Pages

Thursday, February 9, 2012

When Ears Ache

Well, we are under the weather...again.  Coughs, colds, and aches for Henry and me both.  I am not used to being sick so frequently, but I guess maybe it comes with having children, and more so those who are in a daycare setting? Henry is in an in-home daycare with just a few other babies but they seem to constantly share bugs with each other.  Evidently with their parents, also.  Things could always be so much worse, and I would gladly take this cold over the last sickness we had any day, but I must say I cannot wait for spring to come so we can swing the windows wide open and let the fresh air in, and the dry, stale winter air out.  Out with the winter germs.  I took Henry to the pediatrician yesterday, I jumped to take him a bit quicker than I normally would because it seems that every other month at least, Henry gets an ear infection.  It's tough to tell with that boy, because he doesn't scream and cry and carry on all day like he's in pain.  He gets clingy, and just seems unlike his bubbly self.  He'll still smile, and sometimes giggle a bit, but all without the same Henry pep and energy that we are so used to.  The nights can be rough, and sleep comes in very small increments.  It has made us constantly question the way he's acting, because sometimes when we think the symptoms are just teething, or grumpiness, or a cold, he'll end up with a double ear infection.  Then on days like yesterday, when I'm just sure he has one, we are told it's just "on it's way" to being infected but mostly just uncomfortable and not too bad yet.  We are constantly confused by the tiny cues.  The past four or five nights Henry has been digging in his ear with his tiny little pointer fingers while he nurses or lies on his side.   I know babies often play with their ears but he'll spend a few solid minutes just aggressively digging down into it.  I know they are uncomfortable, that much is clear.  I will not jump to antibiotics before there is an actual infection, especially since we experience this so often.  When they become truly infected we get the problem resolved right away, but in the mid-space we are feeling a bit helpless.  So I'm wondering, do any of you lovely readers know of any ways to help an aching baby ear?  Any homeopathic remedies out there?  I would love to hear.

1 comment:

  1. You can put a couple drops of mullein garlic oil on his ear and rub it all over his pinna. I have also heard of people putting the oil on a cotton ball and then putting it in the ear for a few minutes. You can elevate the head of whatever he sleeps in by a couple of inches. This will help with drainage and thus prevent infection. I would also give probiotics every day to help his gut health, especially if he's had antiobiotics in the past. You can also eliminate dairy from his diet as it causes mucus. This may help with preventing him from getting them. Yes, you want to cure them when they occur, but more importantly you want to find out what changes are needed to prevent them from happening. At least this is my approach. Hope he feels better soon!!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from any and all of you who read our stories. Please feel free to say hello!