Help. My baby has an ear infection and I can’t get any meds.

Gigi has been sick for three days. Not just runny nose sick, but lay on mommy’s lap  in a feverish stupor waiting for the infant motrin to kick in sick (which I am almost out of and which they don’t have over here).

Since she’s my fourth child to have this particular miserable extended cold flu cocktail, I’ve been waiting it out like a good parent certain that the fever would break sometime today.

Today also marks the end of my long-awaited gout relief. I finally had an appointment to see an American doctor and get American meds. Hurray for people who go to medical school and practice American medicine, bless you all.

While I was at the doc’s, she asked if she could have a quick look in G’s ears. Of course, she has an ear infection. Enter sinking feeling and “wow I suck at being a mom” moment.

“Well,” she said, “Let me see if I can write her a prescription…”

I have to tell you, military medical is not like my good old Tanner Clinic back in America. In order to write my baby a prescription, she had to put her into the schedule. In order to put her into the schedule, they had to have her vitals–from a different medical office.

To make a very long story short, I waited nearly three hours only to be told, by the pharmacist, that he won’t fill her prescription because that doctor isn’t technically papered to see children under the age of three. Sorry. Oh yeah, the office is now closing and you can come back IN FOUR DAYS.

So here I am, sick baby on my lap, and I need to get her ear infection cleared up before we leave on our cruise next week. Anyone got any home remedies that actually work?


Comments

  1. go online and order Gaia’s Childrens Ear drops. I have a friend who SWEARS by them. she has 3 kids and has never had to get meds for ear infections. hope that helps

  2. Please don’t try to cure an ear infection homeopathically – that’s dangerous. Once they have an ear infection, they need antibiotics. Letting a diagnosed ear infection progress without antibiotics is a recipie for permanent hearing loss. My first three kids never had ear infections. My fourth kid – ear infection after ear infection. Some kids are just lucky and don’t get them. Other kids do, and they need medication and/or tubes. Fight and scream your way into a pediatrician.

  3. http://doterrablog.com/doterra-essential-oils-for-ear-infections

    If you cant get doTerra oils (which are awesome) see about ANY essential oils found in health food stores or some pharmacies. Basil oil is the way to go for an ear infection. Check out the link to see how to apply it.

  4. Hi Annie-
    I have no advice on the home remedies, but we have TriCare too and I know it can be an absolute nightmare. It’s absurd that the clinic won’t fill the prescription. Honestly? I’d go back and rather forcefully insist that someone resolve the issue and not leave until they do. But since that would likely take an entire day and, really, who has that kind of time, have you tried the “Same Day Appointment” system? You usually have to start calling first thing in the morning to try to get a slot, but you may get lucky and be able to get her in. Also, there’s an “after hours” system that can approve a visit to the emergency room (especially if her fever isn’t getting any better). If nothing else helps, you can try contacting the patient advocate and see if there’s anything that office can do. The number should be on the Medical Center’s website. And, not that it will help resolve this particular problem, but I’d file an official complaint with the clinic-these kinds of ridiculous bureaucratic messes happen all the time and if no one complains, nothing will change.

  5. Me again-here’s the link to the patient advocate information:

    http://ermc.amedd.army.mil/landstuhl/services.cfm?MTFinfo_id=692

  6. I agree completely! But in the meantime use a home remedy until you can get in to see a doc. I never JUST use home remedies. I will use oils or other homeopathic remedies until I can get my kid in to see their doctor. (See my comment below)

  7. okay I give up. The “I agree completely” was supposed to be a direct reply to “The One True Sue” and my original comment is below hers… I am gonna go take a nap now. :S

  8. Antibiotic Ointment (like Neosporin) in the ear. It won’t always help, but it isn’t likely to hurt. Heating packs also help it feel better – rice socks, warm wet washcloths, etc.

  9. Annie, I completely understand on this one. While I love love love antibiotics, we went through a period of no job, no insurance and no money and a one year old with an ear infection. We researched and called doctors and researched some more to find out that once an illness has gone to an ear infection usually that is a virus– not a bactiria. Therefore, the anti-biotic will help her feel better and take away the other symptoms, the medicine does not treat the infection. There are homeo pathic drops you can put in her ear and disinfectant drops. We have used tea tree oil which is a natural disinfectant also. I am not a die hard homeopath so please understand, I wanted to go the doctor route before and found myself in a situation like mentioned above. We used the ear drops designed for ear infections at homeopathic stores (or Fred Meyers) and occasionally tea tree oil. It took about 9 days for her to feel better. Her hearing is fine. Oh and our peditrician said that Motrin is a natural cough suppressant too. I don’t know if she has a cough or not –(my other thought is to call the RS President and ask her).

  10. Yes, to pretty much all of it! Especially the Tricare help. DO that! Ear infections are miserable & I hope Gigi is able to get some relief (& you!!) quickly. Don’t let it go though. My oldest never was “bothered” by ear infections & as a result he has slight earring loss in one ear due to his ear drum bursting from infection. My son has an extremely high tolerance for pain in his ears & even now if he mentions ear pain I immediately head in because I’ve learned at that point his ear is about ready to burst.

