Infant Ear Infections...?

Question

My son is 7 months old and has had an ear infection for over a month. I fist was aware of it because on march 1st puss was running out of his ear(the only sign i had due to the fact he never cries unless hungry). He's been on antibiotics for 4 weeks and everytime he gets done with a round of antibiotics he has the puss running out again and thats only in a day or so after the last dose. Sinse hes on the antibiotics hes had a horrible yeast infection. Hes also had the drops and still the infection persists.
So my question is for someone who had dealt with this kind of thing. What should i be asking the doctors? What should i expect them to do? My middle child has tubes cuz of the shear number of infections she had but his is a constant one. Mind you we dont smoke and dont keep an animal in the house. I have no clue why he is keeping this infection. Any advice would be welcome even if you think it might be insignificant.

Answer 1

First, you are not doing anything that is causing this. It just happens in some infants and young children due to immature eustachian tubes...the most common cause of ear infections in infants. In cases like this, the tubes are shorter and more angled making it easier for bacteria to travel from the nose or throat into the middle ear. Given time, most will outgrow this as their eustachian tubes mature.

However, if the infections continue over a long period of time, tubes become necessary. There are several reasons for this:
1. you don't want to keep anyone on antibiotics for too long a period of time as it leads to building up a resistance so that the antibiotics don't work
2. you also don't want to use antibiotics too long as it can lead to other problems (like yeast infections)
3. as the infant ages, constant ear infections interfere with how he "hears" the things you say which could then lead to the need for speech therapy
4. to prevent a ruptured eardrum from built up pressure due to the infection/fluid trapped behind the eardrum

Usually, doctors won't recommend the tubes until the child has had consistent ear infections over a period of at least 6 months. They want to give the eustacian tubes time to grow.

When you see the doctor again, ask him how long he waits before he recommends the tubes.

My son had constant ear infections for 8 months before he has tubes inserted right after before his first birthday He was an early talker so, unfortunately, he ended up needing three years of speech therapy. He spoke as he heard the words...garbled. My son probably would not have had a problem with speech if he hadn't been an early talker but he was talking at about 10 months. I hope with the warmer weather coming that your son can be free of further ear infections so his eustachian tubes have a chance to mature.