Ear Infections

Has any physician recommended ear tubes? My daughter also had cronic ear infections and at the age of 20 months, we had ear tubes put in; The best thing we ever did---she never had another ear infection; started sleeping through the night and her speach improved!

When the ear infections aren't horrible, I usually try treating them with the Similisan Ear Ache Relief drops. Often times, it helps and the infection clears up on its own. If the infection is pretty bad, I always go the route of the antibiotics, though.

My sister goes the homeopathic route with a lot of issues. She suggests cutting an onion in half, heating it up, wrapping it in a hand towel, and then applying (flat side down) against the infected ear. It's supposed to help draw the infection out.

We started using Garlic Mullin oil (found at a Health Food Store) and my son's ear infections stopped immediately. We also get adjusted regularly by a chiropractor :) I believe you really can treat ear infections homeopathically, without antibiotics.

Ear infections are so scary. I would have your doctor put in her file to never give her Omincef again - there is other things. Omincef did the same thing to my little girl. After almost 2 years of having ear infection after ear infection, she got tubes because the ENT told us she wasn't hearing correctly. It is amazing now how much better her speech is with them and we have been ear infection free for a year!!

My son had an ear infection for 6 months straight - the ped wanted us to see a specialist for tubes. However, we spoke to a nurse practictioner (family friend) that recommened "taking 2 weeks off the meds". We did and cleared up his infection completely. Hasn't had another one in the past 6 months :)

Don't know about the ear drops, but taking a break might be worth a try :)

Also, we were told that if you can help alleviate the cold and/or it's symptoms the ear problems usually subside too - the two are related.

Good luck!
~A.

My son is 11 months old, at 10 months he got tubes put in his ears for the same reason. I was scared about it, but he is a different child now (and he handled surgery better than me!) He had a thick fluid build up and lots of pressure with it, he was a happier baby by the end of the day of surgery. We have a great ENT at Emory in Atlanta. I tried all the other things. My ENT said that the ear infection is from the fluid in the ears and just because it is treated with an antibiotic, doesn't mean the fluid leaves the ear.....it just get rid of the infection.....but then, it can become infected again, thus the continued re-medicating. With my other children, when they complain of an earache we use Wally's Ear Drops, they have pure fresh garlic oil, along with other things that help sooth and rid of possible oncoming infection.

Hi M.,

You need to be careful quitting antibiotics. They work for bacterial infections and if you quit before you are done with the complete dose, you may make the microbe become resistant to that antibiotic. If ear infection is caused by a virus, then the antibiotics probably wont work and your daughter will get better without them. I hated putting my babies on them too but one of my childhood friends was deaf in one ear due to a childhood ear infection so I kept them on. I didnt want that result either for my children. Yogurt helps some with the digestive side effects and a strong coating of diaper cream.

Yes it comes to a point that medication that much in a year to too much....get a referral if your insurance company requires on and go to an ENT for children, if your insurance co doesn't require a referral from your doctors office then make an appointment your self and take her ASAP. I am telling you from experience my son spent the first 1 1/2 yrs of his life on medication for ear infections and I'm so sorry I changed doctors at the end because my doctor wouldn't listen to me and did the blame game...not worth it some child are prone to ear infections. Some children need ear tubes period. I waited finally got a doctor to give me a referral since I had to have one our other doctor wouldn't give me one so I moved on the new doctor did give me a referral and I went to an ENT for kids he was great and he said "ma'am your child cannot hear and hasn't been able to what he hears is you talking but it sounds like he's under water". They scheduled him for surgery the next day...he's been able to hear but not without developmental delay he was behind because I waited so long he was 18 months old before he could he what I was really saying. So the lesson here is you are your child's advocate you have a feeling this isn't right go with it in your gut...it isn't then do something about it doesn't matter how nice the other doctor is or his staff he's human he makes mistakes, ear tubes aren't bad they help and if I wouldn't of put so much trust into one person and trusted myself sooner my son would of had tubes sooner and we wouldn't of went through years of speech, and O.T. and special needs classes...save yourself and your child it's a doctors visit go to the ENT. My best wishes and prayers to you and your daughter.

