How to Instill Ear Drops in Infants After PE Tubes

PE tubes help to open up the ear tubes in infants, allowing fluid to drain instead of building up and causing infections in the ear. To help prevent a postoperative infection, many surgeons prescribe ear drops that the patient will use for three, seven or 10 days, depending on the prescription. When you need to instill ear drops in infants after PE tubes are installed, care should be taken that the drops reach the surgical area to make sure they can do their job.

Instructions

• 1

  Wash your hands with soap and water. Dry them on a clean towel.

• 2

  Shake the ear drop bottle gently so the medication is no longer cloudy.

• 3

  Hold the ear drops bottle in your hands for a few minutes to warm them up. Using cold ear drops could cause your infant to become dizzy.

• 4

  Make your infant lie down on a flat surface with one ear facing the ceiling.

• 5

  Hold the earlobe down and back to open up the ear canal.

• 6

  Place the correct number of drops in the ear. You might need to move quickly, because ear drops tickle the inside of your infant's ear, meaning your baby will likely squirm and try to move around.

• 7

  Press down on the ear flap to keep the ear drops inside the ear canal, and keep that ear facing the ceiling for a couple of minutes. You might need to insert a cotton ball into the ear canal to help keep the drops from running out.

• 8

  Repeat the process for the other ear.

• 9

  Place the dropper back into the medicine bottle. It is not necessary to rinse or wipe off the dropper after you use it.