Information on Ear Infections and What to Do

I was just going to say the exact same thing that Shanda just said. The drops worked for my son who went through the cycles of antibiotics. He didn't get better for good until I STOPPED the cycle of antibiotics. They often do as much harm as good. The drops are wonderful and have been all I have needed for both of my boys. I have even used them for myself. They are great at helping the inflammation and I swear by them!

I don't know about the tonsillectomy, I still have mine. When I had tubes put in my ears (in second grade, so about 8 yrs old) they also took out my adenoids. It was the magic maker for me. Maybe something to ask about?

T.,
Go to your local health food store and get some garlic oil and mullein oil. The mullein stops the pain cold, reduces inflammation, and the garlic oil kills any bacteria. It works so quickly, and won't produce a superbug from all the antibiotics.

An old wives remedy for ear infections. It works and clears up so there isn't any more ear infections. Take white vinegar and warm water 1:1 mixture. Then take a q-tip and get it wet with the water vinegar mixture. Rub the q-tip in the ear, but do not go into the canal just the outside of it, the water vinegar mix will drain into the ear. Do this until the ear infection is gone and then continue for a little while longer and you should never have to see an ear infection again. Also, after she gets out of the bath make sure her ears are dried. A lot of times water gets trapped into the ears when in water and that will also cause ear infections.

I have a friend whose son is a chiropractor and there is a simple jaw adjustment that can be done that realigns the ears and mouth and prevents ear infections. It takes about 2 seconds and it has solved ear infections for all the grandkids (one girl had to be adjusted twice). I would definately recommend that if all the other medication and surgery hasn't worked before. Good Luck!!

If you haven't tried eliminating dairy from her diet, that's what I would do next. Quite often kids with recurrent ear infections are allergic to dairy. Sometimes they will outgrow it and be able to have dairy when they're older. but for now I would eliminate all dairy. I know many other moms who have done this, and their kids no longer get ear infections. Good luck to you!

They removed my kids adnoids. My daughters were so big that and infected so they kept reinfecting the ears. She was three years old. My son was six months old and they did a partial adniodectomy, because he was so young. They don't usually do it until two. His was so big they kept blocking the ear canales causing the ear infections. Generally a pretty simple procedure and worth looking into.

I have a son that had ear infections constantly due to fluid remaining in his ear canals. Tubes were a life saver, he snored/night congestion so we had adnoids removed. His adnoids were huge so it was a positive. He recoverd in a day and was 100% better, not one infection since. They fall out themselves and he is just now losing them at 4 1/2 so they have stayed put for two years.

I have a daughter that had mystery virsues in her tonsils constantly as a little one, at 2 1/2 she had her adnoids and tonsils removed and has rarely been sick since and is seven. When they took her adnoids out they were HUGE and causing her a lot of sleep issues so it was a life saver for her.
They wouldn't remove my sons tonsils since they were not enlarged or infected, they are very cautious removing them if there is no need.

If your ENT suggests doing tubes, go with it, it is a very simple procedure and if it doesn't work then go to plan B, but give it a chance. If it is due to fluid, no amount of natural methods will help her. If is constant viral issues you can address options.
It really helped my son. His ear infections were not due to illness but due to fluid build up that would not relieve itself without tubes and you don't have to continue running back to a chiropracter.
Good luck. It is hard to have anything surgical done to your sweeties, but these are very common procedures and can really help her health wise.

My son had a ton of ear infections and would get them in the summer which is not as normal. We went to see an ENT at Childrens who recommended trying Nasonex nasal spray before surgery. Tubes are not always the best option and they are trying not to use them as much. Scare tissue can build up and cause more issues. Much to my surprise the spray actually worked. He got one more infection at the beginning of the treatment but has not had another one in almost 2 years. Just a warning it is a steroid but it worked great.

I would go to a chiropracter first. My husband has had 4 sets of tubs and as an adult is near the pointer of deafness. He constantly struggles with hearing and his current doctor attributes it to scar tissue. He struggled with frequent ear infections until he was an adult. After a few adjustments by a chiropracter after a car accident he has never had another ear infection. His mom wishes she'd tried that route first.

Hi T. I would say yes tubes are the better option. Much better then antibiotics. The system becomes immune and the kids are always sick and have side effects on them. My son has had tubes since he was 10 months they feel out at 2 and we put them right back in. He hasn't had any colds or any complications from the tubes. He also had his tonsils and adenoids out as well all at 10 months and i dont regret it for a minute. You need to cancel the appt. you have on Thursday and reschedule it with Children's Ear, head and neck associates. They are downtown by St. Lukes hospital. Dr. Nigel Pahley is world renown and you can google how wonderful he is. Their number is ###-###-#### and get into him right away. He is fast and wonderful and I would NEVER mess with anyone else. Good luck

T.,
I would look into some more natural causes of the ear infections. Do not get me wrong I have a regular PCP I take my kids to see but when my daughter was 11 months old and had ear infections every two weeks, as soon as antibiotic was over, it would come back. I finally talked with my best friend and she had taken her son to see a homeopathic doctor, I thought she was crazy to be honest, to have his allergies tested. She uses a much less invasive method compared to a medical test. I thought ok it is worth a shot. So I took my daughter and the formula she was on which was soy at the time but I also took a sample of regular formula.