I guess it would depend on whether the infections are causing her pain, for one thing. My son (now 5) went through NUMEROUS ear infections and two sets of tubes in his first two years. The fluid just would never drain out of his ears. I felt we had no option but to agressively treat because he was in pain and we worried about his hearing/speech development. My daughter (now 6) has had maybe two diagnosed ear infections in her life. She has never complained about pain and these were diagnosed when we'd be at the doctor for other symptoms. We did treat them with antibiotics, but I suspect they probably would have gone away on their own. And I'm pretty sure she may have had more that resolved on their own that just never gave her discomfort. Doctors are usually pressured into GIVING antibiotics instead of the other way around, so I'd bet maybe your doctor would find it refreshing to talk about other options. I would want to think about whether she's in pain. Definitely talk to your doctor! Good luck.

With that many ear infections I would definitely get referral to an ent, we used bi-county ent and they were great. If it is determined that your child needs tubes also ask them to check the adenoids, my son had tubes then later needed adenoids removed. If it takes you from doing 2 surgeries do it, it is worth it in the end. Now we can't get him to be quiet, he is constantly talking!

I've never heard or done this treatment.My suggestion is to request tubes be put in..When my oldest son was 2,(He is now 22),he suffered from alot of ear infections,we got tubes put in and to this day he has never had any problems with his ears.The tubes eventually fall out.You can have to much antibiotics.
D.
mother of 4 (22,9,8 & 7)

Follow your gut! My son, daughter and I have all had chronic ear infections. Some people are just more prone to having them. I don't think your daughter has been over medicated at this point. Most doctors are very aware of this and if you trust your pediatrician and share your concerns, don't worry. I think there are more parents out there that try crazy stuff on their kids than there are doctors that over prescribe antibiotics. Doctors are educated - listen and then follow your gut. Remember, ear infections hurt - antibiotics will provide relief within 24 hours for your daughter. That is worth it to me.

I lived at the doctor with my son who is now 18 mos. with ear infection after ear infection. I finally skipped the pediatrician and went straight to the ENT. Found out that my child couldn't hardly hear for all the fluid backed up into his ear drums. He suggested tubes which has been the best thing we have ever done!!!!! He has not had an ear infection since April. Truly a God send.

Personally I don't put antibiatics in my little baby. I use Hyland's, all natural ear infection drops. They work AWESOME! Usually in ONE dose. I aslo use their teething tablets and swear by them. Plus I don't have to worry about my child overdosing. I also take her to my chiropractor. He helps adjust her little head. It's good for many things.

I have taken both my boys to Dr. Cole off of Hospital Drive. My son Walker has had chronic ear infections. Dr. Cole just put him on Septra and it has worked wonders. Does your daughters ears drain? I will be praying for her in hopes that she will get better.

Please be aware that TUBES can be a life saver. Definitely try the homeopathic ways you are comfortable with, but be aware that some children's anatomy is such that they will get chronic ear infections until they reach a certain age and their ears grow out of it, literally. If you, your husband, or any of your siblings needed tubes as children, this is a super good clue that it is anatomy. I tried everything, everything (including everything that has been mentioned in the previous posts) with both of my children to avoid antibiotics, to avoid surgery. In fact, I fear that my avoidance of surgery caused my daughter to suffer a speech disorder that could have been prevented with tubes. It is a very long story I can relay personally if you are interested but the bottom line is NOTHING HELPED. I tried oils, I tried giving garlic etc, both my children have been adjusted by chiropractors from birth, I tried solutions to control their allergies which was a bigger problem for us than even colds, and I did all that I knew or was told - allergy diet etc, etc. NOTHING HELPED. The only thing that resolved my children's ear infections were tubes. When I finally broke down and got them for my daughter, her speech cleared up from about 70% we had achieved with therapy to 98% - it was like magic. I try always to go the more natural route, but in some cases surgery is the best option and tubes are a small price to pay for months of health and clear speech for life.
If I had to do it again, I would have had my daughter's tubes when she was 1 years old instead of 3.
Probiotics are a MUST when giving antibiotics to children. You can get them at health food stores and add to yogurt. Feeding yogurt every day (unless allergic to milk) is the best defense you can give your child against an entire host of illness including stomach bugs. Just chose your yogurt carefully as many have far too much processed sugar and nasty artificial coloring.

