Natalie, my oldest was complaining of her ear hurting, I looked at it seemed to be just a pimple inside the ear. So I told her just to be careful of it and it would go away.
Well, 3 days later she came downstairs after bedtime saying she was trying to sleep but her ear hurt too badly. Her entire ear was bright red, almost purple. I of course kept her home from school the next morning and took her to the doctor, which was yesterday.
He said it looks like a staph infection and it's already spread some beyond the ear, there is some pinkness around her cheek and upper jaw. The ear is swollen, and still purplish and hot. She's on antibiotics and he has her applying dry heat three times a day but he wants to see her Monday if it hasn't gotten any better by then.
She's taken every med, and is doing the heat but it's not improving yet, I know it's only one day. But the doctor seemed worried, and that of course makes me worry, especially after my cousin's bout with flesh eating bacteria.
So good thoughts and prayers will be appreciated. Thanks guys.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
She's in our prayers...
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
She's in mine as well. Sounds eeerily like what I had going on. Eeesh!
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
((((Natalie))))
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
Awww, anything ear-related is terrible
Hope she gets better soon
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Oh, dear! Please keep us updated. She is in my prayers.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
She's in mine. Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
Natalie is in my prayers, as well. Poor dear.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I'm praying for Natalie and you, Belle.
Posted by Rogan Josh (Member # 8024) on :
(((Natalie and Belle and family)))
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Sorry, that was me.
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
Oh, honey!
(((Natalie))))
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Prayers and good thoughts headed your way, Natalie. (((((Belle)))))
Doing any better today?
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
No, no better. Maybe even slightly worse.
An RN at church looked at it and recommended we return to the doctor tomorrow. She said with it being most likely staph (we need a culture to be sure) her next step could be IV antibiotics.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
Hope she gets better soon.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Yikes! Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Maybe the ER, Belle? I sure hope it gets better!
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
BTW, when we were in AL we got staph infections a couple of times (and they were exquisitely painful). I had one on my leg and it hurt just to walk. Aside from visits to the doctor, colloidal silver (both topically applied and a small amount ingested orally) seemed to work well. The swelling and pain went down rather quickly. They stopped not long after we moved back to AZ.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
(((Natalie))) I had mastoiditis as a little kid that made my ear turn the wrong way and landed me in the hospital. Prayer seemed to work just before I was to go under the knife. The surgeon thought there might have been a chart mixup.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
Hopeful thoughts comming your way.
Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :
That's hard, especially for a kid. I hope it gets taken care of soon. My sister had a staff infection once that required IV antibiotics. We could watch it spreading before she got treated. I know that sounds difficult, and getting the IV is hard but it worked very well.
Another thing that works topically is something called Tea Tree oil. It is penetrating too, so it doesn't just work on the skin. My sister got the same infection a couple of other times, and we were able to stop it in its track with this stuff.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Done, Belle & Natalie. Best luck recovering quickly and as painlessly as possible.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
I hope Natalie recovers soon. Thinking about you and your family, and please keep us updated.
space opera
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Any updates, Belle?
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
I don't pray much, but what I do comes from my heart.
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
Sending positive thoughts your way.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
You have my prayers too.
Any word from the doctor today?
Posted by digging_holes (Member # 6237) on :
Praying.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
My prayers are with her for a speedy and safe recovery.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
Belle, Natalie is most definitely in my prayers for an easy and swift recovery.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
(((hugs))) We've been praying. Still are. I hope she's better soon.
Posted by ctm (Member # 6525) on :
hugs and prayers, Belle, for Natalie and all your family
Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
Posted by Father Time (Member # 7985) on :
Please know that little Natalie is being prayed for by hundreds of people as we speak. May the Lord's healing hand be upon her.
Posted by Minerva (Member # 2991) on :
I added her to the prayer list at my synagogue.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
I hope she is ok! Hugs and prayers are being sent your way.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
You guys are wonderful, all of you.
The doctor was disturbed that it hadn't gotten better, but he did note that according to the notes her chart about the extent of it on Friday, it hadn't changed or spread any further, either. It was exactly as it was, he said the notes could have been written that day.
She's still in pain, obviously, and there is some crusting and weeping in the middle of the external ear. Thankfully the ear canal itself is not affected.
Since the antbiotics seem to be holding it at bay, he wants to keep doing what we're doing but he added a topical antibiotic and steroid to be applied to the area in addition to what we're already doing.
She went to school today, said as long as she doesn't bump or tug on her ear it doesn't bother her much, but this child has extremely high pain tolerance - she's the one who had a broken bone in her thumb and didn't tell us it was bothering her because it only hurt "a little" And she's the same one whose ear drum almost ruptured before she asked us to take her to the doctor.
