Ear infection, part XXIII

We went back to the doctor today to check on the persistent ear infection. Bad news - after six weeks, it's still there and this time she recommended another antibiotic and a trip to see the ENT to talk about getting tubes. Sigh. We'll certainly do whatever is best, but it's pretty scary to think we're already at Def-con 10 rather than trying another approach. So if you know of a good ear nose and throat specialist in the Washington, D.C., area, let me know.

My theory (as an uneducated WebMD reader so my opinion is worth nothing and may even be harmful) is that he had a viral infection that lead to the ear infection. He was on antibiotics to kill the ear infection, but that also killed the good germs. So the antibiotics didn't work on the ears and made him more vulnerable to another cold that led to another ear infection. It also doesn't help that he's been in a school day-care setting so I have the added guilt that his illness is due to his school. Sure, he'd probably be in the same place if I wasn't working and he were in preschool, but Mommy Guilt usually isn't rational.

Here are some creepy pictures of the procedure. Yikes.

In other medical news, a woman in my playgroup had her second son Wednesday. At home. In her bedroom. Without a doctor or pain medicine. The story goes that she had bad back labor that masked that the contractions were so close together so by the time she finally realized how close they were together, there wasn't time to get to the hospital. Her husband called the paramedics who were there within five minutes and came in once the head and shoulders were out. She's my new superhero. I know, second kid, blah, blah, blah, but wow. Just wow.