that fluid wasn't sitting. It was draining. Each time Ian went in they told me that the draining is what prevented the infection because it wasn't sitting in there for the bacteria to grow. Before he go the tubes, he got treated for an infection and then when he was done the meds, they wanted to see him back. They said the infection was gone, but there was still fluid so they gave him another round of meds, KNOWING that because the fluid was still there and not draining, another infection was going to develop. It is just weird since technically an infection cant develop when the fluid isn't sitting in there. And why you werent given drops is beyond me. Really strange.

amynicole21 replied: Here's some more info I found. Go down to the part that talks about infections: http://www.pedisurg.com/PtEducENT/tubes.htm

In Nora's case, she also has strep, so it's probably that the strep travelled into her ears as well causing more infection.

Here's another excerpt from http://www.meei.harvard.edu/shared/oto/pedi6.php

What Are The Main Downsides?
An estimated 80% of parents will be satisfied that tube placement has provided a positive impact on their life and their child's health by diminishing noticeably the number of ear infections and/or increased hearing ability. This means, unfortunately, that about 20% of children will still continue to have many ear infections. In fact, about 15% of patients will have an ear infection within the first month after tube placement. But fortunately, many of those children in the long run will still be a treatment success. One silver lining to that gray cloud is the fact that children who have a tube (or a perforation) with an ear infection have a port for pus to drain out and so often have less discomfort and also can be treated with topical antibiotics in the form of drops.



If Ian was in pain with the draining, wasn't that an ear infection, too?

ian'smommy replied:

I would have thought so because the first time he had pain while it drained. He whined about it all day and didn't want me to get to close to his ears. The second time he ran a bit of a fever too. Each time I brought him in to the doctor and they didn't prescribe anything because they said no infection has actually developed. Once his ears stopped draining he was fine. I gave him Children's Motrin to keep him fairly comfortable. That was all I needed to do, as well as the ear drops that the ENT gave me.

amynicole21 replied: I think it must be a difference in doctors. My Ped couldn't even see the eardrum last time because of the pus and the big old blue tube in there. He just knew it was infected because of the infected fluid coming out. They aren't the type of docs who "wait out" ear infections - they prescribe antibiotics every time. I don't know if that is good or bad... my kids have both had too many antibiotics I'm sure

Are the drops your ENT gave you antibiotics? We have antibiotic drops we're giving Nora now.

Ashlynn's Mommy replied:

ian'smommy replied: Actually in the long run it really isn't good to prescribe antibiotics right away. They start to grow immune to it. Even giving my son the meds when he really needed it, he was growing immune to it. He first of all developed an allergic reaction to amoxicillin. He had it the time before and was fine. But then he had different ones as well a a shot to get rid of the infection in the next day. Anyway, when an antiboitic is used, if all the bacteria isn't killed with it, what is left becomes stronger and then it becomes hard to kill. The draining his ears were doing was the yellowy fluid but they said since the ear wasn't red like they would normally see with an infection when looking in the ear, the draining would do the work. Yes he was in pain but they told me to give him motrin and sure enough, no infection developed. Once his ear quit draining, he was back to normal as if nothing had gone wrong. I don't know. Just seems real strange to me, that's all. I mean, not giving you ear drops to keep the tubes clear. If the ears drain, the fluid can dry and clog the tubes if the drops aren't used to keep it clear. I am very surprised they didnt give you any. Yeah, I guess all doctors are different, but if it is supposed to help, why not give them to you to help prevent the chance of them clogging? Ya know? I mean they didn't charge me for them so.......................... It was kinda.... part of the procedure. Do the surgery, give the drops. When I told them I was running out, they gave me more at no charge.
Anyway.............................. hope Nora starts to feel better soon.

amynicole21 replied: You are actually the first person I have heard who had those drops... several of my friends have kids with tubes but none of them ever got that

I know all about the evils of too many antibiotics unfortunatly. Sadly, nothing else worked for my girls.

ian'smommy replied:
Seriously? Around here where I live, I know several who's kids had or have tubes and they ALL have drops. Interesting.

amynicole21 replied: Were they antibiotic ear drops? We were given those, but only to use for 3 days. I did a search online to see what we were missing out on and can't find anything about drops to keep the tubes clear. The only thing I've found are drops to use if an infection developes or if dirty water gets in there by mistake. Do you remember the name of the stuff? I'd like to call the Ped or ENT to see if it is something we can use.

TY!

ian'smommy replied: I'll go find them when I have the chance and let you know. They were drops that we had to use for a few days right after the surgery but they wanted me to use them everytime his ears drained too. I will find out what they were and let you know.