Yesterday afternoon, Jake started telling me that his ear hurt. I was somewhat concerned so I gave him some Motrin and decided to play the wait and see game. Both boys periodically tell me that their ears are hurting but it turns out to be nothing. I was hoping this would be the case with Jake especially since his nose was runny and he didn't have a fever.
At 6:30, he was screaming again that his ear was hurting. It had only been 3 hours since giving him the Motrin so I called the pediatricians office. They were closing but suggested that I take him to the ER or an urgent care center. First of all, I am not going to take my three children the the swine flu infested ER or urgent care for an ear infection. We just continued giving him pain medicine and prayed we would get some sleep. Jim stayed up with him until 11 and then at 5:30 I was up giving him more medicine and watching cartoons. Some time around 6 he went back to sleep. It wasn't until 8 that he came walking into our bathroom. I immediately looked at him and thought " oh no, his ear drum has ruptured." It was constantly oozing blood and puss. He complained that it hurt a little but not much.
We took him to the doctor later and she confirmed that it was ruptured and gave us a few medicines to take for the next few days. Jim and I were in shock that it actually busted but the doctor told me that she was glad that I didn't take him to the ER. She said he would have came home with more than he went with. Hopefully, it will heal very quickly.
