'My daughter's King Charles ears were actually terrifying symptom of horror health issue'

A mum thought her tot had inherited her grandad's 'King Charles ears' - until discovering it was a potentially deadly abscess after playing in the sea.

Lauren Gwinnell first noticed her daughter Elodie Roberts' right ear sticking out more than usual after returning from a family holiday in Northumberland last month.

As she claims her one-year-old showed no signs of being in pain, the mum-of-three presumed her child had begun to inherit her grandad's 'large' ears.

But when the 33-year-old noticed fluid beginning to build up behind Elodie's right ear, the supermarket worker took her to the GP to get it checked out on July 22nd.

Immediately, Elodie was transferred to Chesterfield Royal Hospital and diagnosed with mastoiditis - a serious infection that affects the mastoid bone behind the ear.

And when the infection didn't clear after two days on antibiotics, the tot was sent to Sheffield Children's Hospital to undergo surgery.

During the two-hour operation Elodie had the fluid drained from the 10 pence-sized abscess and had part of her mastoid bone shaved off.

Her daughter then spent two days having the rest of the infection drained from her ear before being discharged on July 27th.

Lauren says Elodie's mastoiditis had started as an ear infection potentially caused from playing in the sea on their holiday.

She is now raising awareness about the 'serious' infection to warn other parents as it can cause permanent hearing loss and facial paralysis if not treated quickly.

Lauren, from Chesterfield in South Yorkshire, said: "We noticed one of her ears was pushed out a little bit but we thought she just had her grandad's ears and that's how she was going to look.

"There were no signs of her being in any pain and she was fit and well in herself.

"About a week or 10 days after we noticed her ear sticking out, we noticed a bit of fluid at the back of her ear.

"When we rubbed our finger over it, it caused her a bit of distress so we took her to the GP the next day and they sent us straight to A&E.

"I was very worried and it was really scary as it was my little one and you don't ever want them to be in pain.

"It was a very speedy process [at the hospital] but I think this just raises concerns as to how serious it was.

"It's an ear infection but because the infection had no way of getting out of the ear, it travels up into the bone and causes an abscess.

"We had been to Northumberland and the only thing I can think of is when they were crabbing and had been in the sea.

"I think the ear infection may have been picked up when she was in the sea but I can't be certain.

"One ear was just protruding more than the other and sticking out more.

"Both her grandads have got quite large ears and as she'd displayed no signs of being unwell, I thought this is just how she's going to look and it was normal.

"[Her grandads' ears] are rather large and I'd say they are similar to King Charles' ears."

According to the NHS, mastoiditis is a serious infection that affects the mastoid bone behind the ear.

It's more common in children and should be diagnosed and treated quickly to stop it from causing permanent hearing loss or meningitis.

In three weeks' time, Elodie will have a check up to make sure she doesn't require any further surgery and to make sure her hearing hasn't been affected.

Lauren said: "She had an abscess in her bone so in surgery they cut it open, drained the abscess and shaved some of the bone away with a drill.

"When she had the operation, because everything is so close to the brain, there was a high chance that something could go wrong when she was under.

"It was a horrible, agonising wait but she's doing so well now. The abscess was as big as a 10p coin.

"It wasn't fatal as they caught it in time, but they did say that if we'd left it any longer we could have been looking at a very different outcome [deafness and paralysis]."

Lauren is now keen to share her daughter's experience to make other parents aware of this serious infection which she had not heard of before.

Lauren said: "She's hopefully not been left with any long-term effects, other than a scar behind her ear.

"I would say to other parents, even if your child is well in themselves, if you notice any change in their physical appearance, no matter how minor, I would get it checked out.

"Not even mother's instinct worked this time and it took me a while to work it out.

"It can happen to anybody but it's more common to children who are prone to ear infections.

"They were very confused that she showed no signs of pain. It was miraculous really."