Ear Infections & Feeding

I haven't heard about the feeding contributing to the ear infections but when my son was 7 months old my pedritrician recommened tubes. He was also getting a cold (really it was only a runny nose) but which always lead into the ear infection and after 3 t0 4 consistant months of infections we decided on the tubes. He hasn't had an infection since, he is now 18 months. I sware he can hear better as well. Good luck.

I agree that her ear infections are caused by her sinuses being irritated.Are there possible allergens in the home?(i.e. smoking,laundry soap,animals,etc.)

I agree they should be on a slight angle when drinking from a bottle. And you should find out why she is getting the infections. My daughter’s were from her ears not draining properly when she had a runny nose or sick.

My daughter started getting ear infections around 10-12 months old. She would get them almost every 6 weeks. We ended up getting tubes put in around the end of February and not one infection since! And her runny nose stopped too.

It’s so nice to not have to worry about her feeling so bad and being miserable. Plus, she sleeps better.

We also put her crib mattress on a slight angle to help with her ears. My husband put some blankets between the mattress and bedsprings.

I had people tell me to take her to the chiropractor. But, I preferred the medical way. Also, we would have to continue taking her to the chiropractor for several months/years.

Good luck

I seem to remember that they are related and that you shouldn't be feeding your daughter while she is lying down. She should be in an upright position when feeding.

I would try chiropractic before worrying about feeding positions. It is VERY effective in dealing with ear infections. I had my kids both adjusted from birth on. It is a good idea to be sure the chiro used is trained to work with infants and children.

Hi S.,
I have a 2 year old who had the same problem- only her ear infections didn't go away. We got to the point where she had to start getting rocefrin shots in her leg muscles because the antibiotics wouldn't help anymore. The ear infections started about the same time your daughters did from the sounds of it. All kids are different, but I would suggest taking her to a chiropracter that specializes in kids. I know it sounds a little weird, but I swear by it. I was skeptical, so we went the way of tubes in her ears, but she still got 1-2 ear infections a month and was miserable (as were we all, because she was up most nights crying!). At my wits end I ended up taking her to a chiropracter and she hasn't had one ear infection since. It was immediate for her, and it has been almost a year (I wish I would have tried the chiropracter first instead of wasting so much money on antibiotics and tubes!). Good luck- I hope you find something that helps for your little one.

Just some advice I was told from my doctor - Do not feed
any liquids to your baby lying flat, somehow it may get
into the middle ear and cause infection. Also, try to put
cotton balls in her ear when you give her a bath so water
doesn't get into her ears. I have a son who has had numerous ear infections when he was an infant and ended up
getting two sets of tubes in his ears. He was in daycare
full time and he caught many colds, which let to most of
his ear infections, you have to suction the mucous out as
much as possible, since that leaks also into middle ear I
was told. Hope this helps !

Try a chiropractor. It may sound odd, but the tubes are getting blocked and not able to drain, a chiropractor will straighten out the neck and spine which will help. Both my kids have seen our since they were born and if they showed any signs of sinus or ear infection posibilities I made sure they got in right away and it usually cleared itself up a lot quicker then when I did give in and have the medical doctor prescribe meds.

Good luck.
C.

S.,

Is your daughter in day care? Both my kids were exclusively breastfed, I did everything "right", but I worked full time and once they went to day care, they got ear infections constantly until they both ended up with tubes. Now they are 6 and 9 and rarely sick at all.

It's not the milk, it's drainage from their sinuses, caused by colds and other viruses, that get into their ears and cause infections. Some kids are just lucky in that department. lol. Good Luck!

T.

We had the same problem with our son who is now 2 1/2 with ear infections as a baby. We where told to keep the child at 50 degrees of higher while feeding. Maybe you should put a pillow under her to lift her up. That might help. But yes you have to prop her up higher. D.

she could be getting them from ALOT of sources. ANY EXPOSURE TO SMOKE will cause one. other causes could be the feeding position...they should be at more of a 45 degree angle, and runny nose that is running back causing post nasal drip will do it....if she has allergies to things like dogs,cats or dust, the ear infections increase. We figured out that my daughter was allergic to dogs this way.

No..

They do recommend that you feed babies slightly upright but the real factor in ear infectins is being exposed to viral infections (like in a day care facility) and the shape of the ear.

Some people are more prone to ear infections. Some kids outgrow it and others don't.

One of my sisters kids had constant ear infections and tubes put in his ears.. the other two kids never had problems. all three kids were home with mom all day.

Yep. Some of that formula is running into her eustacian (sp?) tubes and likely becoming the root of the earache problem. At 4 months, she is only a month or so from sitting up on her own, so sitting your little one up at a better angle will not only help the earache situation, but should help encourage her to sit up on her own as well.

S.,
My son had approximately 15 ear infections by the time he was 10 months old. The last one he was on 3 different antibiotics and then a shot before they finally sent us to a ear/nose/throat specialist. They said that he needed to have tubes in his ears to help the draining process. So he had them put in at 10 months and he has not had an ear infection since. He will be 3 in May. It may just be the make up of the ear canal. Ask your doctor, but they may say you have to wait it out and see. But best of luck to ya!

K.

I am a first time mom too, and I was told by a nurse in the hospital to feed almost sitting up straight. My daughter is fine with it, she cries and has a hard time even slightly laid back. Which is how other people try to feed her unfortunately. I have to correct every one. they think I am a picky new mom but it really works best for her. My daughter is 10 months old now and I just put her back up against my stomach and bottle feed her, I can still see her face to watch for distress. I guess this wouldn't work for breast feeding. good luck! M.

