Ear infections are one of the most common ailments that affect young children. As WebMD shares, recent research suggests over 60 percent of young children's colds result in an ear infection. And since babies can't tell us what's wrong, ear infections are particularly worrisome when you're the parent of an infant. To help you spot an ear infection in your little one, we looked to both experienced moms and medical experts for this roundup of seven key signs of ear infections in babies.
Fry up an onion! That's what Amy Poehler's pediatrician told her to do when her son, Archie, 2, fell ill with an ear infection on New Year's Eve. The funny woman who is also mom to 5-month-old Abel, told Jay Leno about the home remedy last night. She said:
He woke up so we called the pediatrician and she told us an amazing thing. If his ear is hurting, fry up some onions in some olive oil and put it in a sock and hold it up to his ear and it will make his ear feel better. The warmth of the sock and the poultice and antioxidants in the onions — and it worked!
What type of home remedies do you use on your child?
Do moms ever have downtime — even when they are sick? That's what a pregnant colleague wondered when her son recently came down with an ear infection and a nasty case of pink eye. She rented him movies, set up art projects, and occupied her tot to keep him happy. At the same time, she was diligent about keeping her hands washed, the toys sanitized, and the pillowcases clean.
After a night of trying to comfort the preschooler to sleep, she woke up with crusty eyes and realized that the pesky germs must have passed through his falling tears. Instead of staying in bed and watching Lifetime movies all day like she wanted to, her "sick day" consisted of entertaining her on-the-mend son and having to ignore her own condition.
