Christopher seemed to be having decreased hearing about 2wks ago. I called to make an appointment with his Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. The soonest they could see him is October 5th. Last week, at bedtime, I noticed he was having drainage from his left ear. I took him to see our family doctor the next day, he had an ear infection. So that is why he was having a decreased hearing.
Christopher has tubes in his ears,his third set actually, to promote the function of his eustaision tubes. This is why his ear drained so freely when infected. Children with Down syndrome tend to have problems with fluid in the middle ear, as do children with a cleft palate, which Christopher has both. Children with Down syndrome also have a decreased perceptoin of pain, and I felt bad when I realized he had probably had some pain for a while before I noticed something was wrong. He had acted grumpier than usual, but I thought it was just a phase, as all little ones go through from time to time.
He is on an antibiotic and seems to be happier. He is back to playing with Trinity, his baby sister, instead of taking all the toys from her and hoarding them for himself. (funny how that was how he acted while sick.)
One evening, Christopher has bloody saliva streaming from his mouth. We thought maybe he had bumped his mouth. Upon further investigation, we realized he had been chewing the inside of his mouth. He had the inside of his cheek open and bleeding. I was so concerned this would turn into an ugly habit and wanted to do something to prevent continued chewing.
This is how we nipped this one in the bus, well, hopefully, we nipped it in the bud. One of my older children and I took turns sitting with him as he played that evening. Everytime he would egin biting inside his mouth, we would gently squeeze his cheeks. Then we would point out his toys, and he was, in this way distracted.
We also began using his battery operated toothbrush more frequently. We are using it several times a day now, to brush his teeth, gums, inside his cheeks, and tongue. He loves it! Our thinking is, maybe he needed more stimulation in his mouth, so we wanted to provide that for him. We are also using a soft brush and brushing the outside of his mouth and cheeks. He is very ticklish, so he is having a lot of fun.
I am pleased, so far, that our work is paying off. I will try to remember to update again about his progress in this area.
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