United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

WOW- thanks for all your input.

BTW she is also on Claritin to dry up the fluid that might be there..has been for 1 month. And she just won't take any tylenol or Motrin - just simply refuses. When she has a fever I sometimes just have to give her a tylenol suppository when she refuses.

About flushing the ear - the ear drops she had - I thought would soften whatever ear wax is there...but it seems like it hasn't because that's what today was all about - removing it.... when I was a kid my mom would heat olive oil and put them in my ear - do you think that this will help soften the wax and melt it down? I haven't done this because I thought it might cause an outer ear infection (a food oil just sitting there). But the thing that makes the most sense to me is what Alice who said that the wax itself could be causing the pain....hhmmmmmm. Maia always had a LOT of wax. Does anyone know what that's about?

Blowing smoke in her ear - well I'm pretty open minded but I'd have to get Lou to try this. Very interesting. Teeth - she just got checked by the dentist and they are ok. Mumps - nope. Sinusitis - nope and she's on the claritin.

I will get working on all of this and let you all know. Thank you thank you thank you so so much for all of your input!! Fabulous ideas!

-francine

I have also heard the same thing about blowing smoke into the child's ears. We live in the middle of Indian land, (We are half-breeds). My father-n-law blew smoke into my son's ear when he was small. At first I was horrified (he has asthma), but it did seem to work.
p.s. the nicotine patches are also suppose to work for spidar bites, (also an old Indian custom of putting tobacco on bites.)

I'm so sorry that Maia is still having this pain and also that she had such a difficult experience today. Here's something to be thankful about, it's a good thing that the dr. communicated with Maia what she was going to do. Could you imagine if she had just gone ahead and done it w/o communicating with her what she was going to do?! That could've been a much more traumatic experience for Maia. I remember when we went to an eye dr once (he was an Opthalmologist, but obviously didn't specialize in Ped.), well, he put eye drops into Nicole's eyes w/o giving us any warning what was going to happen. If I'd known, then I would've prepared her. I always appreciate it when drs are upfront and communicate well with a child to let them know what's going to happen. Gosh, come to think about it, I appreciate that too when it comes to myself seeing a dr. I guess it's something that we all like -- good communication. I think some drs. just don't give children the respect that they should.

Didn't mean to carry on about that, just wanted to point out a "positive" to the day. I don't have any words of wisdom for you to try, but I'm glad for you that you got such a great response to this post. Looks like you've got lots of great ideas. Hopefully, one of these things will work and the problem will be resolved soon.

Oh, about the Tylenol, have you ever tried the chewables? What doesn't Maia like about taking the meds? Nicole loves taking them. I wish they didn't make them taste quite so good b/c she'd have too much meds if it were up to her. Well, take care and please keep us posted.

-Tina

Hey Francine.

Im sorry to hear about poor little Maia's pain in her ear. Must be awful for her and you having to see her in such pain. My little sister(4years now) has had really bad earache since she was a baby. My mum tried olive oil but it made the problem worse and Amy didnt like it dropping into her ear. The doctor said its probably a build up of wax and she should use Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drop. You can buy them from the Chemist i think or go to you doctor and ask about them. They work well for Amy but they have to be use regularly or the wax just keeps building up. As you were sayin about heating the olive oil up...my mum heats there eardrops up. She sometimes jst rubs the bottle between her hands to take the coldness away from them and it makes it more comfortable for Amy. If Amy is bein extra stubborn and doesnt want the ear drops in my mum waits until she is asleep and drops them in her ear and makes sure she does turn over until she thinks the drop has settled. You jst pop in 2 or 3 drops at night(well my mum does it at night) and it takes away the pain because it breaks down the wax and desolves. Maybe in Maias case you could jst pop in a drop when it hurts or 1st thing in the morning and maybe get a child painkiller too, just incase it does get sore.

I hope that may be of some help to you.

I just thought it might be worth mentioning.

Good luck to you and Maia!!

Michelle -x-

Well I think I might be going out and buying a pack of cigarettes today??? LOL how much do they cost now anyway - I keep hearing about cig taxes going up and up! So I just blow the smoke in her ear? hmmmmm

Tina - I also believe that doctors should forwarn but the dentist calls that suck tube Mr. Drinky and then there is Mr. Squirty...hear what I mean? This guy could have been Mr. Wax Eater and NOT the vacuum cleaner!! LOL LOL

Michele - thanks so much for your advice as well....everyone's advice is so good. We're going to work on this today.

BTW - tina - she hates chewables and the liquid - she just doesn't want any part of any of them - I have 4 different kinds of chewables too... she'll put it in her mouth and then when I'm no looking = spit it out... found a few behind the couch! LOL

have a great day everyone....she didn't wake up screaming today....

-francine

Hi. Francine-
Have you tried the tylenol suspension that you can
get in bubble gum flavored or grape flavored? My kids won't take the regular tylenol and like the grape.
It is sugary and has more consistency to it.

I have heard that excessive ear wax is hereditary.
My children have this, and we use a prescribed ear wax removal drops. They kept getting ear infections, and
it was affecting their hearing. We would go in and
they would flush the ears and this would hurt the kids worse. Earwax blockage can also cause ear pain, plugged feeling in the ear, or ringing in the ear.

They says also that exposure to dust or water in the ear can cause the wax to swell. Dust can stimulate overproduction of earwax also I have heard.

Complications are ear infections which my children sometimes have, and Maia, and ear drum damage can occur.
They say to use the wax softening drops in for 20 minutes continuing to lie down. We all know how hard this is for children. So I use to do it while they were sleeping.
They have never done anything else for my kids.
I hope maia gets better soon.
I also hope this helps.

Francine-
Here is a definition of earwax blockage.
Overproduction of earwax causing blocage of the external ear canal. Wax is prduced by the ear to protect the canal leading from the eardrum to the outside. The amount of wax produces varies from person to person. Some produce so little that it never accumulates. Others produce enough to BLOCK the canal every couple of months. (I am sure this means
every 2 months,LOL, it seems to me.) It can also cause severe pain, depending on how impacted it is.

My 19 month old also has alot of hard wax that builds up in her right ear (same side as the BPI). Her pediatrician has tried scraping the wax out but she can never get enough of it. She told us to mix equal parts of water and hydrogen perioxide and put a few drops in the ear for a week. Another Mom told me about putting a few drops of mineral oil in the ear to keep the wax soft so eventually it will come out. Just thought I would add to the list of remedies!

Debbie Jean! Thanks so much. Her doctor has ordered a new type of antibiotic drop that is used for wax softening(without causing additional infection in the outer ear canal). So we're going to give it a try. Good idea to try it while she is sleeping...