It has been almost a month now since my little one and I have been here in Sydney and I’m sure most of you saw me post about my one year old son having a terrible fever upon arriving and that it ended up being due to an ear infection.
He was extremely irritable and must have been going through awful pain for a few days before he finally overcame it to only then catch the flu. He has been having it rough recently.
Long story short he is much better now, he has only a slight cough and so I thought I would share with you my tips and tricks on dealing with an earache on babies.
First of all it’s important to know that an earache can be caused by so many things and not just because of flying. It can happen when your little one is teething, viral or bacterial infections and the most common one … buildup of fluid in the ear itself which is exactly what happened to my son.
Now as soon as you take your little one to the doctor they are more than likely to prescribe you with antibiotics and absolutely there is nothing wrong with giving them that and we actually did, but here are some other ways that can hopefully reduce your little ones pain throughout the day and night.
- Warm compress.
I found that filling a small water bottle up with warm water and then wrapping it in a towel before placing it behind his ears helped soothe the hot pain that he would often get in his ears. He always seemed to just lay and relax when I did this so it must have felt good to him.
2. Massage.
Fluid buildup like I mentioned previously is very common and so to help drain that fluid try massaging behind the ear, making sure to place your finger between the bottom of their ear and where the jaw bone is.
Apply firm pressure while dragging your finger down the neck. This will help loosen the lymph nodes and you may even feel them if your baby has swollen lymph nodes. Repeat this several times or as many times are they will allow you to.
3. Strong Immune System.
Obviously the stronger the immune system the better so be sure to focus on feeding your little one nutritious vegetables and fresh fruits so that their body is filled with Vitamin C and antioxidants.
If you have trouble feeding your little ones greens then try sneaking them into smoothies or blending them into pancakes and fritters. They’ll never know!
4. Elevate.
It makes sense right? You want to help drain that fluid that is clogging up your babies ears so slightly elevating your babies head while feeding and sleeping will do just that.
5. Sucking that liquid gold.
You remember that time when you were landing into your holiday destination only to be welcomed by an excruciating pain caused by the difference in pressure? More times than not you were told to chew some gum or suck on a lolly or ice chips and so it’s the same for children …
That is why it is so important to encourage your little one to breastfeed as frequently as possible during their sickness. Not only does it help reduce some of the pressure in the Eustachian tubes but it will just make them feel better overall.
Now I know you’re all aware of the magic that is breast milk but did you know that it also has antimicrobial properties? This means that it is possible that a mothers breast milk can change based on the particular microbes to which a baby is exposed to.
So if you have some breast milk to spare then try dropping a few drops in each ear of your little one and then give them a quick massage.
*Bonus tip!
If you or your little one is suffering from a blocked nose due to sinus or the flu, then grab a syringe, fill it with breast milk and squirt a few drops into each nostril and follow with a massage. It will magically help thin the mucus and help drain the nose too!
Anyways, these are my five tips on how to deal with an earache. I hope that some of them are useful to you and please share with me any of YOUR tips and tricks that you use to help ease your babies earache pain.
It goes without saying that you should use your own judgement and be aware that you may need to visit your babies doctor if their symptoms don’t reduce or go away after 3 or more days. It never hurts to get a professional opinion, especially when it’s to do with our most precious gift … our children.
Safe safe everyone, especially during this time.
Love Jessica Cairney.
