Panicking about my son right now..Parents, please help

[kmm111]

I am sick to my stomach right now. I took my 2 year old to the urgent care center 10 days ago because he had a fever and was saying his ear hurts. He was diagnosed with an ear infection and given amoxicillin. He seemed better, no fever or anything, but then on Monday evening he developed a fever again (I didn't take his temp but he was HOT to the touch) but had no other symptoms except lethargy, etc that comes along with a fever. I took him to his pediatrician yesterday morning and she said his one ear still looks a little red so she prescribed a stronger antibiotic. This morning he felt a lot better and much cooler, so I went to work and my husband stayed home with him but he just texted me that his fever is rising again and he's miserable.

Now I am convinced that he has something else wrong like leukemia. I just can't accept that an ear infection would cause him to have a high fever like this, plus he hasn't even been saying his ear hurts anymore. I don't believe it's a virus either because he has NO other symptoms - no cough, stuffy nose, etc. Can someone talk some sense into me because my anxiety is spiraling out of control.

[Fishmanpa]

An ear infection won't morph into leukemia. It's just doesn't work that way. Poor kid has a stubborn ear infection but he's on meds and they'll kick in. Hope he feels better soon.

Positive thoughts

[kmm111]

Well, my thought process is that he has an ear infection as a result of leukemia, since leukemia can cause frequent infections and fever. Unfortunately I have done way too much research on this stuff :weep:

[Fishmanpa]

Well, my thought process is that he has an ear infection as a result of leukemia, since leukemia can cause frequent infections and fever. Unfortunately I have done way too much research on this stuff :weep:

Well, with respect, due to your anxiety and Dr. Google, your thought processed is skewed. I hope the little guy feels better soon!

Positive thoughts

[ScaredLizard]

Sounds like a stubborn ear infection. We've been there before. I hope he feels better soon. In children stuff like this causes a high fever and it's normal. I have one kid who anytime she even gets a cold runs a fever

Warm Regards

[axolotl]

Unfortunately I have done way too much research on this stuff :weep:

Never elevate your anxious mind's cherry-picking of scary things as "research"! Research means careful, methodical and unbiased collection and evaluation of facts.

The anxious mind is scrabbling about looking for things that scare you, discarding the millions of webpages about how harmless ear infections are and how common they are in kids and how they usually go away on their own or with a course of antibiotics, until you dig deeper, and deeper until you find the one page, buried somewhere in the bowels of the Internet, which in a long list of bullet-pointed symptoms with little context gives you a rare instance of something scary, and this, million to one chance, is the thing that your anxiety was looking for to fuel itself, and focuses your mind on.

This isn't research, this is a dragon feeding itself (to steal Fishmanpa's analogy) , and don't give it the fuel.

[kmm111]

Never elevate your anxious mind's cherry-picking of scary things as "research"! Research means careful, methodical and unbiased collection and evaluation of facts.

The anxious mind is scrabbling about looking for things that scare you, discarding the millions of webpages about how harmless ear infections are and how common they are in kids and how they usually go away on their own or with a course of antibiotics, until you dig deeper, and deeper until you find the one page, buried somewhere in the bowels of the Internet, which in a long list of bullet-pointed symptoms with little context gives you a rare instance of something scary, and this, million to one chance, is the thing that your anxiety was looking for to fuel itself, and focuses your mind on.

This isn't research, this is a dragon feeding itself (to steal Fishmanpa's analogy) , and don't give it the fuel.

Thank you, you are 100% right.

[ankietyjoe]

Children get sick, a lot.

That's all you really need to know.

And remember you are not qualified (in fact you're the opposite of qualified) to correctly diagnose the symptoms of your most precious thing. Throw google away immediately.

[Leslie735]

This same situation happened to my 8 year old about 2 years ago. He already gets ear infections out of nowhere, quite often. So he woke up one morning with a fever and an ear ache. We went to the doctor and got the same thing, amoxcillin. Two days into it, he was still getting fevers on and off. After a couple more days I took him back and she put him on a stronger antibiotic. It wasn't until about 3 days into that one that he finally was getting better. Just give it some time. I hope he feels better!

[kmm111]

This same situation happened to my 8 year old about 2 years ago. He already gets ear infections out of nowhere, quite often. So he woke up one morning with a fever and an ear ache. We went to the doctor and got the same thing, amoxcillin. Two days into it, he was still getting fevers on and off. After a couple more days I took him back and she put him on a stronger antibiotic. It wasn't until about 3 days into that one that he finally was getting better. Just give it some time. I hope he feels better!

Thank you. He was feeling really well this afternoon but now that evening is here I think his temp is rising again. He just fell asleep. It's been a little over24 hours since he started his new antibiotic so hopefully it'll kick in soon.

[GlassPinata]

I am sick to my stomach right now. I took my 2 year old to the urgent care center 10 days ago because he had a fever and was saying his ear hurts. He was diagnosed with an ear infection and given amoxicillin. He seemed better, no fever or anything, but then on Monday evening he developed a fever again (I didn't take his temp but he was HOT to the touch) but had no other symptoms except lethargy, etc that comes along with a fever. I took him to his pediatrician yesterday morning and she said his one ear still looks a little red so she prescribed a stronger antibiotic. This morning he felt a lot better and much cooler, so I went to work and my husband stayed home with him but he just texted me that his fever is rising again and he's miserable.

Now I am convinced that he has something else wrong like leukemia. I just can't accept that an ear infection would cause him to have a high fever like this, plus he hasn't even been saying his ear hurts anymore. I don't believe it's a virus either because he has NO other symptoms - no cough, stuffy nose, etc. Can someone talk some sense into me because my anxiety is spiraling out of control.


