Ear Infections - Monroe,WA

Food allergies are never tested for, by MDs and should be. You get rid of the offending food, and VOILA! like magic the ear infections go away. My nephew had 2 years of ear infections before he was diagnosed with allergy to egg whites, soy and milk!

I had earaches my whole life and the one day a chiropractor friend recommended I go to another chiropractor for an adjustment of the estachean tubes. It was amazing, my earache I had my entire life was dramatically improved! He said the tubes are probably too narrow and drain properly. My baby boy has already had 1 ear infection at 2 months and he is strictly breastfed, so we will be taking him in too.

We've used homeopathy and Cranial Sacral Therapy when my kids had bad ear infections.

We've also used warm garlic oil and warm breast milk (separately) at the onset of an ear infection.

We've had success with all of there alternative treatments and no antibiotics.

Chiropractic! I just answered the (non-local) question about it just below yours and there are many posts on here about ear infections, many of the same responses. I have seen it help my child and many children with ear infections over the past 15 years.

our daughter was getting ear infections one after the other, she is also 2 years old. we started cutting back on her cows milk and adding soy and other dairy products to replace the milk, she has not had an ear infection since. i do also believe that genectics do play a role, i also had a lot of ear infections.

good luck!

Probiotics are huge in boosting everyone’s immune systems. You can look for foods that are high in probiotics, like yogurt, but I suggest taking supplemental probiotics. I have found that the Florify brand of probiotics is great and VERY affordable.
We combine probiotics with our multi-vitamins and regular chiropractic care.

Also, I am a BIG proponent of chiropractic adjustments for everyone, including infants. My two daughters have NEVER been treated for ear infections and I think it's because we see the chiropractor regularly and take our vitamins and probiotics. If you go this route, be sure that you see a pediatric specialty chiropractor for your son…there are chiropractors that will adjust infants and children without specialized training and it may not be a good experience.

I would definitely give some probiotics to buffer against the antibiotics. You can get it powdered and put it on her cereal. Also, I use Garlic Mullein Oil drops in the ear as treatment and preventative. Its a natural antibiotic. Works wonders.

Middle ear infections (Otitis media) are almost always a result of the Eustachian Tube not draining. In children, the ET is short and horizontal...as you mature it elongates and becomes more vertical. This "defect" is more pronounced in some children than others. When a child has a bout with a cold or allergies, the normal secretions thicken and sit rather than drain. This moist, warm environment is what causes the infection.

My daughter just had her second set of tubes "installed" right before her third birthday (the first set was just before her first birthday). I exclusively breastfed for 9 months and continued to nurse until 18 months...boy did I feel screwed (lol) when the ear infections flared up at 6 months! I didn't have many ear infections, but my Mom (still does), both my brothers had at least one set of tubes, and her half-siblings had them.

I was resistant to the ear tube surgery the first time around and tried all alternative methods--chiropractic, oregano oil (she did smell like yummy Italian food), garlic oil, benadryl. Nothing really worked. She had ear infection after ear infection for nearly 6 months--we would finish a course of antibiotics only to have another to flare up within 2-3 weeks. I was lucky to work for such a great company, because one month I only managed to work two week--she was either puking from the ear infection or had explosive diarrhea from the antibiotics (she ate GOOD yogurt and got acidophilus every day).

In hindsight, I realize that the other "oils" COULDN'T work. In a healthy ear, the ear drum seals the inner ear from outside contamination. I realized this after the first tube surgery...after the tubes are in place, you can treat ear infections with ear drops instead of oral antibiotics because they can get into the ear. Yes, they can still get ear infections after the tubes. The upside is that it is less painful, many clear up on their own, and it can be easy (if a little gross) to see the drainage coming out of their ears.

After she got her first set, I had a lot of success avoiding antibiotics using Mucinex when she would get a cold to thin the mucus.

When she turned a year and I introduced milk, I rotated through cow, goat, and soy milk. As much to introduce her to new flavors as to avoid too much of one thing.

The "usual" rule of thumb is that 3 infections in 6 months is a referral to an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist. The ENT may evaluate for a another couple of months, try some new therapies, or recommend surgery based on the history.

