Ear Infection - Houston, TX

I have a question. Has she ever had ear infections before and how long has this one lasted? I am a Wellness Consultant and might be able to help you. Of coarse my services are Free.

It looks like you have a lot of good ideas from others.
I have been there myself. My dh was always out of town with the worst of it too. I hated the 2 a.m. screaming with 104* fever. ugh Two things that made a difference for us are-

1. He got repeated infections-it never completely cleared up.
I changed dr and the new one put us on Augmentin ($$, strong, and works) and gave us a shot of something called Rocephin or something like that. Then for long term he have us Rynatan because ds kept having mucus/congestions problems and therefore weight gain/growth problems. That fixed us and he was back on track, I got sleep, etc. ;-)

2. We did continue the yogurt, but I was more aware of diet. Like someone else said- watch it.

Dairy is a good source of protien, but also of muscus. Orange juice does not help that either. Apple juice can also contribute to stomach upset. I also mixed in baby food with things to just get the vitamens/protien, etc. in him. Some people think that is silly, but hey a sick kid needs all the help he can get. Mine would not drink pedia sure and pedia-lite. So we used straight gatorade. ;-)

The chewing, swallowing hurts when your ears/sinus are congested or infected. The mucus clogs their throat and they don't know what to do with it, so they don't eat or throw up gagging half the time. As adults we know to blow our nose, cough, etc. They have to have something to help break it up and clear them up.

Good luck,
ts

PS try rice or soy milk they wont bothor with infections

dear P.,
i feel for you as i have been in that place before.
when my son was young.
an infection can take up to 10 days to go and she i bet her back teeth are coming through so both the infection and the teathing will be causing pain.

i think as long as your daughter is drinking planty she should be o.k and give it some time.

Hello,
I was wondering if you have tried the Pediasure? When children are sick, they usually won't eat much. I have a son that is almost 2 and sometimes, I have to make him eat. He would rather drink all the time. There is also, Nutripals!
If you go on the website, you can actually get coupons! www.pediasure.com
also, i am not sure if you go on like huggies or pampers website, but if you use these brands, you can get coupons from those companies too! They send me stuff in the mail all the time. I hope I helped a little bit. Hope your baby feels better soon! C.

Believe me, I have been there! As a mom of two (5 and 3 yrs) I have spent plenty of worry over ear infections! My first was in the dr's office an average of once every month or two beginning at 13 months and ending at 23 months, when our pediatrician finally referred us to an ENT. I strongly recommend asking your pediatrician about further testing or a referral to an ENT - since my oldest got tubes at 23 months he has had one ear infection! Your daughter won't want to swallow and/or eat more if it hurts to swallow! Talk to your dr. ASAP!

P., the current research I have heard suggests that milk (esp.whole) can contribute to ear infections, respiratory ailments & allergies...I know how frustrating it can be when your child doesn't eat & she is sick & you are on your own dealing w/everything, but it WILL get better...sometimes O.J. can cause allegies, too so maybe you could give her watered down pineapple j. which helps with mucous & congestion! She will drink it if that's all you offer her..try not giving her any milk for a few days (my daughter restricted my 4 yr.old grandson's 2% milk intake for several weeks & his nose/mucous/cough greatly improved w/o meds) You might want to ck. out my website: www.juiceplus.com/+cs68273 to see what other docs & researchers are saying about Juice Plus+ capsules, chewables & gummies (17 raw balanced fruits & vegs)
the #1 consumed nutritional product in the World (15 yrs. of solid clinical research) It strengthens the immune system, improves one's DNA,adds antioxidants in your bloodstream to fight disease, & so much more..My grandson has been on the gummies since he was a yr. & his allergies/asthma are so much better! Please let me know if I can answer any ques. It's the best you can do for your body & your family... Take care & good luck... G. S in Flint

Both of my daughters have had bad ear infections and I went through exactly the same thing. It actually hurts their ears to chew. I gave my daughters PediaSure shakes to make sure they had the vitamins and stuff they needed. (Mash a banana in the vanilla one to make it taste better.) I also fed them softer foods like potatoes, mashed beans, yogurt, and stuff that they really didn't have to chew. It didn't always work with my kiddos, but the times it did made me feel like it was worth trying.

Also, ask your doctor about pain drops. My oldest would have never made it through without them. If you have a hot water bottle, that helps ease the pain. Just be careful it doesn't get too hot and burn her. (I ran tap water until it was really hot, wet a rag, rung it out, then had my daughter lay on that until it cooled. Then I switched out the rags. It was an old trick that my grandmother used when I had ear infections.)

I do hope your little one gets to feeling better.

Hi P.,

Iam sorry to hear about your baby girl. I would ask my doctor. There has to be a way to put some weight on her. It sounds like she really needs it for her health. I would be adding cereal to that miilk for now. I would also get one of the baby food grinders. And start trying everything. There has got the be something she likes and that will help pump up her wieght. My fear is that if she is not a healthy weight she may be weak. Therefore producing NO antibodies to protect her against infections. My baby girl had a very healthy weight and battled ear infections till she was 3 1/2. These ear infections can take a hard toll on a little body. Needless to say a little body that is week. Maybe you can make her smoothies by using yogurt, bananas, protein specifically made for smoothies.

I know it is scary to have a sick baby! Believe it or not she will grow out of it!! But it is still scary. I always hated my babies being really sick. Good luck and I hope your doctor or other poeple here have good suggestions for you.

Bless you and baby #1 and #2!!

CJ

Hi P.--
You must be having a rough week!! It is so stressful to deal with stuff like this, and even more so with a hubby out of town!!

Anyway, I have been where you are, both regarding ear infections as well as the low weight isssue. A couple things to consider...Seeds (like raw sunflower and raw pumpkin seeds) are packed with good fats, nutrients, and calories-If you think your baby will eat applesauce---try grinding up some seeds (very well!) and mixing in a couple tablespoons of ground seeds with a serving of applesauce to sneak in some extra calories that way. I have a Magic Bullet blender, which was well worth the $50, and makes quick easy work of things like this. (edited to add: You can buy raw seeds like this at Whole Foods in the bulk foods section-they are not even very expensive, just make sure you get the raw seeds, not toasted.)

You may also want to hold off on yogurt or other dairy products until she's over the ear infection, as foods like that contribute to more mucus production in the body.

My daughter had her weight drop somewhat similar to what you describe, and making the most of every meal became very critical!!A book I found very helpful in terms of coming up with nutritious meals for baby was Super Baby Food, by Ruth Yaron. This book could be a very handy resource for you, especially after your baby is better again and eating more solid foods.

As far as the ear infection, I have posted a couple times on other "ear" threads with my story on that..I won't go into it again here but if you are interested, you can look up my posts :)

Best wishes to you! I hope things improve for you soon!! :)

It might be hard, but if I were you I would really start encouraging your daughter to eat solid food. She is growing and needs the solid food for the nutrients that milk lacks. My own daughter has had a history of ear infections and I've been told by her most recent pediatrician that it's not good for them to drink milk when they have an ear infection. My daughter is now seven. But it's hard when you are a new mom. Unfortunately, as they say, the first kid is always the kid you try things out on so you learn and don't make the same mistakes with the rest of your kids when you have more. I have two kids now and I started feeding my son mashed solid foods early. Ex; Mashed bananas. My daughter liked sweet potatoes. I don't know if this will help but maybe you could try starting your little girl off with mashed fruits so she won't be so dependent on milk or juice alone. I hope she feels better soon.