Earache without an ear infection??

[transparant]

Just curious about something...my youngest has been sick for 3 days now. He's got a fever that hovers around 99.9 during the day, but goes up to 101-102 at night. I just figured he has a virus, but last night he had a terrible earache - he woke up around 11pm with it. Today he's just been resting/sleeping a lot but has no ear pain whatsoever. Is that typical with an ear infection?

He's 5 and has never had one, and the last kid that had one was about 8 yrs ago - so I'm not to brushed up on ear infection symptoms these days.

Regardless - If the fever is still there tomorrow - I'll be taking him in to the pediatrician.

 

[scanne]

My kids have been having ear pain since Thanksgiving. About 3 weeks after Thanksgiving, my DD was diagnosed with an ear infection. About a week after that, my DS was diagnosed with a double (both ears) infection. His took 2 rounds of antibiotics to clear up. He still complains that his ears hurt, but the Dr. who last checked him said there is still a small pocket of fluid that could cause discomfort.

Both of my kids had high (102) fevers when diagnosed. So even though your DS may be complaining about his ears it may not be an ear infection or it may be the start of one and won't be caught yet. It could also be fluid or a blocked eustacean tube that clears when you swallow or yawn (like when your ears clog on a plane).

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[jel0511]

Yep. It's possible that his ear drum broke from all the pressure, which would relieve the pain. Check the ear for drainage.

 

[DisneyPhD]

My Ped says that often ear infections don't hurt as much during the day, but after about 2 hours of sleep they really start to kill. That is why my DD will be fine during the day, but wake up crying at night. That almost always means infection. We actually have a tool where we can look in her ears ourselves (actually DH can, I can't seem to get it to work.)

It helps to know when to call the Dr. and when to wait a day.

In your case call.

Last time my 4 year old had an ear infection she woke in the night crying. She said her ear hurt the next morning. I took her to the Dr. that day and in his words "it was a raging ear infection" It did end up repuring from the presure and all I had was one day of her complaining. After it brakes it doesn't hurt anymore, but it can effect their hearing temperally.