Poor little thing! My son had only one ear infection that the doctor prescribed an antibiotic. It went away after a week. The second time he had it, I gave him Tylenol and it went away on its own in a few days, because when I was finaly able to take him to the doctor, it was almost clear. Maybe we were lucky, but one thing is for sure, you need to take her to another pediatrician. Get a second and even a third opinion. I hate it that they don't even try an alternative instead of giving antibiotics to a little one.

I hope it will all be ok very soon.

Dany

I definitely agree with you that it is hard to continue giving antibiotics over and over for the same thing. My youngest has battled recurrent ear infections as well. Usually an ent will want to see about 6 in a row b/f they will do tubes unless they never heal in between infections. The problem with not taking the antibiotics even though the American Academy of Pediatrics has said 80% of ear infections can heal without treatment is that you don't know if your child's is healing unless you're taking them every few days for an ear check which means paying a copay every time. An untreated ear infection can cause some nasty things including meningitis. So, I would be mindful of those things and treat or not treat your child's ear infections under your doctor's care.

We also do the heated onion over the ear, and also you can do garlic oil drops from the health food store. Good thinking about overdoing the antibiotics...it's not good. I had a doctor explain to me WHY kids are prone to ear infections more than adults. It is because the ear tubes run horizontallly in a child so the fuild doesn't drain as well. As a child grows, the tubes adjust and become more vertical. I would avoid surgery at most costs if you can, because I really think it's something that will be out grown. Best wishes!

I would investigate the "why" and try to avoid the ear infections. Maybe talk to a nutritionist. I've met several moms who avoided the ear infections (and having to have tubes put in) just by switching to non-dairy milk. If you can prevent the ear infections, that would be best! If not, there are tubes -- not my favorite answer but it is there and it does work for some people. As far as antibiotics vs. no antibiotics is concerned, I would discuss the matter with your Ped. I know there was a study that suggested that ear infections go away just as quickly either way but a lot of docs don't buy it. (and some do.) Even with the antibiotics, the benzocaine ear drops and/or tylenol/motrin would help your daughter with the discomfort. (The benzocaine drops and the Tylenol/Motrin are for pain only and do not fight the infection.) Also, make sure you're doing the meds exactly as they are prescribed and don't stop them, even if her ears get better, until your finish the course.

Hi M.,
My daughter has had ear infections on and off for the past several months, and we have tried all sorts of things. We tried the ear drops and tylenol, but they didn't seem to do that much for her. (They may be worth trying on your daughter, though---one of our friends swears by them for her little boy. They work for him better than the antibiotics.) The things that was finally about to get our baby's ears to get better was rocephin. She got one shot a day of it for 3 days, and her ears haven't had problems since. It may be worth looking into?
Good luck!
S.

as a pharmacy tech i see many parents coming in for the second or third round of antibiotics. i have known several people that have given up on the antibiotics in favor of pain relief and tylenol. check with your doctor first. there may be an underlying problem as well. we had to put tubes in our sons ears, and afterwards, he hasnt had a single infection. that was 13 years ago.
good luck, and prepare to do a lot of cuddling.

Get a refferal to an ent specialist tell them your child's hx on ear infections and past treatment's, they will direct you from there!

