DS is 14 months and has had chronic fluid in his ears for quite a while. Sometimes it leads to an infection but most of the time the ped says his ears are just filled with fluid. I've taken him to an ENT and they don't want to do anything unless he has more infections. He is always pulling on his ears and I feel terrible that they must be uncomfortable all the time. I'm wondering if anyone has taken their LO to a chiropractor for this issue and if it seemed to help?
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No, but did the ENT check his adenoids? DS had enlarged adenoids and his ears had fluid all the time, plus he'd get ear infections every month after he started day care. The ENT thought they weren't so big that he needed to take them out, but he put DS on 20 days of antibiotics. Which sounds pretty awful, but it cleared up the problem once and for all.
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@Mama Bird: thanks! I honestly do not think he checked the adenoids. DS was pretty hysterical at the visit. But he had just been on 10 days of omnicef, followed by 3 rocephin injections and 10 more days of augmentin so maybe that should've cleared them too? I have no idea and the ped and ENT keep passing us back and forth and instead of giving us answers
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@peaches1038: I don't have chiropractic experience, but definitely go back to the ENT and check for enlarged adenoids and tonsils. We had the same issue with my daughter, and had her adenoids removed in October (she's 3.5 now) to help with the problem. The drugs you're talking about are for infections, they don't actually affect the fluid in any major way. My daughter had multiple ear infections in 2016 because the fluid from her sinuses sat in her ears. The way our ENT explained it, her sinuses weren't draining properly because her adenoids were enlarged, and the fluid was getting pushed into her ears. Which by itself is not a huge issue (though it can be uncomfortable), but when it comes in contact with bacteria, that's when the infection happens. The drugs treat the infection, but the fluid should be treated with allergy drugs like Zyrtec and Singulair (my daughter was on those for the last 6 months), because they dry up fluid. I'm not sure chiropractic care will help because it's a sinus issue, not really dependent on alignment. Good luck!
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Not to scare you but I would push for a solution to this because having all that fluid in his ears will affect his hearing and his speech development.
ETA I have no experience with the chiropractor but LO did have tubes for chronic fluid.
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When I was a kid I had chronic sinus infections and chiropractic adjustments allowed my sinuses to finally fully drain and the problem resolved. I think a chiropractor very likely could help with the fluid in your LO's ears.
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I would consider tubes for the ear infections and fluids. As part of the early intervention process, we were encouraged to have our guy looked at the ENT and audiologist. They tested his hearing. He had some drainage from a recent cold. Once it clears up, he'll have another test to have a full report. We're one ear infection away from tubes. The fluid doesn't seem to be the cause of the speech delay, but getting it managed will help overall.
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@Mrs. Carrot: thank you!! That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering about Zyrtec. Did you try that with your daughter before deciding to get the adenoids removed?
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@jhd: thank you! Yes, I'm really trying to be an advocate for him. His speech and hearing appear to be ok so far but it's not something I want to mess with
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@oscarthegoon: thank you! I appreciate you sharing your experience!
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@cascademom: I was pushing for tubes but the ent didn't think it was necessary quite yet. I will continue to address the issue with our ped and ENT. Thank you!
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@peaches1038: With our youngest, we're one ear infection away from tubes. Since it's a quick surgery, I think it's a good thing to do to improve quality of life especially with a nasty cold season. He's also small enough that pushing saline through helps with the drainage too.
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@cascademom: great! I'll try more saline
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@peaches1038: I try to get my guy with saline whenever I can. Their noses are so small that pushing it out with saline should work. With our eldest, we saline spray his nose so that it stays moist and doesn't lead to nose bleeds in the winter air. It's been effective so far. For me personally, I saline spray tons because I had sinus surgery in November. The saline pushes out what my nasal rinses can't sometimes. I've gone through three bottles of saline spray since my surgery.
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@cascademom: I am all over the saline when he has a runny nose (which is almost all the time) but he's actually not congested right now so I didn't think about using it. Thanks for the tip!
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@peaches1038: We did. We had her on Zyrtec and Singulair for 6 months, and the adenoids were decided on after she got another ear infection while on the treatment. She hasn't had one since but it's only been October, so fingers crossed, and for her sinuses and adenoids were the specific issue so that's why they didn't do tubes for her.
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