[Sam914]

For the past couple of days Michaels been pretty sleepy, and when he's not sleepy he's been super grumpy... Yesterday he slept from about 11 am - 4pm, ate then cried off and on until around 8... it doesnt seem like he's in horrible pain he's just very restless and not himself Anyway, he's always had pretty "gunky" ears but now i'm starting to wondering if maybe he has an infection or if having the gunk is hurting him? I tried to clean it out but its too far in and i dont want to go digging around in there. I also noticed he's been holding onto his ear off and on today. He doesnt have a fever but he did finally calm down last night after i gave him some tylenol (which could just be a coincidence, who knows).

So what do you guys think, should i take him in to the doc? I"m not sure if they have Sunday hours and Saturdays hours are already over. I really dont want to take him to the ER... I dont really think he has one, but IF he did have an infection would it be horrible to wait it out until Monday to see if he gets better before making him an appointment? If he doesnt have an infection will they just clean his ears out somehow? I used to have to get my ears cleaned out at the docs when i was little..

[jensma]

def sounds to me like an ear infection! I'd try urgent care or something like that. ER might make you wait even longer than necessary but if that's your option you probably want to get him some relief sooner than later.

[DeepSouthMommy]

If he's pulling or tugging at his ear he likely has an inner ear infection, so yes, I'd definitely bring him in to get checked. They'll be able to give him antibiotics to take care of it and maybe ear drops or Motrin or such for pain relief. I hope it gets better soon!

[MommaLee]

^^agreed. I was prone to having ear infections as a kid and into adulthood....I also went to a doctor that use to "suck" my ears out (put a tube down and vacuum out the bacteria) and it was always a quick relief. I'm pretty sure he was an ENT tough, so I don't know if your ped or family doctor would have the equipment to clean them out.

I also once had a bad infection (at the age of 19!!!) and the drops were not strong enough that my ear started bleeding and crusting over and I started to have trouble hearing. Ended up going back to the doctor and they had to scope the inside of my ear and then put me on a mega dose of ear drops and oral antibiotics.

Hope you can get in somewhere and get him some meds. If not, look into the over the counter drops (you can consult a pharmacist...although they can't tell you what to do as they are not MD's, they can give their opinion as to the drug and usage for Mikey's age and you can decide whether you want to use them).