Ruptured eardrum?

[longtallsally05]

When I went to get DS out of his crib this morning, there was a reddish/purplish dried, spot about 2-3 inches in diameter on the sheet. It had soaked all the way through to the mattress protector too. I thought that it was a leaky diaper accident, but DS only had a wet diaper, no poop, and his sleeper was fine. Could that have been a ruptured eardrum? I haven't detected a fever or ear-pulling, and DS hasn't been particularly congested or runny nosed. I'm kind of worried b/c we are leaving on vacation tomorrow, by plane, naturally. We won't be back home for a month, so we can't go see the pediatrician. I can't think of what else that spot of dried fluid could have been; it only occurred to me just now. Thank goodness we skipped swim lesssons today. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

[Tondi G]

Is there any thing crusty around your kiddos ears? When my DS's ruptured there was some more yellow-ish crusty drainage in/around their ears. Was/Is your kiddo having any sleep issues. Typically for us that was a major sign of ear trouble.

Could you call the ped first thing in the morning and ask them to squeeze you in since you are getting on a plane. If the ear drum is ruptured they usually give you ear drops and then want to see them around 2 weeks later to check and make sure it's healed.

[chlobo]

My DS had ear wax like that once. He had so much that it leaked out of his ear & onto a sheet. But the spot wasn't that large. I would definitely call the ped.

[daisymommy]

Nose bleed from the dry air due to air conditioning? I would look up his nose with a flashlight and see if there is any dried blood.

[wendibird22]

Cutting a tooth? When DD1 would have a tooth erupt there was sometimes a slightly blood tinged droop in her crib.

[Lolabee]

It couldn't hurt to check with your Pediatrician to see if she wants you to bring in your baby to take a look. That being said, I recently had a ruptured eardrum a few months ago and the pain was so excruciating I could hardly even function. I would expect a baby would be pretty miserable if he had the same condition.

Good luck, and let us know what your ped had to say!

[MMEand1]

My DS had a ruptured ear drum and he was in horrible pain. The "leakage" was a nasty green/yellow, not so much blood colored. I would probably check with the ped just to clear up any doubts.

[Jen841]

You know if the ear drum ruptures. Your child CRIES with pain (all night in our case). Been there, done that 3X (that is another story - medical reason for the ruptures!)

The discharge is not like you described. It is not red/purple.

We are ear discharge experts sadly, I don't think you have an ear issue.

[longtallsally05]

As it turned out, it was earwax. The pediatrician squeezed us in for a quick check prior to our flight. Both eardrums were fine, but he had a gob of earwax in one ear. The ped said that when it's hot the earwas can sometimes just melt & drain. Eww...but what a relief!