ear infection

[eshores23]

I have a 7 month old with her 4th double ear infection within one month--one right after another.  The meds haven't seemed to help yet; now they have her on Augmentin.  She had an allergic reactin to Omnicef and this med is supposedly in the same family.  Anyway, she has only had an extremely mild rash this time so we have continued giving the med to her.  But she screams terribly each time we give it to her--kind of like it is hurting her.  She has taken numerous meds since she was born and hasn't reacted like this to any of them.  Then this morning she threw up everything in her tummy about 30min-1hour after giving the medicine to her.  Has anyone had a similar reaction to this med with their kids?  Any info would be appreciated--I know the meds mess up their tummys--she has had really bad diarrhea for the past month since being on antibiotics, but this is the first time she has thrown up.  Thanks!

[Still_AndiJ]

Sometimes an allergic reaction can present as oral pain on contact with the medication. Why did they put her on a pennicilin med when she demonstrated an allergy to Augmentin in the past? My son is also allergic to pennicilin drugs, which presented with Augmentin as well.

I would do a few things, stop giving her the medication and call your doctor ASAP. If he/she cannot be reached, take her into the ER so this can be addressed. I would then make an appointment with an ear/nose/throat doctor and discuss placement of tubes because at this point, you can be risking permanent hearing damage if the infections cannot be controlled.

Andrea

[momof2princesses]

Hi eshores,

I too went through the same thing with my daughter last year, first I sympathize with you, I know this isn't easy for either of you. My daughter had the same reaction to amoxicillin, mild rash, fussy, diarrhea and vomiting, I ended up taking her to the ER for it,because I was so worried. I thought for sure she wasn't having an allergic reaction because she was towards the end of her cycle of the meds, but they concluded at the hospital that it was indeed an allergic reaction and had me stop the meds immediatly. Just to be safe. If I were you I would stop giving them to her and call the dr first thing in the morning and see what they say, If she is having bad diarrhea, they need to  put her on something else anyways. If she is vomiting she may not be getting allthe meds she needs to heal her ear. Have you talked to the dr about tubes for her ears? Maybe it's time to start considering them? You could maybe just ask and see what they say. My sisters little boy who is 18 months is getting them on the 17th and he's only had 3 this winter.
I hope your little one gets to feeling better soon! Good luck, Kendra

[shelbert6]

Amoxicillin is the 1st line treatment for pediatric ear infections.  Augmentin is the suggested treatment when the 1st line treatment fails to resolve.  Sometimes oral Augmentin is given with a one-time injection of Ceftriaxone, or Rocephin.  This is a cephalasporin.  This was most likely not done because of the past allergic reaction to Omnicef, also a cephalasporin.  The Dr. was not wrong in giving the Augmentin as a 2nd line treatment.  An allergic reaction to a cephalasporin does not constitute a contraindication to the use of a penicillin.  But there is a chance of what is referred to as a "cross sensitivity".  This means that in some cases an allergic reaction to a cephalasporin may also be seen in penicillins, and visa-versa.  Having multiple ear infections in a 1-month period almost suggests to me that rather than multiple individual infections, it has been one long infection that appears to go away, and then comes back.  It may be prudent to talk to your dr. about treatment as a chronic condition, which means an extended time on antibiotics, rather than 10-day treatments.  
As far as the rash, call your dr. in the morning and talk to him/her about switching to a sulfa combination such as Septra/Bactrim or Pediazole.  These are not related to cephalasporins or to penicillins, and do not possess the same "cross sensitivity" potential.  
Never, ever stop a medication without consulting with a Dr. first.  Call the ER and ask for a nurse consult tonite.  They will give you the best advice on how to proceed.  And yes, they probably will tell you to stop.  It is just a good habit to get into.

Regards,
Shelly

[Still_AndiJ]

I will add to this that if an allergic reaction to penicillin is detected, that is is most prudent to shy away from another penicillin meds as an allergy to that line of medications has been established. Rather than risking another reaction, the doctor should have immediately gone to a sulpha med or another class of antibiotics.

The use of Augmentin as a secondary line of treatment is only if the amoxicillin is not effective. If her child had been on it and showed an allergic reaction, then the doctor should have avoided all penicillin meds and gone to another class.

Andrea

[shelbert6]

You are absolutely right.  However, I don't see in her post where she says that she had been given Amoxicillin.  All I can assume is that she had tried a cephalasporin and had an allergic reaction.  I must admit, I was a bit confused with the use of Omnicef as a tx for otitis media, but each dr. is different, and I don't know the baby's PHx, other than allergy to cephalasporin.

Regards,
Shelly

[eshores23]

Since this is her 4th ear infection, we have been through 4 meds.  The first was Amoxicillin, then Omnicef (allergic reaction, but got through most of the med), then Zithromax, and last the Augmentin.  Each med was given basically one right after the other--except with the Zithromax we had to wait the full 10 days for it to be out of her system.  I am continuing to moniter her today and will call the dr if things get worse.  She hasn't thrown up again and her rash really is mild (I don't think I would have noticed except that I am on the lookout).  But of course I don't want to harm her in waiting.  I may call this afternoon--I hate bothering the nurses, but I also don't want to harm my little girl in waiting.  Thanks for all the input.  The dr has mentioned tubes, but I had to see a different dr last time so we didn't discuss it.  But I have to take her back to check her ears after this med so I am sure we will discuss tubes then.  It is hard because I am breasfeeding (which I thought helped reduce the chances of ear infections) and I only take her to daycare every now and then and also take her to church nursery but that is it!  Thanks again.

[GinGib]

Please consider tubes if the doc suggests it. I went through HELL earlier this year with an ear infection and it was the worst pain you can imagine!!! I wound up having to have a tube inserted in my ear and the doctor suggested I talk to all his parents with young kids that are reluctant to have the tubes put in. I have a 3 year old and my sympathy is now much greater when he has to endure one of these!!! Good Luck Ginger

[JillC]

Both of my sons had tubes because of multiple ear infections.  The oldest had them put in when he was 2 and my youngest when he was 9 mos. No problems, no more ear infections, no more antibiotics! Good luck

[sperrin2004]

My son had a reaction to augmentin (hives). This was after I had a lot of penicillan during my pregnancy and after many many ear infections. Tubes are a wonder. His personality changed overnight and actually felt bad that we had waited so long.  I am going to ask if his reaction means he is definately allergic to penicillan or if we should have testing done. I read that they can determine allergy to penicillan with a skin test.