Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    
    Did the pedi mention trying one of those ear wax removal kits
    sold in any drugstore?  I think you put a solution in the ear
    (hydrogen peroxide-based??) and then rinse it out with a little
    ear syringe.   Maybe you'd have more luck with that.
    
    cj/

    My pedi told me to take hydrogen peroxide in a syringe (sp)  have
    the child bend sideways over a sink and squirt it up into the ear
    that is hanging over the sink so that it drains right away into
    the sink.  Same idea as the ear wax removal kits without the
    expense.
            

    My daughter Cassidy who is 14 1/2 months old has this same problem. 
    Her doctor has not been able to see into her ears for about 5 months
    now because of the wax.  He had us giving her ear drops that you can
    buy over the counter (check with your doctor before using them though
    since they are not recommended for children under 12).  When this did
    not work he had us bring her to an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist.  This
    was not a fun experience since Cassidy screams the minute any one holds
    her held still - doctor's appointments are so much fun :)  When we told
    the ENT dr. how difficult she can be when having her ears checked he
    mentioned that a lot of the time with kids her age that they need to be
    given a general anesthesia to have their ears cleaned out.  Well,
    that's what we are going to have done on Thursday this week.  
    
    I don't mean to alarm you, your doctor may have some good ideas of how
    to get the wax out of your son's ears.  You may want to give him a call
    and ask him about the ear drops - we used Murine drops.  They may work
    on your son.
    
    Ginny 

    A substitute pedi told me to try a drop or two of mineral oil. But to
    wait until after the ear infection was long gone....
    

    I always use Qtips after I wash the boys' hair.  The wax is much
    softer and comes out easily.  

<    not work he had us bring her to an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist.  This
<    was not a fun experience since Cassidy screams the minute any one holds
<    her held still - doctor's appointments are so much fun :)  

I've dealt with several doctors now regarding Evan's ears.  The ones I don't
deal with again are the ones who hold him down or restrain him in some way.
The others are able to look in his ears much easier, but simply letting one of
us *hold* him while they are looking.  This has been going on since the first
ear check after birth.  He is now almost 3 years old (a week from today!).

When I hold him with his head on my shoulder, he can't turn his head, but
still feels comforted.  The other doctor who does something like this just
retired, so he did it an easier way for him: he would have one of us sit
down with Evan on our lap, and he would look in from the side (usually the
other parent was getting Evan's attention to fix his head in one spot - you
can imagine how silly I looked when it was my turn to do this).  :-)
The first doctor is our general pediatrician, the second was our ENT specialist.

Some doctors refuse to even try something like this.  We had a big argument
with one in an emergency room in Illinois or Indiana on our "vacation" last
year.  He wanted to restrain Evan just to look in his ears and mouth.  By
gently talking with Evan we got Evan to agree to cooperate without any
restraints (just as he has always done), and the doctor finally did it our
way (successfully, too, I might add).

Good luck.  I hope you can talk with your doctor and try another way, or if
not, I hope someone else benefits from our experience.

         Carol

    re -1
    
    We do hold Cassidy - not the doctor.  She has always hated to have her
    head held still for any reason - this has been going on since birth. 
    She's a very curious little girl and can also be very stubborn.  I
    think that recently because of having bronchiolitis and many trips to
    the doctor it has gotten worse.  
    
    Ginny

    Gee whiz, what a swell pedi in the basenote, telling the parents they
    have a problem and then 1) not removing the wax and 2) not telling the
    parents how!
    
    I was a waxy kid, and it was definitely no big deal for my doctor to do
    the warm-water-&-hydrogen-peroxide swish every other time I went in for
    a checkup.  I'm quite sure this is something the nurse could do, too,
    if the pedi is so #$%^& busy!
    
    .5 may take some heat for using cotton swabs, but they are effective if
    you're very careful and you don't let them penetrate too far.
    
    Leslie

There are some ear drops called Cerumol, availale in the UK and Canada
which are moderately effective at removing wax ... I believe they are
mineral oil based ... and possibly available in the US.

Stuart

<    We do hold Cassidy - not the doctor.  
    
Darn, Ginny, I was hoping something simple like that could help.  
All I can offer now is good luck!

          Carol

    Wax in and of itself is not bad - it's simply that some kids build up a
    little more than others. A little soapy water in the ears at bath time
    can help a lot.  Or, the doctor can use a very tiny wire to scoop it
    out at the time of an ear exam.
    
    Although I've used Qtips on my ears for years, there are definitely
    different schools of thought - some argue that you have to continue
    using them once you start.  Most important is the argument that you can
    often push wax further in, and with a squirming child this might be
    more likely.
    

My folks used to use a hydrogen peroxide soaked Q-tip followed after a
minute by as many Q-tips as necessary to dry the ear.  Used carefully,
Q-tips are good for the outer part of the ear canal.  But they're no
good for the inner part of the canal.

