Treating an ear infection the European way

Brian had plans to take Marion to a local indoor pool with a coworker of his and his child on Sunday morning. I was looking forward to the break. Brian was looking forward to surprising Marion- she loves the pool.

Plans were ruined when Marion woke up crying and complaining that her ear and eye hurt.

Well, we knew what that meant.

Marion is prone to ear infections. More than the average kid but not as bad as others I've heard about. Basically, she gets a cold and it goes right to her ear. She usually doesn't have a fever, unless it gets significantly worse.

So I was prepared for a trip to the pediatrician this morning. What I wasn't prepared for was the wait, since it had been a dream before. But it is cold season and it was Monday morning... I guess some things never change.

We waited an hour before we were taken back to the exam room. Marion seemed fine, as she tends to be when sick. She enjoyed playing with the toys in the waiting area. I sat in my chair, anxious that we would be their all day and I would end up puking all over the place. I tend to imagine the worst at times like these.

We were eventually taken back and, finally, the doctor came to see us. He took a look and, sure enough, she has an ear infection.

Then he asked about how we had treated these in the past. I told him that she has always gotten antibiotics for an ear infection. He said he'd like to try to not treat with antibiotics just yet, but instead try pain medication and a nasal spray to clear it out. I said sure, why not. If it works for the Europeans, it may work for Marion. And we'll never really know until we try, right?

We got the medicine and then were given instructions to come back in two days. If it is the same or worse, we will try antibiotics. If not, good! It went away without needing the drugs.

Anyway, we go back on Wednesday to see how the experiment worked. I just gave Marion her first round of medicine and nasal spray. She didn't even flinch and asked for more medicine. Hmmm, good for not flinching. Bad for asking for more...