M.,
This sounds all to familiar. Her immune system is being destroyed! Plus all the meds are taking all the good bacteria out of her system, which is making her have a hard time going to the bathroom. If you are fustrated like I was I was willing to try anything.
First thing she needs to get on is Acidphhilus, this will replace the good bacteria, it is the same thing in yougart but more. (This milk in yougart will make her bowls worse, but she needs the acidophlious.
Second, I got my kids on Sambucol for kids. This is a mixure of Elderberry, echinachea, and Propolis. All of this is safe to take while they are on meds too.
Third, Olive Leaf just a few drops a day. Actually you can mix it with the Sambucol because they are liquid.
I am guarantee you will see a change in her.
You can order these products from www.herbalhealer.com or go to you local health food store. There are a ton of other sites that sell this too. I just live in an area where there isn't much selection. Google the products, they are great.
Hope your little one feels better.
H. (mom of 2 and one more on the way)

( you might also consider takeing her off milk?) ask you DR.

Hi, M.!

I know that you are worried and likely very frustrated and concerned by the repeated ear infections. It's hard to see your loved ones, especially our little ones feeling ill and not at their best!

I am a mom of 3--a boy and 2 girls. They are 5, 7 and 9 now. Some kids are more vulnerable to ear infections for various reasons. My middle child had the tendency more than the other two. Any time she got congestion, whether from food sensitivity, teething or an actual virus, it would settle in the outer ear and cause her to have ear pain, etc. She only had one "official" ear infection.

Bear with me here---It is a common issue among our (American) children, and I have heard evidence that many pediatricians are over-prescribing antibiotics. It is very important to find one who has as holisitic an approach as possible. In fact, M.D.s are not required to know much about nutrition unless they choose to specialize or pursue that knowledge themelves. Unfortunately, many of them are responding to the public's desire for a quick fix in a pill rather than the tried and true and more advisable approach of "preventative medicine" through diet, etc. We see a naturopath--a practitioner certified and trained in natural methods of treating and balancing the body--i.e."health".

The first thing I would check is what your daughter is eating. If she has sensitivities or outright allergies to any of the foods she is eating, it can cause imbalance in her system resulting in immune responses, deficiency, etc. Sometimes the solution can be as simple as removing cow's milk products from the diet. It is important not to overlook the fact that not treating an actual ear infection can result in damage to her ears/hearing. It is equally important to be sure that the antibiotics are only used when necessary. Many people are unaware that a course of antibiotics kills BOTH the good and bad bacteria in the body, so it is ESSENTIAL to replace the "good bacteria" in the digestive tract by using a high quality acidophilus supplement (ask at your local health store) following antibiotics. Some M.D.s recommend this but not many in my experience. The fact that your daughter's poop is burning her bottom is a reflection of what is happening in her digestive tract. Things will only get worse if you don't take steps to get her back into balance. I hope this doesn't come across as "new age", because it isn't. It is really something that everyone should be taught regarding nutrition and the body (the gut needs "good bacteria" to work properly).

You are right to ask these questions. It sounds like you've lost confidence in your doctor. I would recommend finding one with a more balanced approach. You have already seen that once you get on the prescription cycle, it can be a vicious one! It is sometimes necessary to take antibiotics but not always (as you noted). Don't give up; you are on the right track with trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together! Hang in there...
Incidentally, treatment will depend on the cause. For example, if it is due to congestion that her body cannot remove quickly enough before bacteria breed in the ear and cause infection, then removing the source of the congestion (cow's milk?, etc.) will prevent the ear infection in the first place. We have used Hyland's ear tablets and Similisan homeopathic drops to treat ear pain. We have used Clenzology (available at health food stores) ear drops to help prevent issues with ear blockage, though my daughter has never had a big problem with lots of wax anyway. We have also "candled" her ears a few times, which she will now ask for, because it has helped so much in the past. Ear candles can be found at any health food store. Some will even charge a small fee and do it for you, or they can provide the name of a health care provider who could.

Best wishes. I hope your daughter is well soon!

Hi Mechelle:

My Daughter is 15months and is in her 3rd ear infection in 3months. She was on amoxicillin first then augmenten, now she is on ceftin which gives her bad bowel movements. She has a doctors appt today. I doubt that it has been cleared up her nose continues to run.Which of course is the source of the infection because her sinuses are draining in her ear!!! Have you thought about taking her to an (ENT) ear and nose and throat specialist? I suspect my daughter will need to have tubes placed in her ear. I have not heard of trying the methods you heard of but I would take her somewhere else for a second opinion definitely.

