So this weekend my son (21 months) had one ear infection too many. He had a rash of them earlier in the year and the ENT doctor said he should have tubes if he got another ear infection. (He offered to do it in May but we decided to see if they'd clear up on their own.) I probably should have known he still had the fluid buildup and that another infection was coming -- he's not actually *delayed* on speech but it just doesn't feel like he's hearing at full capacity. (I don't care if he was saying at least ten words at 18 months, that kind of black and white milestone doesn't tell the whole story. I'm his mom and I know these things. )
Anyway, so another round of antibiotics is underway and we called to schedule an appointment to put tubes in. It's going to be September 25th and we were also told that he should have no food and minimal water for 24 hours before that.
Now I'm going a little crazy just thinking about keeping my 1-year-old son from eating for a full day. I mean, I sure wouldn't want to go without food for a day but at least I can understand why. How do I explain this to him?
Has anyone else had to do anything like this?
[ September 05, 2007, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Christine ]
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
That doesn't sound right at all. When our boy got tubes in his ears it was no food after 10pm the night before (or something like that). 24hrs doesn't sound right, especially for a 1-year-old with a hummingbird-like metabolism.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
quote:It is VERY IMPORTANT on the day of surgery, that your child have an empty stomach. If anything has been put into the mouth or stomach, because of SAFETY for your child, the surgery must be cancelled. Even chewing gum will cause the cancellation of surgery. DO NOT let your child eat or drink ANYTHING on the day of surgery. Please tell someone if you think your child has eaten or has drank anything on the day of surgery. If there is food or liquid in the stomach at the time of surgery, there is a chance your child could choke while asleep.
http://www.entusa.com/ear_tubes.htm
It sounds like your doctors is exercising an excess of caution. You're goal is not a dehydrated, hungry child, just an empty stomach. He should be fine to eat or drink up to 12 hours before the surgery. Confirm this with a real doctor of course.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think it was weird. I mean, I've had minor things done myself where I couldn't eat for 12 hours. No big deal really to keep his stomach empty after dinner the night before. He usually sleeps 11-12 hours straight anyway. But 24? I'm going to call the doctor back....
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
Poor little guy!!! I hope things work out and you don't have to go the full 24 hours. When I had surgery, I got broth and jello 24 hours to 12 hours before and nothing after. I was cranky and told the dr he better not screw up cause I wasn't going to do it again.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Yeah, a restricted diet for the 12 hours before no food for 12 hours (with most of the 12 hours before being sleep time and time at the hospital) is much more standard. I would call and talk to your doctor or the hospital to make sure that is not what is meant.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
My son had ear tubes at that age -- but I don't remember what the food/drink requirements were. Been too long ago....
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Two of my four kids had tubes and in both cases it was NPO after 10 pm - the surgeries were usually at six am, and liquids only for at least 12 hours before that, so pretty darn close to what kq said.
One of mine had a fever, and they gave her acetiminophen by mouth right before the surgery though. I guess it's all right if they do it!
Don't worry too much about the procedure, it takes very little time and both my kids were up and playing very quickly after it was done. Makes a world of difference in the ear infections, too. Good luck!
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Thanks, everyone. I got a call back from the nurse and my husband either received the wrong info or gave me the wrong info -- its NPO after midnight.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Well, that makes a lot more sense. I've never heard of keeping someone NPO for 24 hours prior to surgery, and, for a toddler, I'd think it would be very cruel.
Now the kid will just have to miss breakfast. Which is hard for a kid, but not impossible.
Good luck with the surgery.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
When Aerin (21 months adjusted) had her MRA, I woke her up at 11:15 to give her milk. She can go right back to sleep, so it was no big deal to wake her. I think she would have been miserable if I hadn't - she's so used to her routine that she gets hungry right when it's time to eat.
Best of luck with the procedure - for both of you.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I'm glad that was clarified. The good news is, the surgery is very minor, and usually very effective. My nephew's speech delay disappeared amazingly fast after his tubes were put in.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
We went to our regular pediatrician yesterday for a follow-up and I tried to explain the speech delay I've noticed to him. He just kept trying to tell me that his speech was fine as long as he understood what I was saying without gestures. (Which I'm not entirely convinced he can, but it's awfully hard to tell.) I guess I'm just not willing to accept that answer anymore. It's not as if he's not trying to talk...he makes noises all the time as if he's heard what we say but not clearly. He also tries to echo words back to me but I've only recently figured out that he's trying to do that because they're so far off the mark. I know there's a wide range of normal when it comes to language development, but when a kid is *trying* to learn to talk and is having trouble, that tells mt there's something wrong, no matter what their silly books and guidelines say about the bare minimums. I'm not a minimalist. I'd prefer my son to do as well as he can possibly do.
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