IT'S A MIRACLE

Yes, I made it through the majority of my to do list yesterday. I did not get to the playroom, however, and that comes today...god help me. I do not exaggerate when I tell you it looks like a bomb exploded in there. No matter how many times I try to organize that room it is to no avail. A is not a organized kid. He likes his toys all around him in a heap. He throws them from the toy box, the drawers and the boxes that I use to keep it organized. I promise he will do that before the end of the day today, but only AFTER I have worked my butt off to clean it up.

Last night was the boys' holiday show. And I will blog more about that later. It is my favorite time of the year. And, honestly, just sitting here thinking about it, I am getting teary again...

But right now I want to talk about the miracle that we found yesterday. Something that took 10 LONG years to find me:

NUMBING EAR DROPS

Why has it taken 10 years to find these? Why has no doctor informed me of this miracle before now?

All 3 of the boys (including my stepson) have had tubes. A is on his third set and, without a doubt in my mind, will need a fourth.

This poor kid has been sick since the day he was born. Both my kids have immune systems that seem to grab hold of anything within a few feet from them and it doesn't let go until it has been sure to wreak havoc through their entire bodies and pass it along to anyone unfortunate enough to come in contact with them (my poor sister can probably blame her children's last 10 sicknesses on my kids). But, poor A has a constant runny nose, a cough that starts in October and ends in June and ear infections upon ear infections upon ear infections (unless his tubes are working properly and then they just drain this stinky, sticky fluid - gross, believe you me).

I am not big on antibiotics (and I think I have shared this in the past). Antibiotics are used for BACTERIA and most ear infections are caused by VIRUSES (like the common cold). Therefore, giving a kid (or anyone) an antibiotic to "cure" a virus is not only ineffective but almost as havoc wreaking as the virus itself. Antibiotics kill most all bacteria in its path (including the good stuff that lives in your small intestine - which is what leads to "the runs" when you take antibiotics). The bacteria that it DOESN'T kill then starts to become resistant to antibiotics (this also happens if you don't take the antibiotics correctly) and we end up with the super bacterias like MRSA. Having said all that, when kids get ear infections if they do not clear up quickly enough it is possible that the fluid sitting in the Eustachian tubes will grow bacteria and they DO need antibiotics - but there is no way for a doctor to know by looking at it. Of course, antibiotics are AMAZING as well, just way over prescribed and thought of as a necessity by too many people (including doctors).*

Okay, off my soapbox and back to my story...

I don't often bring him to the doctor if he has an ear infection because I know that, most of the time, they clear up on their own. His pediatrician has been great about working with me on this and agrees that, more often than not, antibiotics are unnecessary when treating ear infections.

This one was bad, however. A had been sick for over a week, had a strange rash all over his body (that the medical assistant tried to tell me was a heat rash - I asked her to step outside to remind herself of the temperatures) and, most importantly, he had his holiday show that night and he NEEDED to get to it. No way was I going to keep him from it. But he was MISERABLE and I knew we needed to take action.

So off to the doctor we went. Well, actually, off to the nurse practitioner since all the doctors were booked. We spent about 5 minutes in the office (she informed me that the "rash" was just his eczema acting up and it appeared to be inflamed because of his virus) and left with two prescriptions, an antibiotic and THE MIRACLE: numbing ear drops. I am okay with the antibiotics this time since the stuff coming out of him is colors that only show up in nightclubs lit with black lights. In other words, it was neon green. But the miracle, oh the miracle of all miracles (makes me think of Fiddler on the Roof* - I told you I was a geek) were the numbing ear drops.

It makes me wonder why I was never given these before. I do not joke when I say that my kids have had more ear infections than I can count on both my fingers and toes. And everyone that I have spoken with about them since says, "oh, I have about 3 of those bottles in my medicine cabinet, I would have given you one" or "you've never heard of those".

After bombarding the nurse practitioner about the safety of them I have decided (with her help) that from now on, we will be using those ear drops at the slightest sign of an ear infection. Since they also loosen wax (which tends to build up around A's tube) it will help keep his ear clear so they can drain on their own.

And, I fully intend on bombarding his regular pediatrician with questions next time I see him (which will, more than likely be sooner rather than later) as to WHY he has never prescribed these before - because, as you parents know, ear infections only seem to bother them in the middle of the night when nothing in the world you do can console them!

And, most importantly, A made it to his show last night and performed perfectly! More to come on that in a later post...

*I am not a doctor, I do not play one on TV and I do not pretend to be one. If you have concerns about antibiotics speak with your doctor. Google it, do some of your own research and don't diagnose your kids yourself (like I tend to do).

*