Should I take my four-year-old to the pediatrician for an ear infection?

[Tyler78]

My 4-year-old has been complaining that his ear hurts for two days now, and he’s been tugging at it a lot. I’m trying to figure out if this is just something that will pass or if I should call the pediatrician for a possible ear infection.

[JonathanJ]

Two days of ear tugging around here and it worried me too. We gave age appropriate pain relief and watched his fever, drinking, and sleep. When the pain spiked at night, we called the pediatrician and ended up getting checked the next day.

[Benjamin_W]

From friends’ stories, if this sticks around beyond 48 hours or he won’t drink, that’s a good moment to call the pediatrician. It can be hard to tell what’s going on with a small kid, and it isn’t always obvious.

[BrandonAM]

I’ve also chased other ideas like allergies or a sore throat for days before it was clear what was going on. We tried a humidifier and saline spray, which helped the congestion but didn’t cure the pain.

[OliverC]

Have you noticed fever, drainage from the ear, or trouble sleeping? If any of that shows up, I’d reach out to the pediatrician sooner rather than later.