Yesterday morning I was changing Jessica's diaper when I noticed a large amount of mucus-like substance oozing from her right ear (I will spare you the disgusting visual by not posting a picture).
To make a long story short, her ear drum had ruptured due to a middle ear infection that went untreated. Apparently, babies do not have fully developed nerve endings in their ears yet, so she did not seem bothered by this ongoing ear infection (that she must've had for quite some time). Knowing this - that she was not in very much pain - relieved some of my "I'm such a bad mom, how could I've let this happen" complex.
...although, I did take her into Peds last Tuesday for an intermittent fever/fussiness thing she had been having for over a week; the pediatrician seemed to think her ears looked just fine then?? Really?...and then less than a week later, her ear drum ruptures due to the fluid build-up/infection that had to have been going on for longer than a week?
Lesson learned: Mom's know their children best; demand more information/tests if you feel it in your gut that something is not "right" with your child!
Jessica is now on two prescription medications to clear up the infection: oral amoxacyllin and ear drops; her ear drum will heal on its own within a matter of a week or so.
NO PERMANENT HEARING LOSS! After the ear drum is healed, usually all hearing is restored. Yes, there are some extreme cases involving surgery/hearing loss, but we won't cross that bridge unless we have to.
We have a follow-up appointment scheduled for Monday, May 11th to be sure all is well and healed appropriately.
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2 comments:
So sorry to hear that Jessica was hurting! How scary to see the puss coming out of her ear. I would have felt the same way you did, and you are right we do know our kids best =)
OMG what a scare! I hope she's all healed and recovered by now. Poor little girl!
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