Ear Infections - Edgerton,WI

A lot of what I know about drinks and ear infections I've read in different parenting magazines. My 19 month old has had 1 ear infection in his life and he was really sick at the time with a cold, so I don't have a lot of first hand experience. I think they are caused by different things, but I've read that even propping the baby up a little will help when giving them drinks. From what I understand...the ear canal is not fully developed in a baby and doesn't drain in the way an adult's does. Because of this, when they are laying flat and drinking, some of the fluid could get "trapped" in the ear. When fluid gets in the ear and sits, it could cause problems (like bad bacteria) that lead to ear infections.

At least that's what I've read and how I understand it.

I heard it from several pediatric nurses.

If she must put him to bed with a drink, either put something under the head of the mattress, or lay the baby propped up on something, so the fluid drains down.

I think that somekids just get the ear infections because of the direction of the eustacian tubes at the early age doesn't allow drainage of fluid. Both my kids have/had chronic ear infections and had to get tubes put in but I have never let them take a nap or go to bed with a bottle. My little boy who is now 8 months just got the tubes put in a few weeks ago but still got an ear infection 3 days after the surgery so I am hoping this is the last one. We will see. Good luck with your grand-niece..I would recommend that the mother discuss the ear infections with the pediatrician and see if they need to see an ear,nose, and throat doc.

there are many other possible contributing factors to ear infections...i should know my son just had tubes put in on 10/5...allergies that involve sinus problems can cause them...lack of draining can cause them...laying a child down w/ a bottle (i never did it w/ my son but did once in a while w/ my daughter),also reaccurent ear infections can actually be the same one that just hasnt cleared up since pediatricians tend to overmedicate these infections are becomming immune to the antibiotics so they are forced to use stronger meds..also i didnt know this before but some ear infections are actually viral and will go away on their own...since my son has had the tubes we have been good, but these are a few of the different causes ...also ive been told ciggarette smoke around a baby can cause it

I know that breast feeding is best, but not all of us can. I don't think that formulas are the main contributor to ear infections. When you give a child anything to drink while lying down the fluid rushes back to their eustation tubes. All three of my children had chronic ear infection. My youngest even had tubes put in. This was vertually worthless. Up until a year in a half ago I was at the doctor's office with one or the other of them all year long. Then a year ago I started taking them to th chiropractor because they had built up an immunity to the antibiotics and their doctor wouldn't even prescribe them anymore. I didn't know what else to do. They were suffering. We go to the chiropractor once per week (sometimes every other week) they have not had a full blown ear infection since. Everytime they say their ear is starting to feel funny we go and within hours it is gone. Now for some parents the idea of someone adjusting your child's spine is scarey I know. I was one of them. My chiropractor specializes in pediatric adjustments and I have even seen him help an infant. You have to realize the trauma that their little bodies go through while they are being born. They had an OB show how hard he pulled on a baby's head while delivering. They had him pull on a basketball that was hooked up to a pressure machine. The doctor pulled with 90 to 100 pounds of force. It takes 100-110 pounds of force to seperate a newborn's skull from its spine. That is scarey. My chiropractor is a blessing and my children are healthier than ever before. Besides the ear infections, less colds, less flu, better sleep. This is all without invading their little bodies with drugs or supposed vaccines. Chiropractics has also saved me a lot of money. The doctor's visits were killing me at 80 to 100 a pop. Now my money stays in my pocket instead of lining the doctor's.

Laying a baby down with a bottle contributes to ear infections, but it is the bottle and formula that are the bigger contributors.
Babies are designed to be breastfed, so the differences in breast and bottle feeding means that babies who are bottle fed,especially with anything sugary that grows bacteria easily, like formula or juice, will probably have about 5 times more ear infections (according to studies). Mother's milk has antibodies in it, so if it drains back into the shorter tubes in a baby's ears, is less likely to cause infection. But because of the position in which breastfed babies are held proper latch, and because the suckling action is different for when a baby nurses, he or she is much less likely to have milk drain into the ears. Also,besides the sugar in formula, most of it is made from cows milk, made for bovine babies that have several stomachs and weigh 100+ lb.at birth. In human babies, the cows milk can trigger a response similar to an allergic response that often includes increased mucus production (that backs up in to the ears and is perfect for growing bacteria) or skin eruptions (eczema).
A really good book on the subject is Healing Childhood Ear Infections, by Dr. Michael Schmidt. Using the information in that book, my daughter didn't get an ear infection until she was almost 4 years old, and she has had two in her entire 15 years. The other when she was about 6. She also didn't have antibiotics for either of those, which is another reason for recurrent ear infections...inappropriate use of antibiotics.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and CDC discourage the use of antibiotics in most children with ear infections for this reason:
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/earinfections.cfm
http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community/files/GetSmar...
Information on avoiding ear infections in the first place can be found here:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_768.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081600.asp
Both of these sites have advice for minimizing ear infections in a bottle fed baby as well. Not putting a baby down with a bottle is one tip. Positioning the baby with the bottle as if he/she were nursing is another.
Hope that helps!
K. Wildner
____@____.com
www.kimwildner.com

hi my son is 4 and he still goes to bed with a half cup of water.. i dont have problems with ear infections. hes had two his whole life.. he has asthma and gets a really dry mouth at nite and if i dont put him to bed with somefin to drink he wakes.. there times where the cup is half full and times its empty when he wakes. so im not sure what to say.. but i dont think it is a reason for ear infections.. maybe it is maybe its not...

My daughter went to bed with a bottle (water) until she was almost 3 and had constant ear infections. Her doctor knew this and never told me it was a cause or contributor. Since the bottle's been gone the ear infections have been almost gone a coincidence mmmm... probaly!

My pediatrician told me not to let your child lye down and drink anything, speifically for the ear infection factor. My son has never laid down with is bottles and never had an ear infection. (could be a coincinence, I guess) Also, when the baby has a cold elevating the head of the bed not only helps with the stuffy noses, but seems to help avoid ear infections too. ( Just another point if your friend was wondering or has an issue with crinic colds).