Query about ears sticking out

[Guest guest]

Hi,

We are trying the ear buddies out on the right anterior floppy ear.

We'll ignore the left ear since it is so mild. At first pulled

on the splint. He then had a successful night in the splint. The

helmet may help a little bit with keeping it on. Unfortunately, the

split fell out sometime during the day when was with his nanny.

Last night we put our second and last splint in and it stayed in all

night. This time there wasn't much ear pulling. We've ordered another

set of the splints since our last splint will probably end up lost

soon. We figure it will take several months for much noticeable

results. If we last that long and it works, we'll post to the group.

At least the ear is fairly mild, so I won't be too upset as long as it

doesn't get any worse. Maybe the splint will at least stop that from

happening.

-Kathy, mom to 16.5 months

Thad Launderville wrote:

On Oct 14, 2009, at 12:06 AM, Kathy Jensen wrote:

> Both of his ears stick out, but only the right has the floppy ear.

Yeah, both of my daughter's ears stick out more than most kids. And

her identical sister's, too. It seems like Ear Buddies flattens the

whole ear down, so it's unclear whether the actual defect would be

corrected prior to the onset of an asymmetrical, and to me,

undesirable, cosmetic effect.

But it's got me thinking:

Maybe a little Liquid Skin adhesive (Dollar Tree, my medical supply

store) on the *back* of the ear could bend a new fold... with

some kind of mat material inserted to bridge the crease and maintain

circulation. Tape would only have to last a couple hours, by then it

should be set. I think there's enough elasticity in the ear skin to

avoid constricting growth along the rim. That glue is supposed to

biodegrade, and I hear it doesn't stick as well as regular super-glue

anyway, so what's the risk in trying?

--

Thad

[Guest guest]

With regard to the issue of ears sticking out, I (and the other moderators of

the plagio board) do not condone anyone glueing their child's ears down. I

personally would never try such a thing, and we would encourage everyone to use

their own common sense AND consult a doctor before doing something like that.

First of all, you would have to keep them glued for many many months for

anything to stay long term (if at all), and how does anyone know what the long

term effects of glue on the skin are? Second of all, you're already doing as

much as you can by using the band. If it doesn't fix the ears then, sadly, the

ears can't be fixed. And thirdly, there is a surgical procedure to correct ears

that stick out, that I seriously believe would be less damaging than glue, if it

ever became a self esteem issue down the road.

At some point you just have to accept the ears and give your child lots of love.

I think that's the best you can do.

Jake-3 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

>

> > We've ordered another set of the splints since our last splint will

> > probably end up lost soon. We figure it will take several months

> > for much noticeable results. If we last that long and it works,

> > we'll post to the group.

>