The second time around, I knew the surgery was the way to keep my daughter healthy and happy. It isn't ever something that we want to do...but a sick kid doesn't thrive. My daughter stopped cruising around, stopped verbal development, and had trouble sleeping during those six months.

You should ask your doctor if a dosage of Mucinex would be appropriate. Start using it as soon as you see the sniffle develop, reduce the dairy in her diet, and get plenty of clear fluids in her. It may help keep the mucus thin enough to keep it moving.

I have used some homeopathic expectorants with some success...but the Mucinex is, by far, the more effective option.

This is what worked for my family, we all got to the chiropractor once a month and get checked, sometimes my 2 year old needs it other times not, but they can tell when the ears aren't draining, NOT abbrasive at all, we have had one infection and that when we started to take her and it worked for us ( others don;t believe) we also use ear drops from health food store called Willow and Garlic ear oil, it's a dream come true for us, we do it at least once a month to stay on top of it, cuz once u get one they say you'll keep getting them. I won't use antibiotics on my 2 yr old if you can find something natural and it works for your family there is no need for more toxins in your childrens bodys. Good luck

There's lots of homeopathic options. I've heard good things from friends who've tried garlic but I haven't tried it personally. Heat packs can also help quite a bit.

By the way, congrats on breastfeeding so long! It's definately work, but so worth it! Imagine how many more she might have and how much harder it would be to comfort her if you weren't. Talk about work! Congrats and good luck with the garlic!

First of all, antibiotics don't work on ear infections, our doc treated our son with the ear drops & diet & it worked well...I'd highly recommend her, she's at Portland Family Homeopathy http://www.portlandfamilyhomeopathy.com/index.html

Mullein Flower Oil...absolute SURE CURE no wives tale. Jem

The ear drops worked for my older son along with cutting dairy when he had a cold

Hello C.,

Have you ever considered alternative medicine? I am specifically thinking of Homeopathic Medicine. It does not have side effects. I am sure Natural Food Stores carry some generic homeopathic medications. Please research, hopefully you'll find something helpful

We just went through this with my daughter. She had five ear infections (yes five rounds of antiobiotics) in three months. She just got tubes on Monday and still had fluid in both ears as of then!

My ped told me ear infections are a result of possibly three things: Going to bed with a bottle or sippie every night so the juice/milk goes into the ear, Having someone smoke around the child or genetics. Since we do not let people smoke around our daughter and she does not go to bed with a bottle or cup, we chalked it up to genetics as my husband and I both had lots of problems when we were young.

The ENT's around here will not consider tubes until she has 5 or more infections in a period of 6-12 months.

I would not keep taking her to your ped. Find an ENT and take her there. Have them keep track because otherwise if she keeps getting them you will continue to have to get her appts with the ped and eventually with an ENT anyways.

Good luck!

You might try seeing a naturopath and explore the possiblity of allergies. So many young children have early allergies to wheat and dairy (which may clear up later in life) and there is a huge connection between early ear infections and allergies in kids. A great naturopath in Spokane is Dr. Michael Whitney on the north side. He's been a tremendous addition to our family's health (in addition to our regular pediatrician) and I've recommended him to several people who have struggled with health issues for their children. Good luck. And please, don't be put off by the "naturopath" label -- just find a good one:-)

I think its gentic both of my boys had tubes because of it. Keep her ears covered with a hood to keep the wind out of them. even when its warm. make sure not to get water in them. other than that its just mother natures decision as far as I know. make sure the doc is putting her on a decongestant when she does her antibiotics otherwise it goes back and forth nose to ears ears to nose etc. My youngest sons doc didn't do that but my oldest sons doc did. his results were better and quicker than the doc that did my youngest. but hes no longer in practice in this area and man do i wish he was.

I've heard lymphatic massage can help things drain, never tried it myself though.

Taking my daughter off cow's milk products seemed to reduce the number of ear infections she had as a toddler, but she still had problems with congestion and infections. And she was allergic to penicillin which made treating her infections more problematic.

It turned out she had huge adenoids (had her checked out because of mild speech delays and told she was speaking "hypo-nasally" and referred to ENT for an eval).