Probably most of you know (but my parents didn't) that cold fluids on
the outer part of the ear can cause head/ear aches, so it's best to
warm the fluid before introducing it.  Another less well known tip is
that a cold/cool fluid that gets down to the eardrum can cause severe
vertigo.  When one ear is cold and the other is warm, it's like being
on a merry-go-round. Be REAL careful with syringes around ears.

                    >>>==>PStJTT

    My 16 year old, 'special needs' son, has a terrible problem with
    ear wax. We've generally been able to keep it under control by using
    Q tips in the outer canal. But then he's old enough not to wiggle.
    
    Bonnie

    I agree with the reply back a few .... the Dr should've done more!!
    
    We've been a few times when the Dr's say "Oh, he has a lot of wax", and
    then just as matter of factly, they get a small 'tool' with a piece of
    wire on it and pull out the hunk of wax, and that's it, we're done.
    Period.  They have the proper instruments and know what they're doing
    and what damage might be done .... I was amazed to read they just sent
    you on your baffled way.
    
    I guess all Drs are different!  I'd take him back and have the Dr do
    what he should've done the first time around!

    If you do use hydrogen peroxide, you should make a solution 50/50
    peroxide/water.  Only use one or two drops per ear, but make sure the
    ear that you just put drops into is facing down immediately afterward
    so that the wax can drain out.  You should know that this causes a
    sizzling sensation which, in an older child, you can say it'll tickle,
    but with a baby it is quite uncomfortable.  (After a cousin, who is a
    doctor recommended it, I tried it on my ears first so that I would know
    what it does.)  I did talk to my pedi afterward, and she did not like
    the idea of mixing peroxide/water myself, she recommended drops (over
    the counter) so that we could all be sure of the right strength of
    peroxide/water.

    I called my Doctor once again, and told him that Jonathan feels
    uncomfortable when I make him lie in the tub with water, and so 
    it would be nice if he give me someother suggestion to remove wax.
    
    Well the Doctor called back and suggested to use DEPROX drops thrice 
    a week, one ear at a time.  He asked me to use it when Jonathan is
    sleeping, holding him in my arms.  Jonathan is due for his 15 month
    checkup in April, and the doctor will check his ears then and let
    me know the improvement.  He told me that the drops will melt the
    wax.  I will try it and let you all know how it went.
      
    Thanks for all your responses.
    
    - Elizabeth
    

    I agree that the doctor should have let you know about Debrox and other
    methods for getting the wax out of the ear.  However, the "pointed"
    instrument the doctor uses can be dangerous in the hand of some
    Physicians's assistants. When one of my kids was a toddler we brought
    her to the HMO we belonged to at the time.  The PA confirmed there was
    lots of wax, but wanted to remove it to check for an infection. 
    Sounded reasonable to me until he scraped my daughter's ear drum!  The
    poor kid screamed for about two minutes afterward.  Luckily no damage
    appears to have been done, although to this day she is testing
    borderline on her hearing exams (She is now 7).  

    I'll admit to some limited medical knowledge, and I still abide to one
    hard and fast rule....
    
    	YOU DON'T TOUCH THE EARS!!  That's why they train ENT specialists,
    and they 've had YEARS more schooling than I!
    
    IMO, it's worth the price of the office visit to have things like
    "ear-checks" done and if necessary having the doctor remove the wax,
    than to risk a loss of hearing from a split second of child wiggling 
    causing a perforated ear drum.
    
    Lyn

    RE .18
    
    Lyn, 
    	I agree with you totally.  Since Shayne had tubes put in his ears 
    we go to see the ENT every 3 months, because of the fact that his ear
    canals are soooo small the wax buildup is unreal.  His regular doctor 
    usually requests the ENT to remove the wax because Shayne is too 
    wiggly for her and for some reason the ENT and I can hold him still 
    for the cleaning.  
    	I have spent too much time and money on therapy and testing to 
    have his hearing lost due to a slip up on my part. 
    
    FWIW,
    Malinda

    Kyle (13 months) was at the doctors 3 weeks ago because we suspected an
    ear infection.  The dr had my husband lie across Kyle to prevent him
    from kicking his legs and then hold both arms, while she dug in his
    ears with the wire instrument.  Kyle has lots of wax build up and has
    had this wax problem since 8-weeks old.  After examing him she told
    my husband that the ears may bleed a little from all the digging.  Is
    this normal?  (Another time when I had Kyle in the PA had told me the
    same thing, I never questioned her.)  Now, I don't think ears should
    bleed after an exam.  How would I know if they punctured his ear drum?
    
    Anyways, when Kyle went back for his 10 day re-check as soon as my
    husband got to the waiting room, Kyle started to wimper, once in the
    exam room, forget it he was hysterical.  The doctor hadn't
    even entered the room yet.  Well needless to say once the doctor was in
    no way was Kyle going to let him dig in his ears.  So the dr. just
    looked real quick and said the ears were still "iffy" because he could
    not see behind all the wax so Kyle was put on another 10 days of
    ceclor.  Well the 10-days are up and I think the infection is still
    there, when I go back should I let them look in the ears and dig out
    the was or just have them put him on the antibiotic?
    