I hope your daughter feels better!

We experienced the same problem when our son was 5months-9months and finally put tubes in. He is now 3 1/ 2 , he has had two sets of tubes, adnoids, and tonsils removed. Such a difference with his speech, vocabulary and not to mention illness. Has not had an ear infection since. I have the best Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor in Atlanta. He did all the surgerys on our son and my husband. His name is Dr. Phillip Robb ###-###-#### he is located in the Northside Hospital buildings on the corner of Old Milton and Northpoint Pkwy. He was voted "Top Doctor" a few yrs. back and I know he has preformed several surgeries on friend and people that I know. He even personally called us at home to check on Sean. I hope this helps, we at first hesitated but we have no regrets. H.

Try using equal parts of warm olive oil & peroxide. The olive oil will help sooth the pain & the peroxide will break through the gunk in her ear. This does a better job then the antibiotics. And, you can do it for longer periods of time then you should give antibiotics. Your daughter's body has natural antibodies that can't work properly if she has synthetic ones going through her system. Good luck!!!

Hi M.,
I read and article from some medical journal some years ago, when my second baby had reached,before his first b-day, about 4 ear infections. He was also getting too much antibiotic and my next step was ear tubes. The article advised against too much antibiotic since over time our body becames inmune to it and it doesn't help when really needed. It advised to try to treat ear enfection first with ear drops for pain (you can get a prescription from your doctor or there is a great brand name over the counter, Similson), and Tylenol/motrin for 2 to 3 days. And If fever and pain, persist over that time, THEN you may consider antibiotic.I tried and it worked!! I am not saying that "this" is what it stoped them, but that was the last ear infection my son had. It may have been that his ear canal matured ...I don't know, but ever since I take that approach when I suspect ear infection. Also, I know that now there is a devise they sell in drugstores that helps you to see inside your childs ear canal and you may determine ( I sure with some form of training), if she has an ear infection.I haven't tried that tough...
Definately you want to try to avoid and excess of antibiotics, she is still very little, and give this approach a try. And if they continue...definately make an appointmet with an ENT.
Good luck!

Hi M.,

You are right about too much antibiotics. Doctors prescribe! They DO break down the immune system AND they mutate bacteria so they won't be effective the next time when you really need them. Antibiotics are links to the rise of Asthma. Antibiotics also cause horrible yeast infections and if her poop is burning her then her little body is probably eaten up with it. (A probiotic is needed to get rid of it.) If you decide to use antibiotics in the future always accompany them with a probiotic to prevent the Candida.

I know your daughter is miserable but there are a few things that will help.

A teaspoon of olive oil warmed with ONE drop of Melaleuca brand tea tree oil mixed together. One drop of that solution in the ear will heal an infection because it absorbs through the skin to the root of the problem. It will also help with pain. DO NOT USE another brand because tea tree oil is normally caustic where the Melaleuca brand is not. It is antiviral, antibacterial, non-caustic, penetrating and aromatic.

Make sure she is not drinking laying down. Her Eustation tubes are so small and close to her mouth her drink may be getting in that way and, because of the bacteria in her mouth, become infected.

Chiropractic care will help. I have seen many patients at my chiropractor's office healed of infection and avoid tubes.

Build the immune system. It will fight off bacteria naturally. There are several ways to do that other than chiropractic and if you are REALLY interested PLEASE let me know. I would love to help! Just because a child doesn't get "sick" doesn't mean that their immune system is strong.

My daughter had a ton of ear infections and I listened to the doctors. After numerous yeast infections and kidney infections I did figure all this out before I resorted to tubes. Tubes are never an option. There are too many other ways to heal an ear infection. Simply google ear tubes side effects. Also look at http://www.mercola.com/2001/apr/28/ear_tubes.htm

I hope this helped M.. God bless!

M.

My son had ear infections from the time he was six months old. Two sets of tubes later, we found an Upper Cervical Chiropractor who changes our lives. 2007 was a miracle year for us. He is three, now, and has not had an infection in almost a year!