Ear Infections - Kaufman, TX

They just talked about this on the news the other night. If you are willing, you should seek chiropractic help. Dr. Christine Moore in Plano specializes in children (is amazing with adults as well). Her number is ###-###-####. I would at least have a consultation with one of the chiropractors listed before having tubes put in. Good luck!

My kids have not had issues with ear infections. But at Whole Foods they have this book on ear infections. It looked really good.
B.

I had the same problem with one of my daughters. We had to take her to an ear speacialist. Some infanants and small childerns have ear canals isn,t positioned right. therefore the fluid cant drain properly. we had to put tubes in her earsand it ened the ear infections. they also out grow this problen as they get older. it wasn't until i took her to the speacialist that i discovered this.

Go to a pediatric chiropractor.. since I did that all ear, tonsils, throat, colds etc have cleared up. ( don't worry they don't 'crack' childrens necks - infact they are extremely gentle, you think they are doing nothing & then your child gets better without medicine). If you are in the Irving, Beltline, DFW area I have a wonderful very qualified lady..

It's because childrens' eustachian tubes in their ears are not tilted down like an adults. Theirs are level, so fluid from sinuses gets trapped in their ears. An adult's tube is tilted down, so the fluid is released naturally. The fluid is caught in the child's ear, so it develops bacteria leading to an infection. That's why children get so many ear infections.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/54/61540.htm

You could hold her sitting up on your lap, wtih her back to your chest. Does that make sense? And hold the bottle for her. If you have a rocker, you can recline a bit but still mostly be upright. Maybe position a pillow next to the side of her head that she is more inclined to turn towards. I'm not exactly sure waht position she is in when she has her bottlem right now so those are my only suggestions!

N.,
I would try Craniosacral Therapy. GREAT for ear infections. Call Sally Fryer at ###-###-#### at Integrative Pediatric therapy. Non invasive and it really works!!!
L.

My daughter had problems with ear infections as a baby, but we just made sure she ate sitting slightly upward..not laying down at all. It's easy to cradle her by sitting her on your side and using one of those tilted bottles that actually help to feed upright. Also, my pediatrician told me that letting her go to bed with a bottle will cause an ear infection too, I didn't do that, but maybe the advise will help!!Good luck, I know it's hard!

I haven't read through all of the responses but I have a son he is now five and he had soooooo many ear infections I felt like I went to the Dr's or the hospital every week but the best thing I found the didn't involve a trip to the Dr is an over the counter medicine that the Dr. told us about its called res cone (I might of spelled it wrong) I know they have it a CVS you just have to ask the pharmacist.. Its a white bottle with a picture of the inner ear and it only cost $10. What it does is keep fluid for collecting in the ear. and helps drain any fluid that might be in the ear... They wanted to put tubes in my sons ears and I was scared I didn't want him to go through that.. I started giving his res cone and now that he is older its not the bottle its his nose if I see he has a runny nose I start giving him some.. As a matter of fact I need to go and get some.. I hope this helps and I would try this because once you go to a specialist they will probably want to put tube.. Ive been there done that.. I hope this helps.

I think that si because when the baby turns her head either way, if milk spills the milk is going into her ear,

that is exactly what happen to my daughter and ended up having ear plugs on both of her ears,,,,from so much infection and before she lost some or all of her hearing her pedetrician suggested ear plugs.

I would definately push for tubes. Both of my children had chronic ear infections. My son was horrible. He would just finish an antibiotic and have another. Eventually he was put on a "preventative antibiotic." The doctor said that if he got another infection while on the antibiotic, he would have to have tubes. So sure enough, 2 weeks in he had another infection. We got it cleared up saw an ENT and learned that he had massively large tonsils, very big adnoids, and tons of fluid build up in his ears. So he had a tonsilectomy, adnoidectomy, and tubes put in his ears. He had no more problems! When my daughter started the same thing, they went straight to the ENT (becuase now we had family history). She too had no further problems!

It is surgery, but very well worth it. Good luck to you.

J.

I use Garlic & Olive Oil drops that you get from a Health Food store. I think that it is a little cheeper if you go to Central Market. I am a mother of 4 and I use this all the time for my children. Any time there ears hurt I will just put a few drops in and that seems to releave the pain. I have not had to put my children on Antibiotics for ear infections ever since I started useing this 9 years ago.

C.

Hi there! First let me say that I am not a doctor and certainly not a medical expert. I am wondering if it was a pediatrician or an Ear Nose Throat doc who told you this? I have three children, two of which had bad runs with ear infections and I have never heard the explanation you have been given. I think if you have not been a trip to an ENT is warranted. You want to make sure there is no hearing loss or fluid build up in the inner ear from all of those infections. If you are interested in names of ENTs in North Dallas, I'd be happy to share!

Good luck and I am so sorry your little one is having a hard time with ears. I know how hard that can be!