    I'm very nervous about using the Debrox (sp), which the dr. had suggested
    but never told me how much to use.

    Poor baby!  I've had a problem with excessive ear wax all my life, and
    they've used that wire loop on me a couple of times. It HURTS when
    your ears are infected -- I'd rather have a root canal with no
    anesthetic than go through that again.  I don't remember any bleeding,
    though.
    
    Please, if you can bring yourself to do it, use the Debrox.  I don't
    think you can use too much, so don't worry about that.  Mom used to
    fill the entire ear canal with it and have me lay still for about 10
    minutes -- then hold a cotton ball on to my ear so it didn't leak all
    over the place.  It does a very good job of softening the wax over a
    few days, maybe enough that the doctor can get it out by flushing with
    water and avoid the wire loop.  (Using a couple of drops every day will
    help keep the buildup from coming back, too.)
    
    Good luck, and give the little guy an extra hug.
    Beth

The loop our doctor uses is not metal/wire; it seems to be plastic.  See if
the doctor can switch, and you might try another doctor, too.  See if the doctor
will allow one of you to *hold* your child, rather than lying on top of the
child (which is *not* soothing).

Good luck.  Please keep us informed.
 
     Carol

    My children too have excessive wax buildup in their ears and have both
    had to have their ears dug out.  I use Debrox liberally (my pedi said
    to fill the entire ear canal, and try to hold them on their sides for
    5 minutes) and it makes an amazing difference.  Just this past weekend
    I decided to check my 4 yr old's ears because he kept saying "What?"
    and found I couldn't even see inside.  I quickly applied the Debrox
    treatment 2x the first day then once a day for the next two and all
    the wax is now dissolved.  He also said his ears felt alot better.
    
    Granted it is harder to do this with children under 2 because the
    Debrox bubbles (doesn't hurt, I've used it) and feels funny.
    
    Also, sometimes the ears bleed after digging the wax out because 
    usually the wax is hard and firmly attached to the walls of the
    ear canal.  The process of removing it sometimes strips a small bit
    of skin with it.  My kids have had this happen which is why I 
    began to put more effort into treating them with the Debrox.
    
    Good luck.  BTW- my pedi said I could use mineral oil to soften
    the wax if the kids objected strongly to the Debrox.

Are you seeing a specialist for the wax problem?  I can't begin to think of 
a doctor, especially a pediatrician of ANY kind being this CRUEL, for lack of
a better term.  

As much experience as I've had, and I also mentioned this to my sister inlaw,
who has two children who always seem to have ear infections, nothing like this
has ever happened.

Could it be time to find another doctor to deal with the ear wax buildup.

I have a pet phrase for this type of doctor  "His bedside manners would fit into
a thimble!!"....sounds like your doctor is in this category!!

Lyn

    Cassidy has had a lot of problems with wax buildup and we've used the
    Debrox.  It does not seem to bother her at all - except for having to 
    sit still.  The one or two times that her doctor has tried to dig out
    the wax, her ears have bleed.  The reason given was that he had
    probably scraped the ear canal a little because of her not staying
    still and also as someone mentioned earlier the wax being hard and
    sticking to the canal.
    
    Unfortunately for us, the Debrox does help a little but does not clear
    her ears.  We brought her to an ENT on our doctor's recommendation
    and had to have her ears cleaned out during day surgery.  Because she
    will not stay still even to have them look in her ears (and is in
    hysterics) it had to be done under anesthesia (sp).  The ENT said that
    this was not uncommon  (the day surgery) for young children.  Cassidy
    came through it with flying colors.  Unfortunately, her ears are full
    again.  I have not yet brought her back to the ENT but I guess I'm
    going to have to.  It has not affected her hearing at all as she is
    talking up a storm and I know she can hear us (unless she decides to
    ignore us).
    
    Ginny

It is my understanding that some people just produce more ear wax than others.
My two brothers could go into the candle making business, I have very little
if any wax buildup.

My guess is that the large amount of wax in the ears is making your child
more susceptible to ear infections.  

I suppose you could go see a pedi ENT but I suspect that the ENT will not be
able to suggest anything above and beyond what your pedi has told you.

Preventive maintenance  IMHO is your best bet for resolving this situation.  
Take the advice of your pedi and fellow noters and use the debrox.  If
you are unsure as to its use by the stuff and bring it with you to the next
pedi appointment.  Have the doctor show you how to use it.  

The hearing loss caused by excessive wax buildup can be significant, if
my brother didn't clean out his ears on a regular basis he would be
as "deaf as a haddock" until he had the wax removed.  It was always removed
by a solution which softens the wax.

The other bonus to regular use of the debrox is that the pedi should not
have to clean out the ear with those looped instruments which can cause
damage to the ear drum if the child moves at the wrong time or if the doctor
messes up.

							Rich