It is a rare parent who is not familiar with childhood ear infections. While my own family has been blessed to have gotten off with relative ease (no chronic ear infections, tubes needed, etc), the fact is that I’ve administered my share of the refrigerated pink goo medicine that gave our kids much-needed antibiotics over the years.
As a parent, you get to know the signs and symptoms, the crying and tugging in a young child, the complaining in an older one, sometimes each accompanied by fever or following a cold or respiratory illness.
Now, newer guidelines to physicians may mean fewer antibiotic prescriptions given out for childhood ear infections or acute otitis media (AOM), and more watching and waiting. This may be a concern to parents, who probably just want their little one feeling better as soon as possible and see antibiotics as the means to accomplishment.
Siting an overuse of antibiotics which can cause side effects, such as diarrhea, and strains of new bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, these guidelines urge doctors to take a more conservative approach to prescribing antibiotics for ear infections in children. So the bottom line is that parents should not expect antibiotics for an ear infection. Following the guidelines, they will be prescribed less often, only when a significant ear infection is present.
Still, a pediatrician’s visit for ear pain is best, especially if that pain is accompanied by a fever, lasts longer than two days, is severe, or if there is pus or blood coming from the ear.
Your pediatrician will look in your child’s ears to see if the eardrum is red or bulging. If it is moderately to severely bulging, in the pediatrician’s opinion, then you’ll probably go home with an antibiotic prescription. Otherwise, you may be sent home and told to watch in case symptoms worsen. Some exceptions include very young children with ear pain, or children who have a history of recurrent ear infections.