Ear Infections - Topanga,CA

My son was two and had ear infection after ear infection. As soon as he got off antibiotics, another one would start up again. The ENT wanted to put tubes in his ears! That's when we started chiropractic (very skeptical but willing to try anything) and put him on soy milk. The next time he went back to ENT, she was AMAZED! No more talk of tubes and hasn't had an ear infection since!

I am with the moms who recommend dietary changes first.
Then, if you still need an ENT, go to House Ear Clinic at USC. They are the best. I had a local ENT who put tubes in my ears as an adult, and also prescribed ear drop antibiotics that left me hearing impaired for life, along with permanent ringing in my ears......not worth it. Kids do a lot better with tubes, but for me, it nearly ruined my life. Now I see the docs at House Ear Clinic, they are so much better.

So after following the doctors advice for years I finally started listening to others that made more sense, moms. My daughter had severe ear infections, respiratory, asthma, you name it. All the doctors would do is prescribe more medicine and convince me that is all she needed. Well guess what, wrong. It was all food related to her. When we removed what caused inflammation for her, no more ear infections. When we removed all of the foods that showed up on her blood test for allergies (IgG, some use IgE), her asthma went away. No more eczema, no more immediate swings in behavior, and a much calmer kid.

A lot of children should NOT be having dairy /casein of any kind and don't worry, it is a lousy choice for calcium and Vitamin D. Most kids are deficient in Vitamin D because of this and not getting enough sunlight. Try switching her over to other forms and not with Soy which is causing as many if not more problems as dairy and it is genetically modified. Rice, Almond, and Hemp are all great alternatives with Hemp being the most nutritious and Almond next. Rice is more like the consistency of a non-fat or low-fat milk so we use that one for drinking and the others for everything else. Try this for one month, making sure that you have read the labels on everything and completely removed all dairy/ casein. Go to http://gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.htm and read up about hidden sources and how to replace it.

Other biggies for kids: eggs, wheat/gluten, soy, corn, yeast. My daughter had 21 foods and all of these on her list. After several years of a 'clean' diet for her, several of the foods can now be introduced back in and she is a happy camper that she has been able to have corn now for a few years.

Also, be aware that vaccines contain these ingredients listed above. The cause of my daughter's food allergies. So if you do find out which foods your daughter should not have be aware of this when you do vaccinate and read the package insert of EVERY shot before you do. Mine got severely sick after each one and they would just tell us to give her more Tylenol, which is a big no no.

Good luck and time to do some detective work.

Along the same line as the colloidal silver, I suggest flaxseed. I've been squeezing a capsule into my toddler (and now my baby's) drink since they were tiny and neither one has ever had an ear infection, even though I had one after the other when I was their age. Our diets are horribly lacking in the omegas and our bodies need them in order to break down the vitamins/nutrients in our foods so we need to supplement. A great book to read is Super Immunity for Kids. Find it on Amazon, it talks about these chronic childhood illness and how to prevent them by using essential fatty acids and diet. It has worked for me and my family so I'm certain it can help you too.

Try chiropractic care! It's helped my daughter and many other children I know. It works because the spinal cord houses the nervous system, which controls all functions of the body. An adjustment to the neck, often done with their fingers or an activator tool releases pressure that causes the infections or their reoccurence. And limit dairy products while the infections are present, maybe even when they're not for a while. HTH!

Go back to your ped. and ask for a referral to another ENT for a second opinion.

Hi,
My son had multiple ear infections when he was 7-12 months old. Doctor wanted to put him on maintenance antibiotics and put tubes in his ears. A friend of mine suggested switching from regular formula to soy...and poof..the ear infections were gone. Never had a problem after that. Turns out he is lactose intolerant. My suggestion would be to take your daughter off of all dairy for 2 weeks and see what happens. Won't hurt anything to try it. A side note...the pediatrician I had at the time did not believe dairy could be the cause....needless to say, I changed doctors. Good Luck!

Second opinion. I love my ENT in Fullerton. If you're interested in his name/number, send me a message. Best of luck regardless!

First, I would get a second opinion.

Second...have they adjusted the anti-biotics to the stronger ones to try and kick the infection. My youngest just went through something similar and finally got rid of the ear infections when he went on augmentin. The stuff tastes nasty but it did the trick!

