ear infection

Re: ear infection

littlek wrote:

What do I do?

Go to the nearest ER.

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littlek wrote:

How much ibuprofen can I take? Nemmind, I'll look it

On a previous post you said you were taking acetaminophen and ibuprofen. These 2 medications should not be mixed. If you have a fever, you may wish to take Tylenol to lower the temperature.

Otherwise, Motrin is frequently recommended.

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Littlek, how is your ear infection? Have you seen the doctor yet? I hope you feel better.

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littlek, Checking in to see if you're any better. I hope you've gotten some relief from the pain.

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littlek wrote:

tthe drainage looks like the juice you'd find at the bottom of a package of steak. It's clear and red. I've used up a dozen qtips. The bubbling and squeaking noises seem to be less frequent now and it could just be that the pain is easing up. Maybe that's because I've sat up. I just want to go to sleep.

Quote:

Call your health care provider if

* The discharge is white, yellow, clear, or bloody.
* The discharge is the result of an injury.
* The discharge has lasted more than 5 days.
* There is severe pain.
* The discharge is associated with other symptoms, such as fever or headache.
* There is loss of hearing.

Quote:

To be safe, never put anything in the ear smaller than the tip of your little finger.

~~~~~~~

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003042.htm

~~~~~~~

step back from the q-tips
step back from the q-tips

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Only just saw this, here's my reply on the other thread:

sozobe wrote:

Runny reddish-orange could be liquefied wax.

The oil step makes me nervous, I'm not sure what effects that could be expected to have.

If it were a middle ear infection that resulted in a perforated eardrum, I'd expect the pain to stop as soon as there was a perforation (in other words, pain OR drainage, not both), and that your hearing in that ear would be worse than usual.

Hard to say at this distance though -- if problems continue Monday, I'd definitely recommend having an ENT check it out. Sorry that would be a financial hit.

More info at the Mayo Clinic site:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ruptured-eardrum/DS00499/DSECTION=2
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/swimmers-ear/DS00473/DSECTION=2

From those descriptions, seems like outer ear infection ("Swimmer's ear") is more likely.

Feel better!

Definitely about q-tips. Until you know what's going on, I suggest that you protect your ear from everything -- oil, drops, even water (use a shower cap).

There really shouldn't be continuing pain if it's a perforated eardrum. I haven't ever seen discharge like you describe, it makes me nervous.

I'm with osso on not being clear why you can't at least call...? Is it that you're concerned that they'll say some variation of "we can't tell you anything definite on the phone, you'll need to come in"? (That happens to us a lot.)

How is your hearing in the affected ear?

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Oh and in terms of what to do about the drainage if you can't use q-tips -- when sozlet's had perforated eardrums, we were told to take some toilet paper and very loosely wad it up. Put it in the very outer part of your ear, none actually in the ear canal. Replace it as necessary.

I think it's probably best to just let things air out, and maybe clean up by wiping after it spills out rather than going in the ear at all (gross, sorry).

Just noticed the part about the walk-in-clinic at 10 AM, hopefully that's where littlek is now (fret).

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Phew, that was brutal. Shortly after I posted last, I fell asleep. The pain was low enough for me to maintain sleep for a few hours. And now the pain only occurs when I lean or bend my body. I slept with a towel under my right ear and swabbed at it now and then. I am keeping the qtips, though I am intermittently using wadded toilet paper.

There is hearing loss. The discharge is becoming more yellow and I am developing a sinus infection. Great. Will be going to the walk-in shortly.

Thanks for all the advice.

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OK, good. (That you're going to the walk-in, NOT that you've been in such horrible pain!)

Hope they'll get you feeling much better soon.

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Oh littlek, I hope you're doing alright. Lots of sympathy from me, that is painful stuff!

After my last ear infection had cleared up, the doc sent me to go have my hearing checked up. You might want to look into that, just to be sure.

More likely than not, it's just a temporary fuzz and nothing to be scared about, but it's calming to know that all is well after weird coloured fluids come out.

Hope you get some rest, too. Rest does help if you can get it.

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I hope you feel better soon.

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So. I called the walk-in. I told her I was having an ear infection and the a sinus infection just started as well. Then I asked if I should come in. She said, "I don't know. It's up to you. I can tell you it's pretty busy here <mumble mumble>. Excellent! Thanks!

So. I'll bring my homework.

I have hearing problems. Maybe from childhood ear infections. Maybe genetic. I was all pissed off that this infection was in what I call my good ear (not that it hears at 100%).

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littlek wrote:

Phew, that was brutal. Shortly after I posted last, I fell asleep. The pain was low enough for me to maintain sleep for a few hours. And now the pain only occurs when I lean or bend my body. I slept with a towel under my right ear and swabbed at it now and then. I am keeping the qtips, though I am intermittently using wadded toilet paper.

There is hearing loss. The discharge is becoming more yellow and I am developing a sinus infection. Great. Will be going to the walk-in shortly.

Thanks for all the advice.

If the sinus infection is a result of your ear infection, you should see an MD, before the infection enters your brain.

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Littlek--

What did the doctor say?

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Because of the long wait times, perhaps you should pack a lunch before you take off.

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LittleK, you more than likely will not have hearing loss-- with all that gunk in your ear of course it's difficult to hear. I hope you're feeling better and were given some good service at the walk-in place (fingers crossed).

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I'm back. I ate lunch before I left and packed a snack. After a two-hour wait (I finished reading my homework), I had a brief and pleasant appt with nurses and doctors. I am a little goofy and funny when sick, so they were extra nice to me. Or, maybe they're nice like that to everyone. The doc said he couldn't see the hole, but saw the fluid and knew it'd been perforated. Maybe that's why it hurts so bad? The fluid had to pass through such a small hole. The other "ear doesn't look so bad" - dunno if that means it looks normal or slightly something. I was prescribed antibiotics and it was suggested that I use both a nasal spray (limited) and a psuedoephedrine (which they take all your info for these days - check out took 10 minutes). So, I'll take the spray at night and the pills during the day.

Still can't hear jack **** (why would anyone want to hear jack ****?). The pressure has been building all day, but the pain hasn't come back. Draining has slowed.

I'm sure you all needed that detailed account.

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poor 'k!

glad you were able to get something for it today...

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The meds should help. Now crawl into bed with a good book and call in sick tomorrow. Tell them Swimpy said you had to stay home.

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Me too region!

Eh, call in sick? I did warn them I might not be up for working. But, the doc didn't tell me to take time off. We'll see. I still have a little home work to get done and then I was going to watch the movie, smoke signals.

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