I have had maybe 2 ear infections in my entire life, so I am sort of clueless here.

We've been getting laminate flooring installed all week and the dust has been unbearable for me. Set my asthma off Tuesday night, so I was wearing one of those *hospital* masks to try and clean some of the dust up yesterday. I've been coughing a lot this week.

Then this morning, out of the blue, my right ear starts hurting. It came on suddenly and it hurts to even listen on the phone out of that ear and it pops when I swallow. Now the gland in my neck hurts on that side, my throat is starting to hurt and I feel just plain cruddy and maybe feverish, with a little chills.

Is that possibly an ear infection???? And if so, do they come on that suddenly?? And....if there are any medical people onboard, would a Z-Pack or Ceclor work on it? I have those 2 meds at home. The only thing is I'm allergic to penicillin, and I read online that some people with penicillin allergies can't take Ceclor.

Help!!

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 06:03 pm:

Yes, they can come on that suddenly when your immune system gets overloaded. If you have medical allergies, for heaven's sake get to your doctor, Karen. It is a lot cheaper than a middle of the night ER trip, and less frustrating.

By Wandilu on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 06:49 pm:

Yes,I agree with Ginny.I'm sure it's from the dust allergy,and it can get worse.You also need to get you a saline solution nose spray to clean your nasal passage out.It's not like Afrin nose spray,or any medicinal brand.It's a salt water solution,and some have aloe in it for pain(because your nasal passage is probably inflamed).And,in some cases,this can help your ear.With my crazy allergies,I have to do this alot.

By My3cuties on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 07:05 pm:

My ear started hurting one day and lasted a whole day before I couldn't take it anymore and I put a sleeping pad in my pillow that night and woke up and it was gone...I was soooo happy. Sorry you are goingt hrought his I know it hurts.

By Eve on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 07:36 pm:

I'm allergic to dust and the saline nose spray is wonderful! I used to always use Flonase and tried just plain saline recently and it worked like a charm! I would give that a shot and then try the Z-pack. ((HUG))

You can also try a warm compress. Melanie's trick of putting a little olive oil in a dropper and warming it with your hands and putting a little drop in the ear works like a charm for Syd, maybe it would help too?

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 07:44 pm:

OK.... Flonase, I used to use that, gives me nose bleeds. I am going to try some saline solution. I may try Melanie's olive oil trick for the ear.

I did just get off the phone with a close friend who is a nurse practitioner and teaches at Charity School of Nursing. In her capacity, she can write Rx's for *non-controlled* meds, so I figured she would know something. We went over my allergies, and she said that based on the penicillin reaction (hives, rash) I COULD take the Ceclor. I took one, and stayed on the phone with her for an hour. So far, so good. She's going to check on me later on. She knows DH is out of town and she's going to keep tabs on me. LOL

I sort of figured I'd end up with some sort of respiratory infection from all of this, just didn't figure in an earache. She told me if it got too bad she would call in some drops for the ear pain.

So, thanks for all the replies. I was surprised to catch my friend at home, but thankfully I did.

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 08:24 pm:

Ginny, the reason I didn't try to see a doctor today is I have missed two days of work this week for the floor installation and have a doctor's appointment next Wed., which will probably make me miss half a day. Also, there was no one else in my office today. I know, bad excuses, but true. I guess if I hadn't had some meds on-hand, I would have risked angering my boss and gone anyway, but I think the meds I have will work. My boss is less understanding as time goes on, because I have so many doctor's appointments as it is.

By Tunnia on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 09:07 pm:

I hope your ear is feeling better soon, Karen!

By Feona on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 08:34 am:

Sounds horrible. One of the reasons I stopped doing rip outs on the house. Can't stand the dust. It is horrible. Is the ear and nose connected in some way? It must be...

Hire someone to clean that dust. You can't do it yourself. A merry maid or something.

When we sanded the floors I was astonished by the dust. It was scary.

By Eve on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 08:52 am:

How are you feeling today, Karen?

By Karen~moderator on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 12:34 pm:

Well, I'm at work, I woke up @ 2 AM, could not sleep, fell back asleep around 5:30, got up late for work, and here I am......Feeling *not-so-great*. I gave up on the Ceclor - it tore my stomach up. Going to give the Z-Pack a try. Hopefully it will help. I have to go for Xrays and an MRI in the morning, first thing, so I *have* to feel better.......

Thanks for asking.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 11:03 pm:

Yikes. Hope you are feeling better soon! Don't you have an after-hours walk-in clinic near you? Then you could go after work. My clinic is open until 7:30pm, and Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.

By Feona on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 08:04 am:

Oh your doctor is being very careful. I thought it was just an infection.

I wonder if you are having a chemical sensitivity reaction. I don't know if those floors use smelly glue. I wonder if you can open the windows or stay with a friend until the floors outgass. They definitely have to outgass alittle - any new thing does.


We got new carpets in one apartment. They made me sick untill they outgassed. I actually wouldn't have wall to wall carpets again unless I can live away from the house while they outgass.

Hope you feel better fast.

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 08:12 am:

No glue, it's a *floating* floor. I *think* the ZPack is helping.

Right now I'm more concerned with this storm, they are talking about ordering an evacuation here. I have to be 30 minutes away in just a litte bit for my tests, then head out for water, etc. and figure out where we are going *if* we have to leave.

I think I'm feeling a bit better, thanks!

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 10:30 am:

Good luck with the tests and the storm!