Oh, those Ears

I didn't think we'd still be talking about Alex's ears 5 months after the tubes were put in, but we are. They have been seeping during and after colds and he has had several colds, so they seem to always be running. You can see it pouring out when looking into his ear and a few times there has been so much it has even run down the side of his face. The Dr. had warned us to look out for bright yellow or green drainage along with a foul smell, indicating infection. What is coming out is not smelly and looks just like what is coming out of his nose, so I wasn't too worried, just figured this was supposed to happen, the tubes were doing their job.

However, the day care felt since there was so much draining there must be an infection and suggested we take him to the Dr. We have taken him to see the PCP no less than 4 times since February not including his regular well child checks with the same result every time. No infection and the tubes are still in place. We saw the ENT who put the tubes in a couple of weeks ago. He agreed with the PCP that there was no infection, but his ears are not supposed to be draining like that.

"The eustachian tubes carry air from the throat to the middle ear in order to equalize pressure on both sides of the ear drum. During a cold, illness or seasonal allergy, the eustachian tube becomes congested and swollen so that it may temporarily close; this prevents air flow behind the ear drum and causes ear pressure and pain. If the eustachian tube remains blocked, a vacuum can develop behind the ear drum sucking it inward and allowing fluid to accumulate. If the fluid does not drain, bacteria can multiply causing an ear infection."

The artificial tubes allow the fluid to drain from behind the ear drum and is supposed to drain into the e-tubes and then into the sinus cavity. In Alex's case, because his e-tubes are so horizontal and short, they have failed him completely and his body just pushes the drainage back out his ears. The only way to keep this from happening is to remove the tubes and then we are right back where we started. So at this point we put up with the drainage and his e-tubes should diagonalize and lengthen as he grows, but he may be one of those kids who needs tubes more than once. Oy Vey!