Good luck.
-M

FIND ANOTHER ENT! Any good ENT worth his weight would have been open to doing the tubes for 5 infections in 6 months. My daughter had one continuous antibiotic resistant infection -- 103 fever for 30 out of 45 days, 5 antibiotics, rocephin shots, and they did the tubes WHILE infected because it wouldn't clear up. Not every situation meets the standard .... and avoiding hearing loss is the BEST reason to get them. Did the doc even do the auditory testing they usually do to see if she is developing any? My daughter was 10 months when her tubes were put in so they can do this if the ENT had an audiology lab at a very young age.

We've been in the same boat with our 11 month old son. I finally went for some natural remedies and we have been doing great! I use garlic ear drops and alternate those with grapeseed and tea tree oil ear drops. We give him a daily dose of colloidal silver and he is drinking raw milk. For the first time, he has gone a full month without an ear infection and he even got sick with a headcold from some other kids and recovered quicker than they did when usually his drag on forever and turn into ear infections. We are quite excited about this and grateful that we aren't facing another round of antibiotics that aren't working (we tried them all)!

We also plan on taking him to a pediatric chiropractor to get his eustachian tubes adjusted and cleared as preventative care too.

My son did the same thing but he started it at 9 months old. His recurring infections were a result of a malformation of the tube that provides the opening between the back of the throat and the inner ear. I was really apprehensive about surgery because..well it's surgery! The result of my 'wait and see' approach is that my son does have hearing loss, he experienced incredible pain for months and was unable to communicate it. He didn't speak until he was over 2 years old. He started eating solids at 4-5 months but by the time he turned 1 he wouldn't eat ANYTHING. I don't mean picky eater. He would not eat solid food even if it was chocolate cake! I did decide to put in tubes. The change was very unsettling. His disposition changed to a cheery baby. He didn't cry as much. It was then that I realized how much pain he was in. We didn't remove the adenoids because the doc felt he was too young. Under a year they don't like to put them under general anesthesia. They use a gas or an iv that puts them into 'twilight sleep'. It means your child will wake up immediately. At 2 we did elect to have the adenoids removed and replaced the tubes. After struggling with a child who couldn't talk and was unable to enjoy anything because of the pain I wish I'd done it sooner. See another ENT. I finally went to Early Intervention and they recommended a doctor that was wonderful. Don't sit on this or wait for it to go away. Treat it aggressively and if you opt for something 'natural' and it isn't making a BIG difference go back to the doc. Once my son became accustomed to the pain he wouldn't whine about it anymore.

After 5 infections I was referred to the ENT specialist, as soon as he seen my son's history and his continuous inflammation and fluid in the ear, the tubes were recommended. Best decision ever made. He had them done at 6 months old and had them come out around 18 months. Although it was awful to see him go through that at such a young age and having to be extremely cautious for a year while he bathed not to get water in his ear... He has not had an ear infection since! :) I do believe the doctor's will not do an unnecessary procedure, if the infections continue they will recommend tubes. If not I recommend a second opinion with a specialist.
Good luck, and I hope the surgery is unnecessary.

What does he mean "enough ear infections" ? How many does the child have to have before it becomes a matter of urgency? You were referred for a reason. Did you share that feedback with your Pediatrician? Perhaps visit another hospital for a second opinion.

DO NOT NOT NOT use collidial silver unless a doctor specifically tells you to. Too much and there is a very real possibility that your daughter's skin could _permanently_ turn grey.

Did the ENT say how many ear infections she would have to have before tubes? Ours said six. Well, now your daughter has had six. Call back and see if he'll reconsider. Tubes really work incredibly well.

If he won't do tubes, press him on his reasoning. See if you can get referred to a different ENT. My big thing was that I wanted my daughter off all those antibiotics. I have heard of chiropractic working too, but I know that tubes work 99% of the time.

Good luck.

Find another ENT. I went throught the same thing with my now 16 year old son who did suffer form hearing loss due the fact that I could not get them to do the surgery. Finally after many visits and arguments he had the surgery done and had no more ear infections after that.