I had chronic ear infections as a child due to a milk allergy. The allergy causes sinuses to get congested, then the fluid backs up into the ears. My daughter has the same allergy and had runny noses and congestion a lot when we switched from breast milk to milk-based formula. At the time I didn't make the connection. However, when she got a sinus infection at 11 months I decided to try goat's milk (which is what I drank as a child). We kept her on goat's milk until she turned 2, then switched to soy. (Soy milk doesn't have enough fat in it for kids under 2). She hasn't had an ear/sinus infection or even a runny nose since that one at 11 months. She's nearly 4. She can have some dairy here and there, but not much. For example, she can have a dairy-based snack like cheese or yogurt about twice a week.

So, all that to say you might consider switching to soy or milk-free formula and see if she stops getting infections. Soy is the least expensive non-dairy formula. There are some formulations (nutrminigen, etc.) that don't have milk, but they cost twice as much as soy or regular milk-based formula. My son appears to have the same sensitivity, though not as bad, and we switched him to Step 2 soy formula after his first birthday (instead of doing goat's milk). He'll be 2 in about 6 weeks and we'll switch him to regular soy milk.

Wow N., that's alot to deal with, I can only imagine. I have 4 grown sons and they never had a earache when they were little. But I didn't breast feed and I did do exactly what KRISTNA M. said - always held the baby up when feeding and if they turned their head, take it out of their mouth.
I would also listen to SARAH T. & seek out a chiropractor's opinion. I used to think My Dad was nuts, because he went to chiropractor over ear problems, but found out he was right about that and alot of things. Check it out before tubes, for sure. Good Luck

I would try a chiropractor. My son is 2 and has never had an ear infection even though I was really prone to getting them as a child. I would recommend Dr. Kevin Smith, Trinity Family Chiropractic, ###-###-####, www.trinityfamilychiropractic.com

My 2 bits of advice are that you should honeslty see if chiropractic treatment can help. I wish I had known with my first childs ear infections how much we could have avoided with adjustments!!! Also, although it may seem extreme, I would push (dare I say fight) to have tubes put in her ears ASAP. (If you find that chiro care is working stick with it though). The surgery was soooo simple, and the 2 hours of crying when the anethesia was wearing off were nothing compared to the months of Dr. visits, antibiotics etc. Get another opinion, and I would demand to be referred to a pediatric ENT. We recently moved here, so I cant recommend any great doctors or chiropractors, but it is well worth looking into. My daughter walked across the room for the first time the day her tubes were done (11 months) and I was shocked at how much her ear infections were afecting her balance, so just watch her and decide what you think is best. Good luck!!! ~A.~

Hi N.,

My daughter just turned 1 year, and she had about 5 ear infections. Each time, the doctor prescribed antibiotics. At one point, the antibiotics didn't work because the doctor had underprescribed the dosage. This resulted in my daughter's cold becoming bronchitis. The symptoms did go away, but I'm not so sure if the root of the problem is still there. After reading all the helpful replies, I'm going to see an ENT, and dropping my pediatrician. Anyone know of a good ENT around Irving/Las Colinas?

Hi N.,

Your pediatrician means well, but you can't avoid your daughter tilting or turning her head at every feeding. That is near impossible. My son suffered for 9 months with ear infections from the time he was 5 months old till he was 18 months old. He was put on all kinds of antibiotics, which I got tired of. I always knew when it was a EI due to his symptoms and how he would act. Inner ear infection -- also known as otitis media--is inflammation or infection in the middle ear space. These infections usually occurs along with a cold (URI)and treatable w/ or w/out antibitotics. Go to www.WEBMD.com and look it up by ear infections or Otitis Media (medical term for EI) and read up on it.

With my experience, I got tired of giving him antibiotics because when you constantly give your kids antibiotics, they eventually get acclimated to them and then when you need them to work, they won't. We did all of them (amoxicillin, omnicef, etc.) all of them and I finally told my peditiatrian, I need to see a ENT. This is a EARS-NOSE-THROAT doctor. I am on a PPO on my insurance, so I don't have to get a referral, so I made the appointment myself and went. Sometimes you have to take control or tell the Doctor what you plan to do since really they are just treating the symptoms and not finding the cure. The ENT office also did a test and found he was partially deaf in one ear. I had become concerned because he wasn't speaking clearly like he should have and this was the cause. He was hearing well, but everything sounded like it was under water. His speech & hearing were my main concerns, so the ENT Doctor suggested tubes in his ears. Due to all the infections, I had already done my research about it and also spoke to different moms, so I went ahead and had it done and no more EI's!!! They eventually fell out and he is fine. Another, the middle drum area in babies are small and usually it is due to build up fluid for EI's usually they grow out of them, but sometimes need medical attention.

Good Luck and if you need a good ENT, Dr. John McClay - Plano Presby & Children's Medical Center was excellent. Also during surgery (he did fine) Dr. McClay found that his adenoids were so swollen they were taking up most of the area in the back of his throat, so I had those removed as well.

