OT - kids, ear tubes and swimming

[perkinsrose]

My DS was okayed to swim too. Dr. said it was the soap in baths/showers that messes with the "viscosity" (flow) of ear wax. No issues with pool water.

 

[perkinsrose]

I had tubes for many years when I was a kid, like 20 years ago... But at that time my ENT was making custom ear plugs that were covered under our insurance. They would stick some putty in my ear to get the right mold then we went to pick up my new set a week or so later. They came in lots of different colors too!

Don't mean to hyjack here but DD is on her 4th ear infection in less than 6 months. When she had her 3rd one the Amoxicillian didn't work and we had to step it up a notch, that was only a month ago. Either it never cleared up or she got another one right ontop of it. But the Dr opted not to do antibiotics this time because she thought it was clearing up on it's own. When should we start thinking about tubes?

I started thinking about tubes (without suggestion of Pedatrician) after 6 months are many infections that did not improve with sometimes 3 different antibiotic courses and then injections (strong antib. forgot name?).

When DS got infections--he would sleep in increments of only 30minutes or so when it was really bad. I spent countless drives to pediatrician, urgent care and back for rechecks. Many courses of antibiotics and too much Tylenol and Ibuprofin i was comfortable giving such a young child.
DS also pulled out huge patch of his hair--Dr. suggested as a way to deal with pain?! I asked for a referral to ENT and he aggreed tubes were appropriate.

DS was 15 months old when he had tubes put in. Immediate improvement. Since they fell out around 3 yrs old, he had 2 years clear--no infections. Years later, he has 1 or 2 or 3 per year but only during winter/virus season. Stressful to have surgery on child so young but i'm SOOO glad we did it. Fortunately, my son had no speech/language issues that sometimes come when developing child's hearing is impaired during infections.

DS was never around cigarette smoke. He was breastfed for 6 months and not in daycare. These circumstances supposed should have placed him in low risk for recurrent ear infections.

When I started caring for another child (home daycare) in my home parttime, the infections started and did not relent until tubes. He got his first double ear infection during a bad viral infection (Herpangina) and within 8 weeks of weaning/starting formula full time. That was a rough time for a new parent--i'm glad its over!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I started thinking about tubes (without suggestion of Pedatrician) after 6 months are many infections that did not improve with sometimes 3 different antibiotic courses and then injections (strong antib. forgot name?).

When DS got infections--he would sleep in increments of only 30minutes or so when it was really bad. I spent countless drives to pediatrician, urgent care and back for rechecks. Many courses of antibiotics and too much Tylenol and Ibuprofin i was comfortable giving such a young child.
DS also pulled out huge patch of his hair--Dr. suggested as a way to deal with pain?! I asked for a referral to ENT and he aggreed tubes were appropriate.

DS was 15 months old when he had tubes put in. Immediate improvement. Since they fell out around 3 yrs old, he had 2 years clear--no infections. Years later, he has 1 or 2 or 3 per year but only during winter/virus season. Stressful to have surgery on child so young but i'm SOOO glad we did it. Fortunately, my son had no speech/language issues that sometimes come when developing child's hearing is impaired during infections.

DS was never around cigarette smoke. He was breastfed for 6 months and not in daycare. These circumstances supposed should have placed him in low risk for recurrent ear infections.

When I started caring for another child (home daycare) in my home parttime, the infections started and did not relent until tubes. He got his first double ear infection during a bad viral infection (Herpangina) and within 8 weeks of weaning/starting formula full time. That was a rough time for a new parent--i'm glad its over!

Thank you perkinsrose! I spoke with the ped last night and she is going in for a recheck tomorrow to see if it has cleared up on its own or not. She said that she likes the fact that her ears clear up nicely between infections. She thinks DD is just on the edge of seeing an ENT. So I will give it another month or so and see what happens, if she gets another on in the near future we will see an ENT and discuss tubes. Not really a procedure I want to put my DD through but really this just stinks. The poor girl is in pain, a lot, and I don't even know about it. She gives me no indication that she has an ear infection other than the fact that she is fussy, which could really be caused by anything...

 

[Ohana90]

There is another alternative. A swim cap. covers the ears completely. And they are cheap!!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have 2 with plugs..my 8yo and 2yo. Both got them because of fluid in the ears that caused hearing loss. Never had problems with ear infections.