Come to find out my daughter was Allergic or Sensative to Dairy and soy products. Due to her age she needed more than just rice milk so we used goat powder as her formula until she was old enough that we could just have her on rice milk. She had gone 5 months without an ear infection after switching her to goat milk. I panicked because things were going so well. When I took her to the doctor (medical DR.) he told me she had another ear infection, he knew that we had taken her to a homeopathic and also saw the results when we switched her diet. He was nice enough and thoughtful enough to see that she may have seasonal allergies also. We got her started on Singular granuals and 1/4 teaspoon of zertec daily and the infection cleared up.

Mainly the point is if she is being exposed to something that manifests itself in the form of an ear infection. Tubes are just going to cover it up until they come out it isn't going to solve the problem. My daughter loves cheese and it is regular cheese made with cows milk, but since she is sensative to cows milk and soy milk when children are drinking 20 - 30 oz a day like mine do then it can have dramatic effects. We also switched my son to rice milk, come to find out his sinuses cleared up at night, he breaths and sleeps better so he to was probably sensative to dairy. Neither of my kids have been sick with a common cold or an ear infection in over a year.

Do your research and don't just settle for one answer surgery is not always the way to go. No matter how small a surgery it is there is always a risk. Best of luck and there are alot of books out there on ear infections and causes. Go to the library and see for yourself what you think.

N.

Before surgery would be an option for me, I would definitely try chiropractic care 1st. It solves lots of problems. Along with making sure your child is taking Vitamin E. Also, for a normal earache, you first put peroxide in the ear to cut the germs, and then put Vitamin E liquid (pop one capsule) in the ear and leave in overnight. Reapeat process as necessary, and it should be completely better in 2-3 days.

At a health food store you can get E3 oil. Put a couple of drops in their ear and have them lie there so it will stay in. It has garlic, lobelia and some other herb. It kills the infection and soothes the pain. It works and not antibiotics.
good luck!

Have the ENT explain their ideas of why she is reinfecting so often?!?! My son's tonsils were extremely large, and they were interfering with the dropping of the eustation (sp?) tube. The hole from one ear never healed over because of them. The ear needed the hole to equalize the air pressure.

I agree that a chiropractor can help a lot too. Their bodies are growing and changing, and the alignment of the jaw and neck can have a huge impact on how the body handles all sorts of problems. I haven't had huge success with my kids, but for me they've been a life saver!

Sometimes the tonsils have pockets in them that keep food particles in them that we can't see, and they constantly reinfect. That infection can have an impact on the whole body.

Also the shape of the ear tubes makes a huge difference! Some kids just don't drain well if at all. Does she get water in them when she bathes? It may be that the water has nowhere to go and gets infected?

Once you feel comfortable with what parents and doctor think might be going on, then you can take action. Good luck! I hate to see those cute little ones in pain like that :(

I feel for you and your daughter. My son, had to have tubes put in when he was 8 months old and I have some friends whose kids have had to go through this several times. From speaking with my friends, when they had to have the tubes put back in, the also removed the adnoids as well. So ask the doctor about that.

Hi,
I am a mother of 6 children, 10 and younger. We have had a lot of experience with earaches. When my oldest was little, every time she got sick with anything we took her to the doctor and got an antibiotic. But as soon as she finished the meds she was on, it seemed like she got the same thing back again or got sick in some other way. It was a bad cycle. So, as I had more children, I decided that there has to be more options. I started studying nutrition and how that will effect the overall well being of a child. I started studying herbs and how they assist the body to become well again. And most importantly, I studied antibiotics and the effect they have on a body. What I found is that when you take just one round of antibiotics it may get rid of the infection, but it also gets rid of all the good bacteria your body needs to fight off future infections. So then you start the bad cycle of getting sick and getting better. If I were you, first of all, give her tons of yogurt. Yogurt helps to replenish the good bacteria but you have to eat it everyday for at least 30 days(just from one round of meds). Then see if you cant break the cycle on your own. Try seeing if her immune system will take care of the ear infection first and use things like ear drops. I have had good luck with garlic and mullein oil (kids ear clear oil bought at Good Earth). Also an immune booster like ecanasha drops for kids (at Good Earth also). Also heating pads to lay on or play in a hot steamy bathroom for 15 min. at a time during the earaches to get the mucus loosened up and flowing. Also, sometimes kids get earaches because they might have a food sensitivity. Milk and cheese and sugar are especially bad because they actually cause more mucus. When my kids are sick, I lay low on the dairy and give tons of fruit and veggies to help their bodies get feeling better. If after you have tried and learned about all these things, if the earaches are still there, then I would try something else. I know it can be miserable for the child, but if you can be patient for a few days (It takes my kids about 4 days) they will begin to feel better and their bodies will be stronger the next time another infection comes around.

