Ugh! DD10 has an earache and has to fly tomorrow.

[ClarabelleCowFan]

It is 1am and DD10 is flying with her Dad on 2 flights tomorrow in about 11 hours. Her ear is really bugging her so I gave her some Motrin but I am worried about the pressure change on the planes causing her some pain.

She did go swimming at a friend's house the other day so I suspect this is probably swimmer's ear. I have told her to lay down with the hurt ear down to try to let it drain.

Is there anything I can do between now and her flights to keep her ears from hurting? I planned to give her Motrin and Sudafed (which is what her Pediatrician had told us to do before if her ears were clogged due to congestion). Are there any ear drops I can buy over the counter at CVS that may help?

We won't have time to go to the Pediatrician or an Emergency type clinic before we have to leave for the airport.

Any advice?

 

[SandiH]

If it is swimmer's ear, they have drops for that you can purchase over the counter. They also have airplane ear plugs that are supposed to help open up your ear canal and help with ear pain while flying.

 

[lila]

sudafed, sudafed, sedafed

 

[cepmom]

there are also drops you can put in her ears to help relieve the pain. It's called Similison or something like that. DD hates to take medicine, so when her ears bother her she prefers the drops to taking Tylenol. Hope she feels better!

 

[WDWKOOK]

sudafed, sudafed, sedafed

Yep, pseudoephedrine (drug name) is what she needs in order to drain any congestion that's in there. You can get any store brand cheaply like at WM, Target or CVS, etc... without a prescription, but due to regulations, you'll have to ask for it at the pharmacy. (They do put the cards on the shelves.) It comes in liquid and tablets. Don't have her take too much though, because it can cause sleeplessness and/or an "excited" feeling. It's the only OTC that actually drains your congestion.

Good luck.

 

[tiggger1]

there are also drops you can put in her ears to help relieve the pain. It's called Similison or something like that. DD hates to take medicine, so when her ears bother her she prefers the drops to taking Tylenol. Hope she feels better!

just be careful with this. It has sulfa in it and I didnt know ( I am allergic and didnt think to check to see if had it in it since it was a ear drop) and it gave me an allergic reaction....

 

[ckay87]

We had the exact same thing happen with DS on his first flight ever to FL. Morning of flight he had, what turned out to be, swimmer's ear. We did run him to the doc and got drops. Doc said that since it was just FL, we wouldn't be going high enough for it to be a real concern (I forget the altitude), but if we were going further and higher, he would not want him flying. So where is your kiddo flying to? You might want to check with the doctor. Even though my son was cleared by the doc and on the drops and Ibuprophen, he still had a lot of pain. It was sad. Call the doc and good luck to your poor DD.

ETA...the only thing that helped his pain (we had 2 flights also) was a LOT of chewing and swallowing. Not just gum, but the chewiest, toughest candy we could find (those rubbery gummy rings worked well)

 

[hoosll]

I agree with a decongestant and get EARPLANES - they are wonderful - I never fly without them! They have children's sizes, get them at Wal-Mart, follow instructions.

Give decongestant about 20-30 minutes before flight.