Constant Ear Infections

I know this sounds strange, but my daughter was having ear infections and nothing helped. She was about 6 months old and we got her ears pierced and the ear infections stopped. Crazy huh. Just a thought.
Take care,
M. S.

could be just water build up on the canal. I use to have that all the time just use some children's motrin and it will work after a day or two

I will probably get crucified for this...but both my children were adjusted by my chiropractor within the first 8 hours of birth! and from then on regular within 2 weeks or so. NEITHER of them EVER have had ear problems!! they are 9 and 12 now! the neck being out of line can affect the ears!

Also at the health store they sell ear candles..these things are amazing!!! for a painless way to get wax and yeast buildup out of the ear canal! give it a try! you will be amazed at the gunk and yuk! it gets out of the ears! once the ear is free of debris she will hear better, and be healthier!

ok guys dont be to hard on me!

My daughter had constant ear infections her first year of life. (And I do mean constant, she was on antibiotics for at least 6 mos straight) Even after they put tubes in her ears at 10 mos, she still had them, just not as severe. Her ENT suggested putting her on soy milk after she turned 1 yr to help cut down on the amount of mucus that is produced. It has worked like a charm for us. She has only had a small handful of ear infections since. I automatically put my son on soy milk and he has had 3 ear infections at 35 mos old.

I don't know if this could be a solution for you. You might want to talk to your pediatrician about it, and also consider consulting an ENT about the frequency of infections!

Good luck in getting some relief for your sweet baby!

I am sorry to hear that you are going through this! I have A LOT of experience with ear infections!! My daughter is now 17 months old. She had surgery to insert tubes when she was 9 months old. We have not had an ear infection since.

She started having ear infections at 6months and they continued for 3 months straight. The fevers get really high (103-104) and the lack of sleep only makes the baby feel worse. I was also afraid that she would be doing damage to her body taking so many meds for the infections (Omniseph, Rosephen shots, Augmenton, etc.) I will tell you that the best thing that has ever happened to my daughter was her getting tubes.

As far as what is causing them, I was always told that any kind of cold or congestion was the culpret. When you have even a minor cold, the drainage would get stuck in her eustacian tubes and not drain down the throat or through her sinus cavity. Therefore, each time she started to show the slightest symptoms of a cold, an ear infection would soon follow.

Again, I cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear that the two of you are going through this. My life and my daughters life has changed for the better since tubes and we never want to remember those horrible times.

Best of luck to you both!!!

Hi Mandi,

I had the same problem with my daughter when she was that age. Hers were so bad that she had a standing prescription for Amoxil at our pharmacy.

The reason babies and toddlers get frequent ear infections is that the tube that runs from the middle ear to the throat is shorter and straighter than that of an adult. If liquid (i.e. from a sippy cup or bottle) gets trapped in the tube, it attracts bacteria, which multiply and cause the ear infection. You didn't say whether or not she still took a bottle, especially at nap time or at bedtime, but taking a bottle while lying down is usually the reason the liquid gets trapped in the tube. It would be a good idea to give her milk and juice only when she is sitting up. If she still needs a bottle at nap and bed time, give her water.

I hope this helps.

she probably needs tubes. you should ask the doctor before the 18 month checkup

Hi A.,
My son did the same thing and now he has tubes in his ears. What may be happening is the fluid is not drying up in her ears and that causes the infections to keep coming back. You need to get to an ENT especially if she has had five so far. My son got put thru the ringer with antibiotic shots in his legs and now he is terrified of anyone in scrubs.
Good luck
M.

Mandi, our daughter had the same problem... after months of being on antibiotics I demanded she got ear tubes... she got her first set around 7 months old and the second set at around 18 months old. I was told all babies have small ear canals and some have problems losing the liquid in them... therefore recurrent ear infections are prime for the course... We were very happy with the result from the tubes and have not had an ear infection since... we also gained a much happier baby!!!

Good Luck!!!

