Day 25 Ear Infection Upper Resp Infection

[Lene223]

I'm on Day 25 of an ear infection, upper respiratory infection, strep or tonsillitis(didnt do strep test)  I'm on my 4th antibiotic, new sinus med, 3 decadron shots & now on pill form.  Still sick.  Had blood drawn twice, first showed severe viral infection & bacterial infection.  Second showed Viral was better but not bacterial.  I had a staph infection in my leg over a year ago & this seem to have made antibiotics not work as well for me.  I've been to the dr for my ears & throat  on 01/04 02/19 05/14 08/20 each time treated with antibiotics.  I had trouble with tonsillitis as a child but seeming out grew it til after the staph.  I'm wondering now if I should go to an ENT, if there is anything different that they could do to help with this.  I'm tired of being sick.  Over three weeks & still not better.

[Enoch Choi, MD]

They do not show up on bloodwork.  Less likely to cause the fever and aches.  You should also ask your doctor about autoimmune illnesses

[Lene223]

Thank you for your help.  I have another question though according to the 2nd set of labs, the viral infection was improving but my Dr. told me the bacterial wasn't.  Would the other causes you suggested show up as an infection in blood work and also would they cause the fever and aches?  They actually tested me for mono too, which came back negative.  I had the antibiotic resistant staph last year.  Since then antibiotics don't seem to work well and I dont seem to have much of an immune system now either.  Thanks again, Lene

[Enoch Choi, MD]

25 days is pretty long, with multiple antibiotics, steroids, and reassuring labs.  An ENT could evaluate you to consider tonsillectomy but that may not help either.  Consider non-infectious causes of sore ears and throats.  Perhaps allergic rhinitis (allergies) or GERD (heartburn - gastroesophageal reflux).