If the beginning they always had the solicone ones one in.. actually we had one made by the dr for my 8yo because it was right before we went to disney nd month later it didnt fit right. That ws a waste of $25.

Now I dont bother.. they have not had any problems.

 

[perkinsrose]

Thank you perkinsrose! I spoke with the ped last night and she is going in for a recheck tomorrow to see if it has cleared up on its own or not. She said that she likes the fact that her ears clear up nicely between infections. She thinks DD is just on the edge of seeing an ENT. So I will give it another month or so and see what happens, if she gets another on in the near future we will see an ENT and discuss tubes. Not really a procedure I want to put my DD through but really this just stinks. The poor girl is in pain, a lot, and I don't even know about it. She gives me no indication that she has an ear infection other than the fact that she is fussy, which could really be caused by anything...

You're welcome. I hope everything goes well for you and DD. Such a terrible position to be in -- a mom watching child in pain.

 

[queenomean]

We always used earplugs plus waterproof foam type tape and then the earband thing on top. It was imperative not to get water in the ear, though so that might seem like overkill to some, but it worked for us.

 

[Trena]

My son got tubes at 18 mos. He hasn't had another infection, and his vocabulary exploded in just a few days!

DS uses the Macks. They work well for us. My ENT said that DS would out grow custom made ear plugs as often as he changes shoe size. Insurance wouldn't cover them, so we tried the Macks.

My ENT said to use the plugs with baths, and swimming. I didn't know some ENTs say not to bother with them at all until I read this thread.

How do you know what is right?

 

[perkinsrose]

I started thinking about tubes (without suggestion of Pedatrician) after 6 months are many infections that did not improve with sometimes 3 different antibiotic courses and then injections (strong antib. forgot name?).

When DS got infections--he would sleep in increments of only 30minutes or so when it was really bad. I spent countless drives to pediatrician, urgent care and back for rechecks. Many courses of antibiotics and too much Tylenol and Ibuprofin i was comfortable giving such a young child.
DS also pulled out huge patch of his hair--Dr. suggested as a way to deal with pain?! I asked for a referral to ENT and he aggreed tubes were appropriate.

DS was 15 months old when he had tubes put in. Immediate improvement. Since they fell out around 3 yrs old, he had 2 years clear--no infections. Years later, he has 1 or 2 or 3 per year but only during winter/virus season. Stressful to have surgery on child so young but i'm SOOO glad we did it. Fortunately, my son had no speech/language issues that sometimes come when developing child's hearing is impaired during infections.

DS was never around cigarette smoke. He was breastfed for 6 months and not in daycare. These circumstances supposed should have placed him in low risk for recurrent ear infections.

When I started caring for another child (home daycare) in my home parttime, the infections started and did not relent until tubes. He got his first double ear infection during a bad viral infection (Herpangina) and within 8 weeks of weaning/starting formula full time. That was a rough time for a new parent--i'm glad its over!

Forgot to mention, Years after this, I ended up buying one of those cheap otoscopes (i found in parenting catalog/ drugstores have them now too. NOT TO REPLACE MEDICAL advice, but I liked having one.

When DS was young, any fever usually meant another ear infection. With my older kids, i've found that they don't always mention ear pain. Often a "fever" of only 99something and general crankiness with a slight runny nose will be the clues an ear infection has started. Having the scope has helped me make the decision to definately take them into pediatrician or Urgent Care. My scope came with a little booklet showing what a normal ear looks like as well as an infection. When in doubt, i would ALWAY check with a Dr. but I liked being able to check myself too.

 

[jessp1021]

dd12mo (in 6 days!) and she has tubes and they said that splashing is perfectly fine bc there won't be enough water to cause damage.. as for going under the big issue per her ped and her ENT is if they go under 2 feet or more and they have to stay there for a short period..

 

[Tink9748]

My daughter got her tubes last year. My ENT said the only time she had to wear ear plugs was when she swam in the lake, ocean etc or was going to go under water more than 2 feet deep. If she was swimming in a chlorinated swimming pool she could still go under and not have to worry about it. She didn't have to wear them in the bath or shower. He gave us ear drops to use if she did swim in the lake just to clear out any infection.