I have a 4 year old and two grown children.
I took my youngest to the ER last year with a fever of over 104.
It was an ear infection.
Then I recalled that my two eldest also used to run very high fevers with ear infections.
And yes, it was not uncommon that it took more than one course of antibiotics to get rid of these infections... also, the antibiotics usually did not work right away. it could take days for them to be completely fever-free and pain free. My middle son eventually had to get tubes in his ears because of the repeated ear infections.
Please do not be afraid.
It is not only NOT leukemia, but it is nothing serious at all (despite the terrifying high fevers).
The doctor at the ER last year assured me that children's body temperatures self-regulate, and will not go above a certain level (105? 106? Can't remember). But anyway, a temperature due to an ear infection will NOT rise to a degree high enough to cause damage to the child's body or brain.
Also, while they can be painful and terrifying and make children seem very, very sick, ear infections in general are not serious. They are self-limiting. Most will eventually go away even without antibiotics (although antibiotics can help your little one get better much faster). Pretty much the worst case scenario with an ear infection is that the eardrum will rupture from the pressure of the pus built up behind it due to the infection... and you know what? When that happens, that's the end of the ear infection. The pain stops instantly, the trapped pus drains out, the infection goes away. How do I know this? Because it's happened to me personally, twice. The last time was only a few years ago.
Also, when I was a child, back in the early 70s, the treatment of choice for severe recurring ear infections was for the doctor to actually prick the eardrum with an instrument so that the pus could drain out. This was apparently done to me as a toddler.
You don't necessarily WANT your child's eardrum to rupture, because this can cause some permanent hearing loss (although it doesn't always; I have never experienced any hearing loss due to ruptured eardrums. Mine always heal just fine, with no permanent damage).
But that's what I mean when I say that ear infections are self-limiting. That is pretty much the WORST thing that can happen: your child's eardrum could rupture, and that would be the end of the infection. Then the eardrum would heal, and there might or might not be some degree of temporary or permanent hearing loss.
That is something to be aware of, and a good reason to see a doctor and take the antibiotics as prescribed.... but it is not a reason to believe your child is in life-threatening danger. There is no serious danger here. Children got ear infections for thousands of years before the advent of antibiotics, and they survived them (although sometimes with hearing loss). Now that we have antibiotics, we can largely avoid that unfortunate consequence, and so there is truly nothing to be afraid of.
It is scary to see your little one suffering any sort of pain or illness, but please remind yourself that there is no true danger here, no threat to his life or long-term health. Ear infections are self-limiting, and your child is under a doctor's care and will be absolutely fine.
Trust me: in a week or less, he will be fine.

Best wishes.


PS Being a parent is terrifying though, isn't it? trust me, I know. :hugs:

[kmm111]

I have a 4 year old and two grown children.
I took my youngest to the ER last year with a fever of over 104.
It was an ear infection.
Then I recalled that my two eldest also used to run very high fevers with ear infections.
And yes, it was not uncommon that it took more than one course of antibiotics to get rid of these infections... also, the antibiotics usually did not work right away. it could take days for them to be completely fever-free and pain free. My middle son eventually had to get tubes in his ears because of the repeated ear infections.
Please do not be afraid.
It is not only NOT leukemia, but it is nothing serious at all (despite the terrifying high fevers).
The doctor at the ER last year assured me that children's body temperatures self-regulate, and will not go above a certain level (105? 106? Can't remember). But anyway, a temperature due to an ear infection will NOT rise to a degree high enough to cause damage to the child's body or brain.
Also, while they can be painful and terrifying and make children seem very, very sick, ear infections in general are not serious. They are self-limiting. Most will eventually go away even without antibiotics (although antibiotics can help your little one get better much faster). Pretty much the worst case scenario with an ear infection is that the eardrum will rupture from the pressure of the pus built up behind it due to the infection... and you know what? When that happens, that's the end of the ear infection. The pain stops instantly, the trapped pus drains out, the infection goes away. How do I know this? Because it's happened to me personally, twice. The last time was only a few years ago.
Also, when I was a child, back in the early 70s, the treatment of choice for severe recurring ear infections was for the doctor to actually prick the eardrum with an instrument so that the pus could drain out. This was apparently done to me as a toddler.
You don't necessarily WANT your child's eardrum to rupture, because this can cause some permanent hearing loss (although it doesn't always; I have never experienced any hearing loss due to ruptured eardrums. Mine always heal just fine, with no permanent damage).
But that's what I mean when I say that ear infections are self-limiting. That is pretty much the WORST thing that can happen: your child's eardrum could rupture, and that would be the end of the infection. Then the eardrum would heal, and there might or might not be some degree of temporary or permanent hearing loss.
That is something to be aware of, and a good reason to see a doctor and take the antibiotics as prescribed.... but it is not a reason to believe your child is in life-threatening danger. There is no serious danger here. Children got ear infections for thousands of years before the advent of antibiotics, and they survived them (although sometimes with hearing loss). Now that we have antibiotics, we can largely avoid that unfortunate consequence, and so there is truly nothing to be afraid of.
It is scary to see your little one suffering any sort of pain or illness, but please remind yourself that there is no true danger here, no threat to his life or long-term health. Ear infections are self-limiting, and your child is under a doctor's care and will be absolutely fine.
Trust me: in a week or less, he will be fine.

Best wishes.


PS Being a parent is terrifying though, isn't it? trust me, I know. :hugs:

Thank you for your reply. Yes, as a first-time mom I am now realizing how stressful parenting is for someone with anxiety! Every time he gets sick I get bad anxiety, think the worst, and can't even concentrate at work. Ugh. I started therapy last week so hopefully it will help for future episodes.