Sorry I'm sure this is way more than you wanted to know.
Good luck! I wouldn't do the tonsil thing just yet. I had my tonsils out when I was 7 and I still get just as sick, if not more. Tonsils have and important roll in our bodies to help with infections.(one more thing to research)

S.-age 31

Chiropractic! Chiropractic! Chiropractic! Google one.

I'm not sure about tubes, luckily we never had to do that. But my oldest son was constantly getting ear infections and the Dr. sent us to have him tested for allergies and sure enough some of the stuff he was around he was allergic to.

Also at the same time my mother in law had me try colodial silver sp? in his ears and his ear infections would clear up super fast. I have used it with all my other kids and it has been a true live saver.

Back to the allergies, what was happening with him was his allergies were causing sinus problems and draining into his ears which were causing his ear infections. Between eliminating what he was allergic to and the colodial silver, he cleared up and everything was great.

Good luck!!

T.
we just went to the ENT and wow I learned alot in that one visit. I just assumed that we would get scheduled for sugery. However the surgeon wanted to follow up in three weeks because my son was on antibiotics for an infection at teh time. And he said that it takes a few weeks for the infection to clear up and know if you've really gotten rid of the first infection. Then he stated that antibiotics only help reduce the infection by 12-24 hours time and that the pediatric medical association is now stated not to treat ear infections with antibiotics as a first treatment unless the child is displaying signs of pain and discomfort and even then to try and use tylenol or motrin. Just be sure that you are comfortable with what the surgeon wants to do and that there not just jumping in to do it because there a surgeon. You are your daughters mom and know her the best!! so go with you gut!!
Hope all goes well.

Have the ENT's you've been to done a culture on the fluid in his ears when he has an infection? My son had chronic ear infections even WITH tubes when he was 1-2 years old, and finally they did a culture and prescribed something specifically for the type of infection he had. It was NOT antibiotics, it was actually some type of EYE DROPS that we put in his ears (i forgot the name of it though, but you could ask an ENT about it). He hasn't had even one ear infection since.

One of the problems with chronic ear infections is that the constant presence of fluid can erode the delicate bones in the ear that are key in our ability to hear. If these bones are allowed to erode permanent hearing loss can ensue. Discussing examining the tonsils with your ENT may not be a bad idea as the ears, nose and throat areas are all connected and infections in one area can certainly impact other areas. Also, your daughter may have eustacian tubes that are narrow and/or not adequately sloped for good drainage. One thing that may possibly help a little is if she still has a bottle or sippy, don't allow her to drink while lying down as this can lead to pooling of fluid in the eustacian tubes.

I would highly recommend a chiropractor. If they are out of alignment, their ear canals will be blocked, so fluid will pool in their ears instead of draining, causing an infection. My daughter was having mulitple infections. Her eardrum even popped twice during this time. Since she was adjusted, she has had not one single problem (that was a year ago!). It is so much better for your child than surgery or antibiotics. And, it is quick.

T.,

I just wanted to share our daughters story with you...she had numerous ear infections before she was even 10 months old. After numerous rounds of antibiotics, the doctor was ready to put tubes in her ears. My own Mother is quite a "health finatic" and asked me if she could take our daughter to a natureopathic doctor before we decided about the tubes. The diagnosis was quick and we were told that if we switched her to Goats Milk, that she should do better immediately. Her ear infections were stemming from the milk based formula we were giving her as a supplement to nursing. Although the ear infections were her only symptom, we took his advice and our daughter NEVER had another ear infection. She was able to start having regular milk again by about 5 years of age and she does absolutely fine with it. Some people think that the Goats Milk is a weird option, but it sure beats the alternative, antibiotics and tubes! Just a suggestion.

Call around and find a chiropractor that works with children. They can do adjustments for ear infections. Do some research and give it a try. What can it hurt? I thought it was odd when I heard about it the first time and didn't think it would really work until I talked to my chiropractor about it. He explained it to me and now it seems so much better than other remedies! Worth trying that first and avoid surgery if possible!

I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I had tubes put in for the second time. It cured my problems. If she's having tubes done anyway, you might as well see if the others are beneficial. You definitely don't want to do the antibiotics continuously. Incidentally, we have a little one who does get quite sick. Usually, for the second round for him, our doctor does Omnicef for two weeks. It doesn't work as quickly, but we've always been able to stop at that. I hope she gets better soon!

T., Your grandma is a very smart lady. My daughter had the same problem along with sinus infections and having her tonils out was the best thing. She had her tonsils out when she was 6 and now at 13 she has not had one ear infection or sinus infection. My niece and nephew were the same way and they are alson doing great. So do talk to your e.n.t. and see what they say. Good luck. Hope you let me know what happens with your daughter.