Daughter may have ear infection and we are flying tomorrow... Suggestions?

Question

My daughter was sneezing a little bit today and woke up 20 minutes ago with a nasty green snotty nose and pulling at her ear. She had played with her ear today but I chalked it up to teething. Any suggestions....our flight is in 8 hours. Oh and not one flight...2. we have a layover

Answer 1

Airplane pressure will be HORRIBLE painful for her. Sounds like an infection for sure, which is probably contagious. I would hold off flying until she sees her doctor. Treat her with correvct amounts of motrin to ease her pain and stay home for now. Imagine how much grief you will put up with from people wondering why you are traveling with a sick child.
You are mom, protect her.

Answer 2

Short Answer: Tylenol!
Before you even step on the plane, give her Tylenol (infant or children's however old she is). Make sure it is enough. My son is 1 but he is as tall as a 2 year old so my doc told me to give him two droppers full (call your doc if you're not sure). If you think she has a sinus infection/cold then you can also grab some Tylenol cold for infants/toddlers. That will knock her out for a NAP on the flight (no joke!). That may be your best bet! And it will "soak up" all the sinus stuff. Make sure you carry it in your purse and don't give it to her more than every four hours! Make sure she also gets plenty of water.

Then my other question would be: how long are you going to be gone? If a long time, I would either head to the doc's before you leave to check for ear infection and grab some antibiotics if needed, or go to a walk-in clinic when you get to where you arrive. Otherwise, you may suffer the whole time you're out of town right along with her!

IT's rare that at a young age ear infections go away on their own despite what people may tell you. (My suggestion is if under 2, go for antibiotics right away, if over 2, then wait it out).

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 3

first thing is to call your doctor. but until you can get her some medical care you could try to ease the pressure that is building up with some benedryl or or something to try and dry up the drainage. she may not have the infection in her ear yet because drainage can cause sore throats and ears.
If you can't get a hold of your doctor call the er and speak to someone there. Good luck

Answer 4

Most common in children from 6 months until 2 or 3 years old, but can occur at any age, even newborns.

Signs of an acute ear infection may include:

Fussy babies who don't eat well or pull off the bottle or breast
Not sleeping well
Usually with a cold, but occasionally without signs of a cold
May or may not have a fever
Pulling on the ear (pullling on the ear in a happy, non-sick child may be a sign of teething)
Not hearing well, talking loudly, ignoring normal voice tones, television volume increased
Older child complaining of pain
Situations that will increase risk of ear infection include:

Daycare
Smoking environment
Taking a botttle or nursing with the baby lying flat
Family history of lots of ear infections or allergies (from foods, animals, dust, mold or pollens)
Allergies in the child with chronic congestion (more than 3 weeks)
---------------->>>>Flying (especially with a cold) <<<<---------
Swimming underwater and diving into the water
Enlarged adenoids (see adenoids in the treatment section below).
Any of these risk factors may need to be addressed with your physician to see if there is something that may be done preventatively. Sometimes a trial off dairy products may be helpful if allergies are playing a role for ear infections.

5 to 10% of children may rupture the eardrum with an acute ear infection and yellow, thin possibly bloody fluid may be noted coming from the ear. These will usually heal within a couple weeks.
When seen in the office, some children may have serous otitis, fluid in the middle ear that is not infected with bacteria and usually without symptoms of pain. This may accompany a cold or may be present after an acute infection has already been treated with antibiotics. Your doctor may elect not to treat this with antibiotics depending on the situation.
Serious complications of a middle ear infection can include meningitis (an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord) and mastoiditis (an infection of the mastoid bone that is around the middle ear). Signs of a mastoiditis include an ear that protrudes out more from the head and tenderness and redness on the bone behind the ear.
Another concern about ear infections involves hearing loss and language development. Fluid that stays in the middle air space for a long period of time may eventually cause hearing loss and may affect language development and behavior.
Many young children (4 months to 18 months) may pull on their ears with teething. These children usually do not have a cold and sleep fine.
Swimmer’s ear (otitis externa) is an infection of the skin of the ear canal. There is usually a history of swimming and pain with movement of the earlobe or when the ear is touched.
Myths about ear infections: Getting water splashed in the ear, earwax, wind or being cold do not cause a middle ear infection.
Ear infections are not contagious, but the viruses that cause a cold which leads to an ear infection are contagious.
Home otoscopes to see the eardrum for parents to diagnose ear infections are not very useful. The lights on these are not strong and it takes a lot of training to see the eardrum and understand what it all means.
At times a child is brought to the office with a cold for a day or two and the physician does not find an ear infection. If the cold continues, an ear infection may still develop and the child may return in 2 or 3 days with an obvious ear infection. Be alert to worsening of symptoms or if the cold does not seem to run its course in a week or so.

Answer 5

I honestly do not thing you should make her fly. The infection will be very very painful for the poor thing. There will be so much pressure in her ear. Could actually cause alot of damage if she flies with an ear infection. Reschedule your trip or get a sitter for her. That would be so terrible for her to fly.

Answer 6

Since it's too short a time to get antibiotics, I'd say bring motrin and/or tylenol with. And fruit snacks or rasins~ the chewing may help. Maybe some dimeatap will be good, that usually helps the kids to sleep! Good luck. :)

Answer 7

you should see a doctor 1st if this is an ear infection doctors don't suggest flying can cause more serious problem's.

Answer 8

put a cotton ball in her ear. we fly all the time and once i had an ear infection so the doctor told me to put a cotton ball in my ear. it worked!

Answer 9

Buy her some earplugs and try to get in the middle at least.That way the noise is not that loud and she will still have earplugs.

Answer 10

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