A Bug Bite or An Allergic Reaction? What is it?!

I cannot be the only one…actually, this time I may be close to being the only one, whose son’s ear has mysteriously swollen to two times its normal size literally overnight. One of the hardest parts of being a mom is a sick kid, the common cold that causes a red chapped nose, a stomach bug that causes a horrifying bathroom mess (if your lucky it’s only the bathroom), or a rather peculiar case of earlobe swelling, whatever the infirmity is as a mom I feel my child’s pain (with an added dose of anxiety).

The fantastic Mr. Sonny Boy rolled out bed painfully early, even earlier than the usual early rise and shine time, and started calling out to me in that pitiful something-is-wrong child’s voice.  As I walked into his room, dodging the Lego mini figure pile and the Nerf arsenal, he started telling me his professional health opinion, “I think I have an ear infection,” and my stomach dropped. Although, when he started to describe his ailment it was actually the outer lobe of his little dried apricot ear that was hurting, not the inside, and I noticed it was angry and red.  Being thankful that an ear infection wasn’t in the cards for the day, I suggested that he had possibly folded his earlobe under his head like physical origami while sleeping, and let him know it should start feeling normal once the blood has room to return to the rest of his lobe.  Then we started the normal routines that outline a school day, begging to eat faster, begging to get dressed faster, and begging to get in the car faster.

When I picked him up from school the earlobe in question had risen like bread dough and now was three times the size of his normal ear, giving him the timely look of an elf.  In the spirit of one of my life motto's, “Better safe than sorry,” a call to the overbooked doctor’s office was in order.  After an hour and a half doctors visit (which included not one, but two visits to the bathroom), an hour long stay at the pharmacy where the pharmacist needed to call and have the prescription modified, we finally made it home only an hour late for dinner.

If you are wondering what could have caused the bulging earlobe, and I am sure some of you are on the edge of your seats (okay, maybe one of you, just being realistic) the doc thinks the problem was caused by a bug bite or sting.  Sonny Boy took his medicine like the champ he is and the swelling was down significantly this morning (now only the size of baby elephant ear), but what a trip down mother’s anxiety lane I took yesterday…