  11. So this has worked for my kids…slightly warmed up olive oil.
    I don’t know how far along theirs was compared to yours.
    I would put in a few drops every couple of hours, and only had to do it three or four times.

    Hope you get help and relief soon!

  12. You failed to mention this last night!! Poor little baby. How did your doctor’s appointment go? I’m so glad I got to hear your voice.

  13. Krista Hoffmann says:

    We just went through this with Evie. Couldn’t get antibiotics right away because of an insurance mix-up. The pediatrician recommended warm oilve oil or garlic oil. Just a few drops in each ear a few times a day and we had instant relief. We still did antibiotics later but it helped us survive for 48 hours. The garlic oil will help kill the infection and you can easily make it yourself. You can find lots of info via google. But even plain olive oil will be soothing. It should be body temp so it’s not too hot or too cold. Poor baby, I hope she feels better soon.

  14. Not fully understanding the way Germany does medicine. I mean, German kids …. infants + children get sick. Right?

    Considering these are supposed to be brilliant folks over there …. hopefully, one day, they will come up with a more sensible and decent medical assistance plan. I would be livid.

    Infants, little children + big children should not have to suffer in this way.

    How is Gigi doing today?

    Well, feelings are important. To all of us. My nephew had DDH surgery recently. He is just a tiny baby …. 3 months old. Now he will be in a cast for many months. After this time period, doctors will decide the next step. This could be going on for a long while. My sweet niece is suffering more. Her and the hubs hardly sleep. Very difficult days for them. The 4 year old must be entertained and cared for also.

    They will survive. We are all helping. Giving tons of encouragement + hopeful progress.

    Hi Gigi …. hope you are feeling better sweetie.

    P.S. Our ear doc always told me …. “never put anything in your ear smaller than an elbow!”
    Always best to get professional medical care.

  15. So many people are going to yell at me for this one, but breastmilk. It works, or will at least improve things until you can get the real meds. I know how you feel just discovered my 9month old has her first ear infection on a fluke and I feel guilty about how long she may have had it and I never knew.

    • annie valentine says:

      This is good advice, but my
      Milk factory went under about six months ago. Otherwise you know I would.

  16. Annie- When my daughter was about 3 years old she started crying loudly while we were at church, saying that her ears hurt. As we were leaving to take her to the urgent care center, a friend who is a RN advised us to give her a decongestant (like Sudafed) and Advil or Tylenol. We did, and by the time we got to the urgent care, she was feeling fine. 🙂 Good luck! Hope your little one feels better soon.

  17. I’m definitely in the “don’t let it go” camp. My son has had too many of them, and I know a child who suffered hearing trouble after too many unattended infections. Personally, I say this is the part where you live up to the “rotten Americans” label and stomp around until you find someone who will help.

  18. ohhhhhhh, dollface! i can SO relate to the sick kid sitch. seriously. my 14 came home from school last friday @ 3:15, and was in bed & zonked out by 3:45. all afternoon + all night. she then spent MOST of saturday sleeping as well & mentioned a sore throat that evening. she complained of some migraine-like symptoms as well. so i figured it was the same stuff i’ve been fighting on & off for the last several weeks. Sunday she went to church but was ready to come home by the end of the 2nd hour, then she had a fever of 102.4 (f) by 6pm. we had it broken in about an hour, thank Heavens. monday she stayed in bed all morning, and by 2pm was in tears because of the pain in her right ear. so i checked her ear & sure enough it looked bad enough to take her into the clinic. also checked her throat which was red & looked like she had sores on her tonsils. NOT.GOOD.

    so, sufficed to say, i totally felt like a heel for not getting her into the clinic over the weekend! however, the doc just said the majority of her symptoms were due to some type of virus, since her strep swab came back negative (hallelujah). the ear, though, WAS infected. anti-B’s were ordered along with some numbing drops for the ear canal. she spent one more day home from school, and has been back to normal the last 2 days.

    as for not being able to get her meds, that absolutely makes the mamabear in me growl cantakerously for you! such garbage. i have not OTC ideas. homeopathic though, a warm blow-dryer blowing across the affected ear for about 10-15 minutes is supposed to help. it alleviated some of the discomfort for daisy the afternoon we took her in.

    hoping this all gets fixed up for you guys soon. hope the cruise is splendid! ::hugs::

  19. Hi Annie-

    Just an idea you’ve probably already had- since you’ve kind of made mention that you are LDS too- when we are in dire straights, we give the kids a blessing and it has helped SO much… especially with those two am intense ear infections. Also, a warm water bottle for them to lean up against upright (so the fluid isn’t putting pressure on the eardrum) helps alleviate things a bit. Oh, good luck! That really sounds awful! You are a good mom to jump through all of those hoops- glad the gout was at least lessening for the it.

  20. Don’t know if it heals but it’s a miracle pain relief mix 3parts rubbing alcohol to 1 part white vinegar and put a few drops in the infected ear. My Brother in Law had HORRIBLE ears and this is the only pain reliever that worked for him. The antihistamine/decongestant thing really helps my boys clear the fluid out and heal quickly as well. Google a dosing guide for the amount of Ibuprofen or Tylenol for her weight then give her the appropriate amount of an adult dose crushed up in juice or honey until you can get children’s doses again.