Advice on Ear Infections! HELP!

My daughter had tubes put in right after her first birthday. She also continued to have ear infections. I think she has had three since she got the tubes. But they are not nearly as often. One time she even had blood in the stuff that was coming out of her ears. All I can say is that she does not have them nearly as often and seems to recover from them quickly. In fact, I think she only had one this winter (she is two).
You might try mineral oil or diluted hydrogen peroxide. They help.

If when she's getting her cold if she has a lot of sinus drainage that can back up into their ears and cause ear infections. Try keeping her nose blown (or sucked out). I don't know if that'll alleviate your issue, but it my reduce it.

Hi E.,

I now what you mean about being sick. Before my little guy had tubes he had ear infection after ear infection. I will say that after his tubes were in he still did get a few ear infections but the tubes did do their job and allow the fluid to drain so he wasn't in as much pain. If you don't feel comfortable with the advice you have gotten then I would say get that second opinion. It does sound like she is sick a lot but then again it is that time of year and I know my family has been pretty sick these last couple of months (ARGH!!!) I know I am probably not much help but I just wanted to say--if you aren't happy with what you are being told--get that second opinion and the tubes are only put in to help the fluid drain off of the inner ear (they don't prevent them from getting sick or ear infections). Hang in there and I do admire you for being a single mom and taking great care of your kids. Hope this helps.

T.
____@____.com
www.athome.com/T. (AWESOME company that allows you to work from home)

Hi E.,

I wanted to respond to your ear infection problems with your 1 year old. My brother had many problems with his ears when he was younger. My parents took him to many doctors because of his reocurring ear infections. They also had to put in tubes into his ears, but even after, he still had difficulties. Eventually, he temporarily lost most of his hearing. It was even to the point that he was unable to learn words because he would hear them differently, and people usually thought that he wouldn't listen to them when he was spoken to, but it was all because he couldn't hear them. he is fine now, but I most definately would go get a second opinion, just to be on the safe side.

Sincerely,

B.

My daughter had tubes at 9 months also, and has still had an ear infection. From what I understand, they still get infected, but the bacteria can drain out and it doesn't fester in the ear canal.

Are you careful not to get bathwater or swimming pool water in her ears? Do they have you use drops at the onset of the infection, like Ciprodex?

We started looking for alternatives to treating the causes why my daughter was getting so sick. We started washing her hands before eating at home and when she gets home from daycare or an outing. We started giving her a 1/2 Flintstone gummy vitamin each day. She gets 1 scoop of Rhino Powder acidophilous for babies each day in her yogurt to help keep the good bacteria in her system. And we started seeing a chiropractor who specializes in babies.

She went from going on antibiotics every 14 days to 45 days. I hope that you will be able to find something to help your little girl. I know how frustrating it is.

Also, she may have a food allergy, such as milk. You might try rice milk for two weeks and see if her condition improves. Cow's milk actually adds to mucus production.

Good luck!

That's so sad. There is a German doctor (Behaviorial & Developmental Medicine, Pediatrics) who is great at figuring out the underlying cause of all of this. Her name is Dr. Cindy Schmillen and she is at Mountain Family Wellness Klinik in Nampa, ID, ###-###-####. I would take your daughter in there asap.

I have far too much experience in this avenue and my husband works in the O.R., he happened to work closely with our areas BEST ENT.
Her tubes could be defective. One of my daughters' tubes was and it had to be replaced.
She should NOT get ear INFECTIONS, because the fluid only becomes infected IF it is not allowed to drain thus her ears are NOT draining.
Call an ENT and get her in right away. The fluid DOES do damage, our daughter has had to do a lot of catching up! I can go on and on but my best suggestion is TAKE HER TO SOMEONE ELSE! Feel free to write back if I can help.
One last thought, does she have reflux? That can and does cause fluid to be pushed into the ears.

Hello,
I have had 2 children with the same exact problems as you. The first one was 5 1/2 months old when we did this and had problems for the next 3 years. We then had constant strep throat and other issues so we were advised to take out her tonsils and adnoids. She has not been sick a day since. My other daughter was 1 when we put in her tubes and I really didn't want to go through the surgery again so I gave in to the advice to take her to a chiropractor. This helped, not an immediate solution, it took a couple of visits but she slept better and hasn't been back in 3 years so I think it is up to you on what to try. The chiropractor will tell you his reason on why this happens and we noticed a big change in her in a lot of different areas.(Also cheaper, no meds to deal with either). In either case I would get a second opinion as you don't want to have permanent damage. We also know now that by putting in the tubes there is permanent scar damage in my daughters ear and this can affect their hearing(never was mentioned by the specialist).

I too had ear infections all the time when I was younger. They even took out my tonsils. Have you asked about taking them out. That stopped most of them but I'm now 40 and I still get them accassionally. I think the tubes just make them easier to heal. I know how hard it is to watch your child suffer an ear infection. Nothing hurts more. Good luck and I'd try a second opinion.

Hi E.:

The first thing that comes to mind is that her immune system might be weak. Do you give her a good vitamin? She really should be taking them all the time. You have to really be careful which vitamins you choose. A lot of those from the store just don't have the things in it a person really needs.
But needless to say, that would be my first inclination is to get her system built up.
Second thought, and you might not have even realized this, but we have so many toxins in the home such as bleach, 409, Lysol, all the things that are supposed to make our home clean, right?! Well, these things can cause a lot of problems with the respiratory system, and of course our ears, nose and throat are all a part of that.
There are tons of toxins in the home and most of them are the cleaners that we use to clean our home with. Clorox bleach and Lysol are both registered pesticides. They can cause serious respiratory problems when simply breathed in. A lot of our household cleaners actually have ingredients in them that cause cancer and we don't even realize it.
I would recommend if you haven't already, get rid of all the toxins in your home and start cleaning your house with products that don't cause harmful effects.
I switched stores for where I shop for these items as well as about 300 other products too. All of their products are environmentally safe.
As soon as I received my products, I literally threw out all the other things I had been using all those years and my kids haven't been to the doctor in almost a year because of it....believe me, that was HUGE in our house. We went to the doctor at least 3 to 4 times a year.
Email me and I can share with you a little bit about this awesome wholesale store that I shop from.
My email is: ____@____.com
God bless you!!!
T.

My nephew had tubes put in about that same time and kept getting infections and was in lots of pain. One fell out and they had to take the other out. It was all black on the side in the ear drum from bacteria build up. He got new ones and is doing great now, but it was awful before.

my son was sick all the time until he was about 1 1/2 and I don't smoke and our house is clean. He's been doing great now. You're mom and if you think this isn't right and you need another opinion, get one. Doctor should listen and make you feel better. If they aren't, get a new one. Good luck to you.

K.