I'm seeking some advice...

My husband and I have noticed that our 9 month-old baby often grabs at his right ear -- almost as though he has an itch or something. He even seems to like it when I rub his ear or when I clean it with those baby swabs, as though it feels good to him. So I'm starting to worry that maybe he has an ear infection? I guess I don't know what the typical signs are for those. Often in his bath, his ears would go under some water and so maybe water gets in there sometimes? He doesn't seem to be in pain, as he is often full of smiles and giggles.

I've always tried to be really careful when I clean his ears and not go in too far with the cotton swab.

Anyways, my question is...

We have a doctor appointment for him already scheduled for August 3rd. And I've been planning to have the doctor look at his ear(s) then. But do you think I should take him to the doctor before then?

I just want to do the right thing -- but for all I know, maybe it's normal for babies to do that to their ears?

Hi there

As a Dad of two unless the baby is in any sort of distress I would leave it until your appointment, however if you are not comfortable with that bring them along and get it checked. From past experience if there was an infection there would be pain and discomfort and it would be unlikely you would be able to get a cotton swab anywhere near it.

Bottom line though if your not happy go to the Doc's and good luck

best wishes

Paul

Thanks, Paul.

Does anyone know if babies often have problems from getting water in their ears (from a bath or from swimming)?

I've always heard stories about children needing tubes in their ears (though I'm not sure why, exactly) -- and it scares me.

Babies often pull at their ears when they are teething as it can seem sore or tickly. My son is 13 months and frequently pulls and rubs his ears.

If it was an ear infecection then he would probably have a temperature and would seem out of sorts/ quite grumpy.

Pepper... wow, thanks so much! Yes, he is teething. And it didn't occur to me that the two could be related.

Thank you again!!!

And some babies pull at their ear when they are tired. Mine used to do that to indicate she needs to sleep.

She's had several ear infection, each time with medium-high fever and severe pain. And usually ear infections are following a cold.

Thanks, Melusine.

I'll check for that... to see if he does it when he's tired.

(I wish they put thanks buttons in off-topic threads!)

I feel so much better now, thinking that it's most likely nothing serious. I'm such a paranoid mommy. (And I always knew I would be!)

Exactly, I was going to say the same thing but the other 2 beat me to it... My little guy also always rubs his ears when he is tired and I read that babies will automatically massage their jaw/ear to sooth the pain from teething.

He is just starting to teethe, I think... though none have come up yet.

I use those put-in-the-refrigerator teether rings and also have some natural clove oil gel that he really likes the taste of, but I'm not sure if it works.

If anyone knows of anything else that seems to help ease teething pain, I would love some suggestions.

Ours stopped BFing properly around 4 months old. I got so freaked out, I went to the BFing consulting at the hospital. Apparently he was already teething (even though he didn't cut his first tooth until 8 months). We had a horrible time with the whole teething ordeal. He finally finished a few months ago at 2 years old... Because he had it so bad, we had to give him the teething globalies almost every night before bed and sometimes in the middle of the night, We also used the green OSA gel (that's the herbal one). We tried the stronger red medical OSA gel, but he hated that. The globalies worked like a charm. We used the Similasan kind and other kind. The Similasan lasted the longest (2 bottles during the whole 2 years) and seemed to work the best.

Well I guess it's a good thing he stopped BFing when he started to get teethe? OUCH!

May I ask what exactly are "globalies" or "Similasan." I'm not familiar with either of those words. I tried to look them up but everything is in German for Similasan and I couldn't find anything for "globalies."

Sorry, I don't really know the English word for Globalies (that is the Swiss german term) ´... they are the little round homeopathic balls you can buy for just about ailment. We have some for coughing and phlem, some for flu, stomach/colon problems, others for ear infections (ok, those are homeopathic drops). All Apotheke (drug stores) sell various kinds here in Switzerland. Similasan is the name brand. We had a cheaper brand once but the bottle was empty so fast. The ones for Similasan were really the best. Actually my LO is still being breastfed as per the minimum 2 year recommendation from the WHO and pediactics (but only twice a day). Will have to stop soon though because BFing becomes very painful during pregnancy. Teeth were never really an issue with BFing (thank goodness )

Thanks! I've written down the names and will ask about them at an Apotheke.

I know some people in the States give their babies children's ibuprofen, which supposedly really helps with teething pain, but I don't like the thought of giving that to my baby.

The thing about pulling ears like that is usually teething from what I've observed with my nephew.

I remember from way back when, my baby brother would start refusing to "eat" (either breast or bottle) when he had an ear infection because the sucking motion hurt his ears.

I used to be very prone to swimmer's ear when I was young (still some, but less now), the doctor said that children are more susceptible than adults because their ear canal is wavy (while ours is more flat / straight, something like that). If you're concerned there may be too much water staying in, instead of using a swab, my doctor recommended to me to use a towel and twist it a bit to wick the moisture out. This method would be more safe as the towel isn't stiff enough to poke.



My in-laws also use those globalie thingies for his teething, it reminds me of the little balls of medicine that are in those capsules. My brother-in-law said that those are "time release" kinda, that you shouldn't touch them for long - which also reminds me of (maybe old fashioned?) time-release capsule medicines.

(The also had an amber necklace for the older of their two boys when he was teething, this seemed to help him, but I dunno how much it was actual help as opposed to the feeling that it COULD help made less stress for his parents so less stress for him. **shrug**)

Okay, I just got my little bottle and here is what is written on the label:
Similasan
Homöpathisches Arzneimittel bei
Zahnungsbeschwerden
Globuli/Globules
Médicament homéopathique en cas de
Troubles de dentition
I also forgot the mention... you can get a teething bernstein stone necklace for your little one to wear. I've seen lots of babies and small children wearing them. The best place I've found them are the the Müller drug store. I think I paid 18francs for mine. At the Apotheke, they were something like 40francs. Good luck with your little ones teething. I seriously hope it won't be the nightmare it was for us!

Thanks Peg A and Puhutes.

We do have an amber necklace for him, but I'm also curious if those things really work. I always seem to forget to put it on him. I just looked online to see why exactly the amber is supposed to help, and apparently:

"Amber is a natural analgesic and when worn on the skin, it releases healing oils that helps babies and young children to stay calm and more relaxed throughout teething."

I noticed with my necklace, though, that it feels a bit more like plastic than actual stones. The stones are so lightweight. It is cute, though.

Baby bling.