5 month old earache?

Question

what are the signs of an earache? my first didnt have any, but i noticed my baby girl pulls at her ears sometimes. can you see an earache, like is the ear red or anything like that? what do you use to treat it?thanks

Answer 1

Pulling on the ear can be a sign of earaches or incoming teeth. Her ear won't be red because the infection is on the inside. She also might be unusually fussy. It is common for babies to get them. You could try some baby tylonel. But ultimately of course it is best to check with the doctor because it is hard to tell in these little guys.

Answer 2

There are already a lot of answers to this and they all say good stuff.
Tugging can mean several things so check the other symptoms:
Is there fever? It will accompany an infection.
Does the baby always cry when you lay them down? Or cry when they nurse or drink a bottle? The ears hurt more when they lay down than when they are upright. And the sucking motion can cause pain with an infection also.
Is there a green runny nose? These go hand in hand with ear infections.
Does the ear have a funny smell? I know it sounds gross but most moms can tell if there is an odor. I know moms that will just smell their baby's ears and know they need to go to the doc.
Good luck! Keep an eye out for the signs and head into the doctors office if there's any question.
My oldest would have infections and no signs or symptoms, we'd just be in for a check up the the doc would say "did you know" and of course I had no idea. I think this is unusual though!

Answer 3

Signs of an earache include baby tugging at their ears, and especially noticeable is when they try to drink a bottle. They'll take two to three drinks, and the swallowing will irritate their eardrums, hence the crying. So if they act like they're hungry, but continue to stop and start drinking with the crying.. Baby has an earache. Do take them to the doctor, it's very painful for baby. And another thing that may cause earaches are letting them drink while lying down. The milk can pool in the back of their throat and causes irritation.

Answer 4

I disagree with others answering this question that there is nothing you can do at home for an earache. I've successfully treated all my daughter's ear infections at home without antibiotic use. Actually most earaches are viral (about 80%) so antibiotics are a waste of time and money, and add to the overuse of antibiotics which is creating "superbugs" that don't respond to antibiotics. The overuse of antibiotics in infancy has a correlated increase of asthma in adulthood, so it is best to avoid antibiotics if at all possible.

Signs of an ear infection: crying, tugging at ear, redness in the ear, unusual crankiness. You probably would want a doctor to diagnose an ear infection until you know what to look for in your child.

I've had wonderful success using Hyland's earache tablets and willow and garlic ear oil made by Herbs For Kids. Every time my daughter had an ear infection diagnosed, it went away after I used these two treatments. I had the doctor check her ear after a few days of using the treatment to confirm it had truly went away, and each time it did.

Answer 5

pulling on the ears is a sure sign of an earache, or ear infection. my twin boys have had soooo many ear infections, that at the age of 2 1/2 they had tubes put in their ears. they are almost 4 and still get infections! this is their weak spot--the first place that "gets it" when they get sick.
tugging on the ears, a low grade fever, crankiness (esp at 5-months--b/c she can't tell you), even lack of appetite (it may hurt ears to swallow) can be signs.
take the baby to the doctor and they can tell you. most commonly they will give you an antibiotic to give to her. they can tell by looking in the ears. the inside does look red and if it is bad you can see the infection, but you cannot see anything from the outside. ask your Dr. if you can look (mine showed me!) there are also ear thingies you can buy to try to judge for yourself, but in my opinion, that stuff is best left to the experts

Answer 6

Children will *sometimes* pull on a sore ear, but this is far from reliable - espescially if they're too young to have good motor control. My son had a bad earache for a few days that went unnoticed until we took him in for vaccines and the dr. noticed. He had no symptoms, fever, fussy, redness - so we had no way of knowing.

You might be able to see an ear infection, but that's hit or miss too unless you have one of those ear-light things. If the ear is red, or hot, or there's a discharge, then go see your doctor.

Our doc told us to evaluate based on how our son acts. He was normally happy and active, any deviation would raise a flag.

There's all kinds of things from oral antibiotics, to drops, to putting a warm cloth on your shoulder and rocking your child against it (so their head keeps it pressed to your chest) - my son really liked this. The heat helps the ear, and your child will probably like the attention. :) If there's nasal/throat congestion, try running a full-hot hot shower (don't you or your child get in). Put a towel under the closed bathroom door, leave the fan off, and hang out in the bathroom breathing in the steam with your child. It provides some quick relief, and it's fun to swat the steam around.

Odd

Answer 7

She might be just pulling her ears, but it's always better to see the doctor and find out for sure. Does she have a runny nose, congestion, fever or seem irritable? Do you lay her down with a bottle? If you lay her down with a bottle her Eustachian tubes might be collapsing which causes ear pain. My kids always had a high pitched cry when they had earaches. The kind of cry that just sounds different from any other. Take her in for your own piece of mind.

Answer 8

they pull on their ears. and they cry when they lay down b/c their ears drain and cry when they have a bottle b/c the sucking hurts. mash on her ear just a little, not hard, and see how she reacts. if she screams she may have an infection. take her to the doc if you are worried. he will give her amoxicillian or something like that. but if you wait to long for ear infections then she could develop serious ear problems.

Answer 9

check for a temp and give baby tylenol or advil. Apply a warm compress. Be careful it is not hot.
You may want to be sure and follow up with a dr to make sure it is not infected.If you use a heating pad be sure and use low setting and put something between the pad and the baby.
Use caution it only has to be warm but it will be very relieving.These measures are only to be done until you get to a dr. for pain relief

Answer 10

yeah pulling her ear is the first sign..it combines with fever and redness in her ear ( only doctors can see it), crying alot too..plz take her to the doctor before it develop an ear infection.