Ear infection after tubes? A little gross..

sara785Wed138219 · February 2011

DS got tubes in August. He had tons of ear infections that were always the results of lingering colds. The ENT and pedi told me that with the tubes, an ear infection would mean pus draining from his ears. He's had a cold for a couple weeks now, and I noticed drainage today that looked a little like watery wax, but when I looked in his ear, I was able to pull out a chunk of stuff that looked a little infected. I'm an RN, so sorry if that is totally gross that I would do that.

ANYWAY, I'm hoping that the pedi will just call in an RX for ear drops. (That's how he said it would be treated after the tubes.) I don't know how we will make time to get him to he doc if they insist on seeing him. Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced the same. TIA!

campbell2178 · February 2011

oh man my little one just got tubes put in 2 wks ago and now he has a cold. I will have to look for this now. GL with your LO. I was hoping tubes would be the cure all! I am getting really sick of ear infections. Poor babies!

daisy333 · February 2011

My DS is going through the same exact thing. He got tubes a month ago, has had a cold for the past week or two, and has had lots of drainage for the past several days. (I pick the waxy stuff out too... I think it is a mom thing) I didn't treat it because I figured that it was treating itself by draining. At some points it actually drips out of his ears... yes, gross! I am always changing his sheets too. It has been 6 days of drainage, and finally it is coming to a stop. They were pretty dry today.

tigpom · February 2011

My LO has had his tubes for about 6 months ago. About a month ago we started to have drainage out of 1 of his ears. It lasted 2 to 3 days then was gone. Our Dr told us if it drained more then a few days to bring him in to treat but the tubes are there to help it drain so not to worry at first. I just wanted to give some encouragement because we were having ear infections every month and the tubes really have been a blessing for us. We have only had the 1 time of bad draining. Hope the LO gets to feeling better.

SailorGray · February 2011

We had the tubes put in about a month ago and I think we have had about 3 pounds of leakage (I pull the chunks of ear goo out, too). He woke up screaming around 3am this morning, so we gave him so Ibuprofen and his drops. The one ear is still oozy and he keeps tugging at it.

How do you know it is infected by looking at the drainage? We just figured the drainage meant the tubes were working and we haven't been too concerned.

Princess_Lily · February 2011

As a mother with much experience with tubes...28 years of experience.

I had tubes at 3, and recurring ear infections my whole life.

Tubes are not a cure all. It may be a lifetime of issues, however, my "infections" come from allergies or colds which progress to the ear. My ear gets the infection because my Eustachian tube cannot drain all of the fluid that sometimes accumulates. Flying will irritate the issue even more causing my ears to clog.

What seems to help the sinus issues/infections is the Neti Pots or Sinu-Rinse.

I had ear infections during the tubes, and it does drain out. Its gross, but its also a sign that the tubes are working!

SeaStar430 · February 2011

Yup, this is common, it's just their ears draining. The ear drops should clear it right up.

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Ear infection after tubes? A little gross..

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