Hi S.,
My son, who is now almost 4yrs, breastfed and still had recurrect ear infections. I was told to hold him more upright while feeding and at the same time try putting a warm, wet washcloth behind the ear that had the infection, or if both ears were infected, the ear that was most accessible, and then use a warm compress on the other ear at the next feeding. I have heard recently, that the Dr. will let the childs infection work itself out, rather than giving antibiotics, since they don't always slow down the duration of the infection. Our bodies are amazing in the way they can heal. So, my advise is to keep your daughter's head elevated during her feedings, and try the warm compresses. It may help releive the pain, and allow the fluid to drain more easily. I hope this helps! Good luck.. it's no fun to have sick babies!
Gwyne

Research has demonstrated that your suspicion is at least partly correct. Generally, formula fed babies get more ear infections than normal, and some are attributed to cow's milk protein allergies (even professional singers avoid dairy when they need to sing, it creates a lot of mucous), but yes, lying down and drinking has been shown to be problematic.

The eustation tubes in your baby's ears are very short and very narrow - immature, in fact, just as they should be. These short, narrow tubes are easy to fill with mucous which is a problem alone, and when they get anything else in them are far more likely to create the perfect conditions for infection.

You may not experience a different in how susceptible she is to ear infections by sitting her more upright to eat, but it will at least keep the foreign substance (formula) out of her ears, which may at least diminish what the bacteria have to eat. If she's sensitive to the protein, she's going to have more ear infections than normal, no matter what treatment is sought for it.

i have a 1 year old and she's been sleeping propped up on a pillow since 6 months and luckily she hasn't had an ear infection. you could try to feed her at a 45 degree angle and see if that helps. i've been doing that and knock on wood no complaints...

I nursed my son to 11 months and because he was so big we usually nursed lying down with him lying on his side and me on mine facing each other. He too had 5 ear infections during his first year and a half of life. He even had tubes put in and and had more ear infections after that, but at least we knew with the tubes his eardrums weren't going to burst and have hearing problems. I do think it is a combination of lying too flat and the infantile growth of the eustation tubes (not sure if I spelled that right). He seemed to be on medication for at least a year out of his first year and a half of life. I was more worried about ruining his liver with all the medications than the ears and going deaf. Strange huh? Any way the tubes did help and we tried to wean him off the bottle as soon as possble, but that was not an easy feat either. My personal opinion is every child's insides grow at their own rate and they say by age 5 the inner ear tubes become more vertical than horizontal and the ear problems take care of themselves. I'm not sure as I nursed 4 out of my five children and none of them had the ear problems my last child had. Go figure. Goodluck, not sure this has been of any help or comfort. I struggled with what to do also, but just went with my doctors advice. C. S.

S.,
My 10 month old had her first ear infection at nine months and her doctor told me that it was from fluid and I assumed she meant from a cold that was trickling into her tubes from a runny nose because at this age they can't blow their noses. Check with your doctor about the angle of her feeding though. I've always kept my kids more upright because I was told they would have less gas bubbles in the stomach. Good lick!!

Hi S.,

Yes you need to sit her up more. I'm a mom of two, who are now almost 11 and a 6 year old. Take a minute to look at her car seat when the handle is locked so she is sitting the highest, that is the lowest her head should should ever be.
My 6 year old had had two open heart surgeries by 7 months and that was the best way to feed her. For all her other problems it made it simplier, and no ear problems.

Hi S.,
I don't think It is how you are feeding your little one....but it could be what you are feeding her. If it is a milk based formula, she very well could have an allergy to dairy products. Take her off the milk products and see if the ear infections stop. It was my daughters problem. God Bless. C.

Hi S.,
I have a soon to be 20 year old... yes, 20 YEARS old. She too struggled with ear infections. What I later found that her ear infections were probably due to allergies. She had tubes put in her ears at age 10 months, which is extremely young. We tried everything known to man and could not prevent them. Long story short, had tubes put in and she was great. I don't believe to this day that she has had another ear infection. I have not heard that feeding while laying down causes problems. The ear specialist explained that some kids are proned to ear infections, the shape of their ear can have an affect. My son, never had a problem. However, my sister refused to consider having tubes put in her daughter's ears and unfortunately she eventually had a ruptured ear drum and has permanent hearing loss in that ear. She had to have surgery to repair the ear drum itself when she was about 16 years old. Today she is 26 and fine, but does suffer from hearing loss. Make sure you stay on top of the infections and continue with the doctor. The tubes were a simple, great solution and my daughter has never suffered any hearing loss, only SELECTIVE hearing loss if you know what I mean.
K.

Yes, laying down while drinking a bottle can give ear infections but if I'm remembering correctly it's to do with the growth of the ectacian(not the correct spelling) tube and how it can drain into the ear.

My daughter is now six years old and suffered from numerous ear infections. She's had three sets of tubes surgically put in her ears. As a parent you try anything and everything to prevent ear infections but sometimes it's impossible to clear up especially if she's in daycare as was my daughter. Thankfully the weather is getting warmer which should help the ear infections clear up along with the cold/flu season.

From my past experience don't hesitate to ask for the surgery if the infections continue. It delayed my daughters speech because she couldn't hear through the infections. She's a bright, wonderful six year old now with a vast vocabulary. I know as a first time mother I wish someone had told me to request tubes to help the infections clear up.

Hi S. -
The milk isn't getting into her ears at all. I think it has more to do with the position of the ear canals - they change as they get a little older. I'm sure you can look it up online, or ask your pediatricain.