Definitley talk with your childs doctor. Dont wait until the next well baby visit, if your little one is healthy at that visit the doctor wont be able to diagnose appropriatley.

My 18 month old little girl had ongoing ear infections since 3 mos of age. Every time she got a runny nose she would get an ear infection. Everytime she would cut a tooth she would get a runny nose hence another ear infection b/c her ears did not drain properly. We were at the doctors office every month for the same thing. We tried every antibiotic you could imagine and on 2 seperate occasions went thru several rounds of different antibiotics and ended up having to go to the doctor every other day for a week to get the antibiotic injection. The shot did take care of the infection but our doctor said that she cant keep giving her the shot b/c she would build a resistance that would make treating her with oral meds useless. The other reason is b/c the shot is ALWAYS the last resort when it comes to antibiotics b/c every time it is given there is risk of serious allergic reaction.

I started researching ear tube surgery online and found that often times babies that have reoccurring ear infections have hearing loss and are not talking as early as they should be. I got really concerned b/c I already thought my little one was too quiet for her age and wasn't where she should be developmentally.

Finally, I had had enough and my doctor was over the Friday night phone calls; we opted for ear tubes. Our pediatrician reffered us to an ENT and we went in to discuss our options. The first step was a hearing test; my daughter did have significant hearing loss. The ENT said that b/c she had so much fluid in her ears that everything sounds like it does when underwater, she told me that sometimes the hearing comes back and sometimes it doesn't. She also told me that my daughter may need speech therapy when older. We did the surgery and another hearing test and her hearing is now perfect. The surgery is very common and extremely quick. After surgery was over the doctor told me that her ears were so full of fluid that she was surprised that she wasn't in a massive amount of pain prior to surgery. Because she went into surgery with an ear infection it continued after the tubes were in place. The good news is that once it cleared up it never came back! We did the surgery at 12 mos old and now I cannot keep her quiet. It's like I have a different child, she has completely come out of her shell.

You know your baby best don't wait for your doctor to recommend it by then your little one could suffer hearing loss and not develop normally. Ask your doc to recommend an ENT and talk it over with them.

My son had tubes twice (at 5 mos. and again at about 14). He basically would get an infection and then the fluid in the ears just would not drain even after the antibiotic did their thing, and they would just re-infect a week or so off the antibiotic. We were told it had to do with the anatomy of the ear canal and that he'd likely outgrow it at around age two. He's four now and hasn't had tubes for a couple of years and still gets infections a few times a year, but they clear up and the fluid drains. I'd definitely talk about it with the doctor but I would imagine that as long as her ears drain between infections, you might be able to ride it out and see what happens when she gets just a little older. I don't think frequent ear infections are uncommon at that age. As for preventing them, I just don't know. My son seems to get them with his colds. I always remember being told not to let them drink lying down. Other than that... a mystery. Good luck.

Your baby's ear canal is still in the developmental stage, so probably won't have the problems you mentioned you have. However, ear infections is a common feature of kids who have normal interaction with kids, and go to daycares, and not due to any one thing.

My son is 2 years old, and when we recently moved to Georgia, he had a total of 3-4 ear infectons in the last 3 months, soon after he joined daycare. He recently had ear tubes put in (which is a common things alot of kids now are getting). It falls out in 6months ot a year by itself.

He is better than before, but yesterday again showed signs of having an ear infection.

Just out of curiosity; do you go to Longstreet? They are really bad about not paying attention to how many ear infections a child has had. With as many ear infections that your daughter had they really should be considering tubes. Call her doctor and point out how many she had and see if they think tubes would help. Good luck!

If you give your child the bottle laying down at night that will cause many ear infections.

have you thought about taking her to a chiorpractor? a friend of mine's son had major ear infections and she took him to a chiorpractor and had him adjusted, and he hasnt had trouble since , she takes him every couple of weeks or so. Look into one that is experianced in ped, and he/she could help tremdously.