We'll just keep praying that it heals, though I don't think there's been much change today.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I hope it gets better soon...though at least it is not getting worse.
my prayers are with you and your daughter
Posted by mimsies (Member # 7418) on :
Been kinda worried. How is she doing now?
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
As I wrote in response to quidscribis bout with ear infection
quote:...considering the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains of otitis-causing bacteria. It may be that all you are doing is breeding greater [antibiotic] resistance into your [daughter's] bacterial colony.
If you click on the link, you'll see that the recommended dosage for treatment has been bumped up considerably. And your physician may not have been informed about the CDC's new recommendation. So you may want to talk to your physician about high-dosage treatment.
Posted by The Silverblue Sun (Member # 1630) on :
may the angels watch over her with the greatest of Grace.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Does anyone talk to Belle on the phone? Maybe someone who does might call her and tell her about aspectre's post? And give us an update?
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Good idea. I switched to the higher dosage of antibiotics, and two courses later, it still didn't work, so had to switch to another antibiotic to finally kill the thing.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Hey guys, we have been dealing with a new crisis. Natalie is doing better, thankfully. Either the addition of the topical antibiotic made the difference or the oral antibiotic finally took hold, but it has gotten much better, not nearly as red and the swollen area is much smaller.
Emily was treated the same day for an earache, and all the doctor found was a build up of wax. He had it irrigated, told me to put drops in her ear as well and it should be fine. Well it hasn't been fine, she's still in pain and today was sent to the nurses office crying, and the nurse called me to say that there was still a bunch of wax in the ear, she couldn't see the eardrum.
So I decided to take matters into my own hand and irrigate it some more at home. Note to anyone else attempting this - don't give up. Ear irrigation is a long process. I was poised to quit after getting very little out after a good five minutes of squirting water in her ear when finally we got some major chunks of icky stuff. (sorry for the faint of heart or weak stomached)
So I kept going, and was finally rewarded with what probably caused the whole thing - a tiny blue tube. Yep, she had tubes placed surgically when she was 11 months old, and this one had never fallen out. It had probably fallen out of the eardrum and become lodged in the ear canal, where the ear's natural defense systems treated it like a foreign object and wax got built up around it for a long time, maybe years, I don't know. At any rate, it's out now, she says she feels tons better. Bet she can hear better too.
So Natalie's better, I saved the day with Emily, and if I can only get rid of the impetigo that Abigail just came down with I'll be doing good. Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
Yay!!
Posted by JenniK (Member # 3939) on :
Glad to hear that Natalie is doing better. We hope that all of your children are illness/injury free soon. Still praying for complete recoveries all around! JenniK and Kwea
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
That's awesome, Belle! Thanks for the encouraging words about earwax and persistence. That's an issue with my daughter too, though not because of tubes. I'll remember for the next time I have to irrigate her ear. It's my least favorite thing to do. Rainy doesn't like it much either.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Excellent news, Belle!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I had a major problem with was buildup as a kid, too. Doctor irrigated until huge chunks came out. Like really huge chunks.
I wonder if I should do that again?
Oh yeah, and it improved my hearing lots. Still not great, but better than it was.
Belle, glad to hear things are looking up.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Man, your kids are troopers. I'm so happy to hear that Natalie's okay. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Irrigating with just warm water? Can you use Hydrogen Peroxide on kid's ears?
Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
What do you use to irrigate the ear?
Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
My husband had an ear infection with wax buildup a few years ago, and he ended up using some over-the-counter ear drops called (I think) Ero. They foamed and tickled in his ear a lot, but then when I irrigated it with the bulb syringe after five minutes, it just washed big old chunks of the stuff right out.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
(((natalie)))
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Yeah, okay, Stray, you've just convinced me. I'm gonna do this. But I gotta find the stuff to do it with first.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You know, I would imagine that irrigating your ears when they're really clogged is about like how I feel after I clean my glasses for the first time in a couple of months. It's like, "Wow! I didn't realize how bad my vision was with dirty glasses until I can see again!"
Glad to hear everyone's doing better.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
I irrigated with warm water only, using a bulb syringe. It's long, and somewhat messy, in that Emily got some water on her shirt, despite the fact that I put a towel around her shoulder. I held her ear lobe, and the syringe, and Natalie held a bowl under her ear to catch the water.
It felt like it took forever, I had to change the water I was using to irrigate twice because it got too cold. My doctor said it should be about body temperature.
Posted by Beanny (Member # 7109) on :
I once had tubes. One of them wouldn't come out, so according to what the docs said we went to a physician to take it out. Unfortunately, he also tore out a small piece of my eardrum, annd from that day on I'm not allowed to dive.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
((Belle and family))
Everyone get better, and stay better!
space opera
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I had my ears irrigated once by a doctor long ago -- using warm water. Oh, it felt wonderful! That warm water in my ear just felt so good (it had been hurting). I also hated for him to quit doing it.
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