Thanks!

G. B.
____@____.com

I've worked in the medical field for over 10 years and have always heard that when feeding babies, you just have to make sure their heads are as upright as possible. Formula fed babies get A LOT more ear infections than breast fed babies because formula is so thick and it settles in their sinuses when they're laying back. I have never heard the whole tilting of the head thing though.

This is also something to keep in mind when your little one has congestion. When she's sleeping, make sure you prop her up a bit, so it can drain downward instead of settling in her head all night long and causing an ear infection.

I hope this info helps.

E.

My now 3yr old daughter had many many ear infections when she was about that age. I tried all kinds of different bottles and ear drops and everything but the only thing that worked for us was to stop giving her the bottle esp at night time. We would lay her down with a bottle and it would give her the infections. Once we stopped the laying down with the bottle she hasn't had an ear infection since. Hope everything works out I know how hard it is for them to have ear infetions. GOOD LUCK!!!!

~C.

You Can got to the health food store and try ear candles that is what i did for my kids the trick is to get the child still and only burn half of the candle if they do not have ones for kids. The health food people can show you how to use the candles but really all you have to have is a bowl of water to put out the candle when you are done. If you need more info you cand E me at ____@____.com

I can only speak from my own personal experience here, but I would definately take your daughter to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, or at least get a second opinion. I found that with myself (totally allergy ridden) my constant battle with ear infections as a child was as a result of my allergies. Babies/children already have a perpensity for more ear infections because of the tilt of their ear canal - as they grow this staightens out - usually by the time they hit 7. Call me ignorant but I don't see how drinking milk at a funny angle would cause an ear infection. Ear infectiona are normally as a result of a build up of mucus, which becomes infected. Not the way you drink something.... Hope that helps!

May I suggest a change to Dr. Brown's bottles they are a touch more pricey but they help with the air flow and ear infection preventions. And mine likes to turn his head so we sit him up and feed him the bottle and take it out once he starts turning his head ... they get the picture.

try sweet oil you can get it at wal greens or cvs put alittle in your hand to warm it to body temp then pour a couple of drops in your babies ears then cover with cotton this will help with the pain but its not a cure you still need to see a doctor and get it some medication for the ear, plus anytime you are outside put cotton in the ear to keep out cold air this will hurt the baby if it gets in there
the air will.
T.

Hi N.,

You may want to consider asking your doctor about tubes for her ears. 5 infections in 10 months has got to be killing both of you!!! I am so sorry for you both! My older 2 children both were plagued with chronic ear infections untill they had tubes put in their ears, my daughter at 1 year and my son at 10 months. From the minute they got them, the ear infections dissapeared! It is an outpatient procedure and the tubes just fall out as the child grows. I know it might seem a little scary. It was for me at the time with my first one, but the benefits for you both are worth it!

Good luck to you,

S. Johnson

A little melted coconut oil may help her. I have a friend who has used this remedy with her kids for years.

Look on askdrsears.com It gives a lot of information on ear inferctions.

Hi N.,

I am a Doctor of Chiropractic and I have treated childhood ear infections caused by a variety of things. One of the most common causes is from the top vertebrae in the neck being out of place. The vertebrae in the neck can get out of place due to a difficult delivery, falls, sleeping in car seats with the head tilted to the side or forward along with many other things. When the vertebrae are out of place, the ears can not drain properly. By getting the neck adjusted you remove the interference and allow the ears to drain properly which results in eliminating the ear infections. Food or environmental allergies can also cause repetitive ear infections. By determining the cause we can eliminate the ear infections. The medications only treat the symptoms. If you are interested in hearing more or in getting your childs allergies tested or getting your child adjusted, call me at ###-###-#### or ###-###-####. Thanks!

Dr. Sandra S.

Hi N.,

I had numerous ear infections as a child and have had a strong tendency to get them as an adult. I've had so many that I have scar tissue on the inside of my ears from them. (Said a doctor.)

I mention this because it had been a significant source of frustration for me, as a child and as an adult, and therefore wanted to prevent the problem with my daughter if I could. What I found out was that milk is the #1 connection to ear infections. It sounds like you are feeding your daughter milk or formula? If it is milk, try converting to organic. The ideal is breastfeeding and no over the counter milk, but for many moms, this just isn't practical, so the next best thing is organic. (It's more prevalent now, so the cost as come down a bit.) If it's formula, you might try experimenting with different brands or a soy base.

My daughter has had two ear infections her whole life, and one was because she'd gotten really, really sick for about three weeks. I can't tell you how glad that makes me, and I do believe that it's because I've steered away from milk while she's young. (I was also able to breastfeed, which also helps prevent them.) I do think that many aliments are allergy related, so that might be a consideration too. I don't know if any of this information will help your specific situation, but I wish you luck.

Best,
L.