Hello A. and Ladies,
Yogurt helps with ear infections. Here is the link to a website to check out the scientific research on the benefits of yogurt for our lil ones and toddlers alike. Check it out:

Why Else Choose Yogurt?

The power of yogurt in the fight against infections is solidly established.
The Cochrane DARE (Database of Reviews of Effects) in their July 2003 review and analysis of 9 randomized, double-blind, controlled studies of probiotics, either as food or supplements, concluded that these beneficial bacteria included in yogurt are effective at preventing diarrhea associated with antibiotic use. I recommend for most healthy children that whenever they take antibiotics they also take probiotics to replenish the gut flora and to safely prevent side effects.

A new approach to otitis media. Many studies demonstrate the power of yogurt to prevent and treat gastrointestinal infections, including those caused by rotavirus, salmonella, shigella, and E. coli. But these anti-infective benefits extend beyond the GI tract. A study of 571 children published in JAMA. (Sep 20, 2000) demonstrated a significant reduction in sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia in the children taking Lactobacillus. Giving children food that contains Lactobacillus appears to decrease the rate and severity of respiratory infections of kids in daycare, according to a study in the June 2, 2001 issue of the British Medical Journal. Healthy children between the ages of 1 and 6 who attended daycare were randomly assigned to receive a regular diet or the same diet with added Lactobacillus in the food over the 7 months of the study. The study was carried out in 18 different daycares. Those who got the Lactobacillus milk missed daycare due to illness 11% fewer times. They had 17% fewer complicated respiratory illnesses, and needed 19% fewer courses of antibiotics. Could something similar work in the ears? Researchers in Sweden selected a group of 108 ear-infection prone children, and gave half of them a nasal spray containing a live culture of beneficial bacteria. The others received a placebo nasal spray. Each received two 10-day courses. The results were published in the January 27, 2001 British Medical Journal: at the end of 3 months nearly twice as many of the bacteria group were healthy and otitis free."
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=det...

And I also second the motion on visiting a chiropractor.
Hope that things gets better.
S.

My daughter has been getting ear infections too. She got 2 really bad ones recently and it spread to her eyes and made them all crusty. The doctor said it might be from having a damp head when I put her down to sleep after a bath? (shes got a TON of wax in her ear too) or I heard it might be from the bottle at night and the position of her head while she is sucking. She's coming off the bottle now. Don't know your routine...Also after we go to the pool I will very gently wipe the outside of her ears with a Qtip.

Hi A.. When my son (now 10) was Rori's age he too had lots of ear infections and was in daycare. His pediatrician kept giving him antibiotics. I took him to an ENT and he needed tubes in his ears, but also, his adenoids and tonsils were taken out because they were HUGE according to the doctor and contributed to the ear infections. After the surgery, he had a few more ear infections, and then they stopped. I now have a 20 month old daughter and a 5 month old son. My daughter has had only two ear infections. I think it has to do with me staying home and her not in daycare. But that is just my opinion.

I would call my doctor now and ask that question. Normally they tell you to come in to check her out but really thats what's best and it's always better to find out sooner than later so they don't have to suffer.

Hi Mandi, my daughter had bad ear infections I finally talked her Ped into referring us to a ENT. Turns out my daughter was part deaf in 1 ear, she had to have tubes put in both ears & had to have her adnodes removed. She is doing great now. The tubes r gone, her hearing has improved greatly & no more ear infections. My daughter went to see Dr. Vickory who is an ENT on Belair Rd. He is great with kids. Hope things work out.

Has your doctor suggested a single dose Rocephin injection? My cousin's son stayed 5 days a week in daycare and had dozens of infections. They even had ear tubes put in. Nothing worked until they tried the antibiotic injection and with great success. He has not had one infection since and it has been about 3 years. Also I was wondering if she still drinks from a bottle or if reclines when drinking from a sippy cup. Sometimes if they lay back too far while drinking it will wash back into their ears. Good luck to you.

K.