Flying with a child with an ear infection.

[golden1]

I am going to the doctor today because I am about 99% sure dd has an ear infection. Unfortunately, we leave in 6 days for WDW and dd has never flown before so I don't know the effect it would have on healthy ears, never mind infected ones. I am hoping the antibiotics will do the trick by next friday and her ear will be cleared. Anyone have any experience with this? I don't want to damage her ear.

 

[720L]

I bet she will be fine by then! Just in case I would get some Earplanes ear plugs for flying though. They help equalize the pressure so there is no ear pain when going up or down in the plane.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I ask the Dr. for advice, maybe she should take something before she flies, but my kids have had plenty of ear infections between the 4 of them and I think she'll feel fine. Good Luck, and have a nice trip.........

 

[disneyfanfamily]

6 days is plenty of time to heal an ear infection. If they know that she if going to be flying, they may want to see her back before you leave as precaution. But don't worry. You have time....

At least it is something that is not terribly contagious - like the stomach flu!!!

 

[MinnieGirl33]

6 days should be totally fine. Odds are dd will be good as new within 24 hrs of antibiotics.

A dose of a decongestant about 1-2 hrs prior to take off might be a good idea IMO.

DS9 suffered horrible with his ears as a baby/toddler (tubes). There are "numbing drops" available now... you may want to ask the pediatrician about them for your flight as a "just in case".

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

6 days should be totally fine. Odds are dd will be good as new within 24 hrs of antibiotics.

A dose of a decongestant about 1-2 hrs prior to take off might be a good idea IMO.

DS9 suffered horrible with his ears as a baby/toddler (tubes). There are "numbing drops" available now... you may want to ask the pediatrician about them for your flight as a "just in case".

I was going to say this too. Sometimes fluid can remain in the ear even after abx. I'd do a decongestant and prophylactic Tylenol right before you leave just to cut down on any pain she might feel.

 

[golden1]

Thanks everyone! I just got back from the Pediatrician and she does have an infection. She gave me Zithromax for it instead of Amoxicillen which is nice because it has only 5 days of dosage instead of 10 so I don't have to bring anything with me. I have earplanes already and I'll probably take the decongestant advice.

 

[2poohbears]

My son took Zithromax for his last ear infection and it worked pretty quickly. I've taken it as well, and it's worked well for me, too. You've gotten some good advice here. Have a great trip!

 

[deedeed]

On the last trip we took to disney, my youngest daughter, 4 at the time, got and ear infection 5 days before and my oldest daughter 7 at the time got a nasty sinus and strep throat infection the night before we left. My youngest was on antibiotics and the morning before we left, I took the oldest in, who got antibiotics also. Both of them are given a dose of motrin before we ever get on a plane, sick or not just to keep the pain away and it always helps. Including when they were sick. You should have no problems if you give a pain reliever before you fly, it always worked for us!
Have a great trip!!

 

[Kimmumum]

When my boys were little their pediatrician told me to give them Robitussin and Tylenol right before boarding. We still do this even though they are 8 and 12. They get it before every flight even if they seem perfectly healthy in case something is brewing. We have never had a problem. Good luck

 

[dangler]

I am going to the doctor today because I am about 99% sure dd has an ear infection. Unfortunately, we leave in 6 days for WDW and dd has never flown before so I don't know the effect it would have on healthy ears, never mind infected ones. I am hoping the antibiotics will do the trick by next friday and her ear will be cleared. Anyone have any experience with this? I don't want to damage her ear.

I would absolutely get Earplanes! DS9 has had lots of ear infections and his first time on the plane he had a lot of problems with popping. This past time we got Earplanes and he had no discomfort at all! I actually got myself a pair as well and had no popping either. We bought them at Walmart for around 6 dollars. Good Luck and have a great trip

 

[golden1]

Thanks everyone, the Zithro seems to have worked just fine and I think dd will be good to go on Friday!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Zithromax is a wonderful invention.

As a parent of frequent ear infection sufferers & a sufferer myself I just wanted to make you aware that there are prescription numbing drops for the eardrum that would be a great help IF the ears act up. For some reason no Dr ever gave these to me even though I've endured decades of ear infections One year, 2001 to be exact, DS had an ear infection that didn't clear up in the normal 5 days and his fever kept rising & his pain kept increasing. Turns out he had a resistant strain so the Dr gave us the drops to make him more comfortable...all I could think is "Why did it take this long to get it?" Ear infections HURT, take it from an adult who still gets 3-5 a year. Since getting these drops the first time I always ask for the drops as a additional prescription 'just in case' the antibiotics fail or the flight is too much. They are called "Antiprene & Benzocaine" as a generic and work very well. Just be warned that they can mask a serious problem so they should be used VERY sparingly as in only for the 1st 2 days of treatment or just before takeoff.

Have a wonderful trip

 

[JenEeyore]

Glad to hear your baby is doing better. Our first trip with DS was when he was 8 months old and had a raging double ear infection on Sunday landing in urgent care and we were flying on Thursday. We started antibiotics right away, and Dr showed us safe "large" dose of Benedryl to give him right before flight so he would sleep most of it as a side bonus as well as decongesting him. Worked wonders for us, slept much of flights, and not a tear of pain out of him. The other suggestions sound good too - but this worked well for us.

Have an awesome trip!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

The reason the Dr. didn't give you the Auralgan drops (or generic equivalent) is exactly because of the "masking" danger -- they don't trust parents not to overuse the drops.

I have Meniere's and have a scrip for them myself. I've gone a few rounds with my ped. over my contention that I think it is perfectly all right to use them on my child to make him comfortable for a few hours until I can get him to the doctor, or to use ONE dose to relieve pain during flights. He says that he knows that I know what I'm doing with them, but that for liability reasons he makes it a policy NOT to offer them unless they are asked for, and that even then he is very careful about who he will give them to.

BTW, these drops are OTC in Canada.

 

[ducklite]

My advice on flying with an ear infection is simple. Don't.

I ruptured an ear drum in 1989 that way. I still remember the EXCRUCIATING pain. I had no hearing in that ear for almost three months, it took a full six for it to fully heal.

Glad the hear the meds are working though!

Anne

 

[woodlandsparty]

Zithromax is a wonderful invention.

As a parent of frequent ear infection sufferers & a sufferer myself I just wanted to make you aware that there are prescription numbing drops for the eardrum that would be a great help IF the ears act up. For some reason no Dr ever gave these to me even though I've endured decades of ear infections One year, 2001 to be exact, DS had an ear infection that didn't clear up in the normal 5 days and his fever kept rising & his pain kept increasing. Turns out he had a resistant strain so the Dr gave us the drops to make him more comfortable...all I could think is "Why did it take this long to get it?" Ear infections HURT, take it from an adult who still gets 3-5 a year. Since getting these drops the first time I always ask for the drops as a additional prescription 'just in case' the antibiotics fail or the flight is too much. They are called "Antiprene & Benzocaine" as a generic and work very well. Just be warned that they can mask a serious problem so they should be used VERY sparingly as in only for the 1st 2 days of treatment or just before takeoff.

Have a wonderful trip

We just got back last week.....we travelled with our 3 kiddos....all of them had ear infections! I just wanted to say to ask for these drops too. We just put them in before the flight....the numb the ear canal to lessen any discomfort.