Once she had her adenoids removed and ear tubes put in no more ear infections. And her speech really took off. Oh and she was breastfed until age 3.

Have you tried probiotics? I have a great one.

http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...

and this baby vitamin power has prebiotics

http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...

do some googling about probiotics and prebiotics see what you get.

When my kids were little, I asked about ear infections because I didn;t really know anyone with lots of ear infections. I was told that your chance of ear infections can be genetic--though not definite. If the parent had lots of ear infections there is an 80% chance the child will have ear infections. My mother told me I had never had an ear infection and I think that has a lot to do with my kids never having any. There is a 50 50 chance of the child having the same severity the parent had. The birhgt side is you say your daughter never had any anitbiotics until after a year. I was told that if a child has almost no infections before a year, a good chance of having just a few later in life. I don;t know how much that has changed since 2001 but I think it would still fall somewhere along those lines. A friend of mine has a little sister that kept getting ear infections. Her mother started getting really extreme when it got windy out. It would be 60 degrees and she would be wearing earmuffs--or later headphones with no radio, to keep out any wind. I think she said it did help.

I agree with the decongestant suggestion. My son had 4 ear infections last year...one right after the other, alternating ears and they cleared up completely each time. Once he started taking zyrtec (takes 5 mg at bed each night) he hasn't had another one!

I am so sorry. My daughter had pneumonia twice as an infant, as well as RSV and all sorts of other stuff.

I have used a few drops of vinegar in my ears when they get to hurting a little. My son will sometimes wake with ear pain, and I put a few drops in his ears and he's fine the next day. Many ear infections are not bacterial, and antibiotics won't help them heal. Vinegar is a natural anti-viral and anti-fungal, and I put a few drops in, let them sit for five seconds or so (it doesn't feel good), and then let them drain out. I've never had to treat myself or my kids for more than two nights in a row.

I know they use vinegar in the ears of certain breeds of dogs that typically have ear issues, so it isn't just me (or my extended family) that does this. Do not use alcohol, for it can be absorbed through the skin.

Good luck finding out what's going on. I hope the other responses are helpful to you!

There are tubes in your ears that have to drain and in children they are more horizontal so they don't drain as well. When we grow up they get longer and more vertical and begin to drain better. This is what the Doc told us at one point.

Ear infections come about for a variety of reasons, the anatomy of the ear, the close proximity of the eustachian tube to the throat and nasal passages (yes they're all connected)... Practicing good health habits is the right thing to do, obsessing over them, balance. 3 ear infections by the time she's 21 months isn't obsessive. Antibiotics aren't a bad thing, they're a good thing to help get her well.

Laying down and drinking, either nursing or from a bottle may cause some problems. May being the operative word. I had my kids sucking from a straw to help clear their ears. As someone who still gets ear infections as an adult, straws do help clear the pressure and the infection. You might want to talk to your pediatrician or ENT doc about antibiotic drops rather than an oral antibiotic, see if it's an appropriate course of treatment. I have drops that work wonders.

Some kids are just prone to ear infections. My middle child had more than the oldest and youngest, but they all had some. I was a nursing Mom and they did not go to day care or preschool, my husband was Mr. Mom during the day, as he worked evenings and we traded our kids at work. Ear infections stopped by the time they were 5 yrs old.

Take good care!

I'm someone who had SO many ear infections as a kid. They even continued into my adulthood. Every cold that I ever got included an ear infection. What FINALLY made them stop was to stop eating dairy. I was phlegmy all the time, and some people have smaller eustachian tubes (the tubes that help drain the ear into the back of the throat) that can get clogged easier than others. Even if you don't want to discontinue dairy all the time (though I recommend it because she won't get sick as often) you can discontinue dairy during a cold and see if that's enough to prevent the ear infections.

Best of luck! :)

Garlic drops work and so does garlic in the food you eat every day.
Even garlic capsules help.

I had many ear infections as a child but no tubes were put in. My parents were horrified at the idea and guess what. Everything turned out okay once they took out my tonsils and got rid of the wall to wall carpeting.