I'm with you, I don't like your ENT's answer-ear trouble can not only lead to hearing loss, but speech problems as well. It's very important to take care of this.
Where do you live? I have an AMAZING ENT!! He's done 3 sets of tubes & tonsillectomy on my daughter, and tubes & tonsillectomy on my son. He's a lovely, caring, patient doctor. If you live around Orange, I can give you his info. Dr. Amin with the St. Joseph group-he's right across the street from St. Joseph's. Email me if you want more answers!! Good luck!

Find another ENT, and discuss the possibility that the cause is food allergy related.

I highly recommend a second opinion. My son was about the same age and he had multiple ear infections too, bad ones. My Pediatrician was concerned because of the amount of fluid that had built up and the number of infections he had since he was 1. It seemed like we had been on constant antibiotics for 3 months. Fortunately, we saw a reputable ENT and he recommended tubes. I can honestly tell you that was a tough decision, but one I am so glad I made it. The surgery was quick and since having the tubes, he hasn't had any more ear infections, he's now 8 and his hearing is great. Please ask your friends, mom's group, and/or Pediatrician for recommendations. Second opinions are always good.

This is not the first time that I've heard of this. About the only thing they can do is put tubes in her ears, which is something they don't want to do until she is older. I know of 2 little girls that the dr. waited for a while before finally putting tubes in their ears. I can't remember exactly what the reasoning is for not wanting to do it at their age, but there is a reason. I know another thing they 2 girls also had in common is they both were behind in speach because of having so many ear infections the drs. told them it was like they were hearing everything underwater. So I would work with her alot on just talking to her very clearly, NO BABY TALK, with her looking at you and maybe just a slight bit louder.
Go to a local heath food store or a place that sells good vitamines and talk to them about COLLOIDAL SILVER and SWEET OIL. They are both wonderful products that do great things, and they are natural.
Are they at least giving her antibiotics? If they're not, I would really push that, but when they do, give her a good yogart. None of that with added sugar and chemicals, Dannon plain would be the best. You can blend it with some fruit and make a good smoothie.
When you are at the health food store, also talk to them about what you can give her to build up her immune system. Good luck to you.

you should try out eardoc a non invasive treatment that opens the eustachian tube in a natural drug free way, most of the ppl that used the eardoc say that it helped them . studies showed a reduce in the amount of ear tubes needed after using the eardoc the site is http://eardoc.info

Hi K.,

I am sorry to hear your daughter is going through this. I encourage you to check out the book, "Smart Medicine for A Healthier Child; A Practical Guide to Natural and Conventional Treatments for Infants and Children", by J. Zand, ND; Robert Roundtree, MD; and Rachel Walton, MSN. The foreward is by Dr. Jay Gordon.

http://www.pathwaystofamilywellness.org has an excellent issue dedicated to ear infections and treatment options as welll as some great articles on ear infection and causes.

I second the suggestion to look closely at your daughter's diet. Recurrent ear infections are often a result of over treatment of antibiotics(candida overgrowth inhibits the body's ability to fight off infections) or an intolerance to something in diet. Dairy is almost always a culprit when it comes to ear infections so eliminating all dairy will most likely get your daughter on the path to healing.

Chiropractic adjustments, cranial sacral and acupuncture are all beneficial with helping the body to clear out the infection and allowing it to heal naturally. I encourage you to find a provider in your area that has experience with small children. A holistic provider or naturopath may be able to get your daughter back on the path to healing. Homeopathy is beneficial too. If you have a natural health store near you, I encourage you to look into homeopathic drops or ear drops for ear infections.

You can make your own drops by warming olive oil and a garlic clove in a pan. Place the warm drops in your daughter's ear and insert cotton to keep the oil from draining out.

Have her providers suggested boosting her immune system? I encourage you to start her on vitamin C & D, eliminate sugar, processed foods and dairy from her diet, and start her on a daily probiotic. I also recommend reading everything about ear infections that you can get your hands on so that you can make an informed decision.

Best of luck to you,
J.

use homeopathy. start with OTC combo/remedies - if you are lucky , the remedy that she needs will be in the combo. if combo does not work invest in private consult - homeopathy is best for ear infections, you don't even need to seek professional homeopath for that - anybody who does in on the side (chiro, conventional MD etc) can pick a good ear infection remedy
Good Luck
V.