A child’s ear infection can develop very quickly, sometimes within a few hours or overnight. This happens because fluid can build up in the middle ear after a cold, allergies, or even just nasal congestion. When bacteria or viruses grow in that fluid, an infection can set in fast. That’s why your child may seem fine one day but wake up the next with sudden ear pain, fever, or irritability.

If your child has these symptoms, our pediatric urgent care providers can examine their ears, confirm if it’s an infection, and recommend the right treatment to help them feel better.

Yes, we can! Ear infections are one of the most common reasons children visit pediatric urgent care, and our providers see them every day. If your child has ear pain, fever, trouble sleeping, or is tugging at their ear, our team can examine their ears to check for infection.

If your child has a bacterial ear infection, we can prescribe antibiotics to help clear it. For viral ear infections, antibiotics won’t help, but our providers will guide you on safe pain relief, fever management, and comfort measures. We can also determine if your child has fluid in the middle ear, which may not need antibiotics but should still be monitored.

Yes, our urgent care pediatrics team can safely irrigate a child’s ear if it’s needed. Ear irrigation is a simple procedure used to remove excess earwax that may be blocking your child’s ear canal that causes discomfort, difficulty hearing, or even worsens an ear infection.

Our providers will first examine your child’s ear with an otoscope to make sure irrigation is the best option. If it is, we gently flush the ear with warm water to clear out the wax. This procedure is quick and safe when done in a medical setting, and most children feel much better afterward.

Recurrent ear infections can sometimes be a sign that a child may need ear tubes. Ear tubes are small devices that help drain fluid and prevent repeated infections. Children who have multiple ear infections in a short period of time, or who have fluid that lingers in the middle ear and affects hearing, are often evaluated for this procedure.

At Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care, our providers can examine your child and treat ear infections, but we do not place  ear tubes directly. If we believe your child may need them, we recommend following up with their primary care provider, who can refer you to an ENT doctor for further evaluation.