<p>My son has been having trouble with his ear since he was in Africa this summer. He went to the pediatrician before going back to school and she gave him an antibiotic drop after cleaning the ear out. She wanted him to be rechecked up at school. It was still bothering him so he went to the health center and they flushed the ear and gave him antibiotic pills. It took him a week to even fill the prescription. He finally finished them and the ear was still bothering him and he was having discharge. They sent him off campus to an ENT. He went today. The dr said the school made the ear worse by flushing and it is a fungal infection not bacteria. He told son to go to the pharmacy and get an antifungal over the counter ear drop. S just called and after 4 pharmacies is having no luck.
S is trying Walmart as a last resort. I have told him to call the DR in the am if he can’t find what he needs.
Anyone have experience with fungal ear infections in humans?</p>
<p>Yes.
Surprised to hear that he has discharge with a fungal infection. Is it opaque and yellow/green or clear? Gross I know.<br>
Fungal ear infections can take a while to clear up. I was given a prescription ear drop and told to keep the ear dry (like no swimming, it was summer). </p>
<p>Absolutely have son call Dr office. They should help him locate what he needs.</p>
<p>Buy antifungal drops. They sell them for feet in the foot care section. Use those. My kid had this years ago, and the drops did the trick.</p>
<p>Lotrimin is the name.</p>
<p>White vinegar may give some relief while waiting for the drops. An independent pharmacy is more likely to order it for him.</p>
<p>They are on the shelf at WalMart</p>
<p>Still don’t know if he found what he needs. Are the drops specific for ears or do you use what is out there for athlete’s foot and somehow get it in the ear?
He is 6 hours away so I have not seen the discharge but S said it is colored and gross. Gross enough that his friends told him he had to go to the Dr. It also has an effect on his hearing. He is my kid who is poor at giving me information. That is what is driving me crazy. If he was in town I would have gone to the Dr with him by this point. He was told to keep the ear dry and put cotton inside when he showers.
I think later this morning I will stop by our local pharmacy and see what they have and talk with the pharmacist.
I am all for having our kids take charge of their own affairs but it is at times like this I wonder about this boy of mine!
Plus it is frustrating to have him relay info from the Dr. Not sure if the infection has always been fungal or if it has progressed to this. S swam in a river in Africa and flew the next day. After the flight he began having ear problems. This has been going on over a month. Frustrating!</p>
<p>wishing your son a quick recovery-
when older D went to costa rica- one student got such a bad infection that their ear was bleeding and they had to stay since they couldn’t fly- that I think was caused by the high humidity, but not sure if it was bacterial or fungal.</p>
<p>When D2 was young she cried so hard she threw up the liquid amoxicillin, so I ended up treating it with garlic oil. ( I bought the pills- warmed them- punctured with a needle and covered with a cotton ball to hold it in/keep air out.)
It works pretty well for her- & garlic is both an antibacterial & antifungal.</p>
<p>Sorry I wasn’t clear. Lotrimin drops are on the shelf at Walmart, in the foot care section. My D’s ENT said to drip the drops into the ear.</p>
<p>Have son call dr’s office, (or mom, you can call, and I will tell you how to try do this below so that you should not have a problem with privacy laws) and see if (1) office has samples (sometimes they have but don’t routinely give them out); (2) see if other type that is in pharmacy will work - alternative brand or double or triple action type drops; (3) if lotrimin foot drops are acceptable alternative.</p>
<p>If you call drs. office and say you are so and so’s mom and he could not find the medicine, and talk to the nurse and ask these questions, as a general matter, and not specific to so and so, most likely they will know the answer. The thing with the privacy is not to divulge information, but if you already know the whole story, they are not divulging anything. It might work.</p>
<p>He couldn’t find Lotrimin drops on the shelf. I asked my pharmacist and she said she could order them but they don’t carry it as a regular item.
Sent son back to Target and had him speak to the actual pharmacist. She looked something up and called the Dr. Not sure what he is getting but he is getting a prescription filled. He said the liquid coming out the ear is thin but what is inside the ear is like cottage cheese. Sounds disgusting. My son has a high tolerance for pain and discomfort and that he is making a effort to go to the Dr and drive around to 4 pharmacies leads me to believe it is extremely bothersome to him.
anothermom2- I need to get the name of the Dr. He went to an ENT that he was referred to by the Dr at the student health center.</p>
<p>My husband had a stubborn ear problem that went on for many months after swimming in a public pool. The ENT doctor had him gently blow dry his ear once a day. Seriously. In addition to medicine, he would dry his ear with a hair dryer after showering to keep it dry. I guess moisture adds to these problems. I think it actually helped.</p>
<p>I hope his prescription helps him, poor guy. I’d call the ENT and ask where to get the OTC items locally. They should have told him this up front.</p>
<p>The generic name for Lotrimin is Clotrimazole.</p>
<p>[Clotrimazole</a> Topical - can these drops be used in the ear, they were prescibed that way for my 8?](<a href=“http://www.drugs.com/answers/clotrimazole-topical-can-these-drops-be-used-in-82764.html]Clotrimazole”>Clotrimazole Topical - can these drops be used in the ear, they were prescibed that way for my 8?)</p>
<p>Similar situation happened to S when he was in 3rd grade (no overseas trips involoved). Ear ache with discharge, Dr diagnosed swimmer’s ear, gave us drops, ear got worse, saw different doctor who diagnosed fungal ear infection, said previous drops fed the infection and made it worse, went to ENT who flushed it out and gave us clotrimazole drops and cleared up with no issues. </p>
<p>Hope your S gets better.</p>
<p>*Sorry I wasn’t clear. Lotrimin drops are on the shelf at Walmart, in the foot care section. My D’s ENT said to drip the drops into the ear. *</p>
<p>Had similar advice. Fungal ear infections are very annoying, can be painful, and have discharge. </p>
<p>*gave us clotrimazole drops * </p>
<p>Have gotten that by Rx a time or two as well.</p>
<p>Dr told him that if he had a hard time finding the drops to ask the pharmacist. The problem was my son asked the pharmacy clerk and until today did not ask to speak to the actual pharmacist.</p>
<p>mom60, I hope your son’s ear infection goes away with the correct treatment. At least your son learned something - the pharmacists are there to help you. Your S needs to keep his ear dry to speed up the healing.</p>
<p>My D had an ear infection that got worse with the “regular” antibacterial ear drops. Turns out, the drops contained a mixture of 3 drugs, and one of them was causing some sort of an allegic reaction. Her doctor decided to try a different antibiotic without any “additives”. This happened right after the USPS anthrax scare, and the name Cipro was all over the news, so when the doctor said, “Here is some Cipro for your ear”, DD’s eyes became really large, “Do you mean I have anthrax in my ear?” :eek: LOL! Otic Cipro cleared her infection very quickly.</p>