Alternative Methods to Treat Ear Infections

Tubes. Your frustration is missplaced, and maybe your are just reacting to your ENT's huburos by not looking at her first, but he is right.

If you wait, even if it is allergies- and you are probably right- she is at risk of a speech and language delay, and if you wait long enough, you could also have a hearling loss and difficulty with her cognition.

We had two of our three kids with this issue. The first, we tried the antibiotic route, and she has a permanant problem with language, granted she had a developmental issue too, but she was the last kid on earth who needed to be trying to hear underwater. The second had 6 sets of tubes, her adniods and tonsils removed. No hearing loss, no language issues.

If you want a second opinion from another ENT, go get it right away, maybe you will get one who is a little more humble and one who makes you feel more comfortable. I have personally never met anyone who avoided PE tubes when they were called for, they might delay it, but you need to read about what you could do to your daughter by waiting. If I had it to do over the first time, I would not wait.

Be really careful with things that are not mainstreem. Hearing is nothing to mess around with in an 11 month old, she is about to explode with language, and if you mess up that process, you will regret it.

M.

PS: PE Tubes treat fluid in the ears, and allow the fluid to drain. They are indicated for children who have recurrent ear infections because of a fluid biuld up behind the middle ear. The fluid is a problem, because it prevents children from hearing properly, and they hear sound like they are underwater. Stick your fingers in your ears tightly, and this is how a child who needs tubes hears.

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HI M.,

For the short term fix:
I use an oil called Renew oil for the ears. It is primarily lanolin oil with a small amount of high grade tea tree oil. One drop, will not only stop any kind of bacteria, fungus or virus, but it is soothing as well.

For the long term fix:
Detox your home. Synthetic chemicals are not only respiratory irritants but have a neurological impact as well. They will break down an immune system faster than almost anything else.

Get your child on an absorbable multivitamin/mineral complex. The better her nutrition, the more fuel her body has to work at it's optimum level. Avoid fast foods and processed foods, completely if possible.

Chiropractic care from a principled upper cervical Chiropractor will help her immune system as well. It is always best for the body to fight off the problem. Giving the body the tools it needs is the best help you can give. My chiropractor is the largestpediatric chiropractor in the state of Georgia and has had tremendous success with ear infections.

If you don't have a chiropractor, go to ucspine.com and find one in your area. Ask if they know how chiropractic helps the immune system. If they don't, move on to the next one...I can explain the process of detoxing as well if you're interested. It can be simple and inexpensive too. I can also explain how you can tell the difference between a good vitamin, a mediocre one and a bad one. I can recommend one if you like. My allergies have been gone for years. My daughter was able to dodge tubes after numerous ear infections. Let me know if you'd like details. I'll be glad to help.

Regards,

M.

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I have not read the previous posts, so I am sorry if I am repeating what others say.

There was a recent study by pediatricians in Europe that proves that tubes are no more effective than just letting the children go through ear infections with no antibiotics. The only thing that antibiotics do is shorten the duration of the infection by 1 day. That's it! One day!

That being said, my husband had bronchitis, an ear infection, and a sinus infection all at the same time. He took antibiotics because of all three. The ear infection remained. He finally was able to see an ENT. What did he prescribe??? A nose balloon!!! I'd never seen one before, but here's what it does...

An ear infection is an accumulation of fluid behind the ear. By using a nose balloon, the fluid is pushed from the ear back into the sinuses so it can drain a different way.

Since he started using it, he's been much better. Just by using a balloon. http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2009/05/nose_bal...

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I myself do not have any ear problems and neither does my child. I am a licensed massage therapist and worked in a chiropractic office for 14 months before my son was born. If you are looking for a holistic method I would trying a chiropractor. They do more than just crack your back! I would check with your insurance to see who in your area is in network, ask around and maybe even call some offices. It sounds crazy but sometimes having your neck adjusted can take the pressure and fluid off your ears. You may even try one who does accupuncture. Accupuncture can do wonders for allergies. Good Luck!

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Chiropractics! The tubes that drain the ears can become kinked. When that happens the fluid just stays in the ear. A simple adjustment can help to unkink the tubes and help the ear drain properly. Since she has allergies, her sinuses are probably draining into her ears which is causing the infection. It's really common.

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I know others have already responded wtih this, but definitely try a chiropractor. They work wonders. My son would sleep for hours after they treated his ears with a type of massage therapy. He would be relaxed & didn't even mind it. It's very inexpensive & some don't charge for children under a certain age. It's also an almost inxstant fix when they get an ear infection - no waiting for the antibiotics to kick in. My son's immune system was depleted & completely reliant upon antibiotics because he had been on so many due to ear infections. I got to where I could see the build up in his nexk if I turned his head certain way so I could catch it before it go too bad. Good luck...I'm sorry you have to go through this!

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yep, Chiropractor!!!!!!!!!! does wonders

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Buy some colloidal silver from the health foods store (it's cheap..like $6 or $7) and put a few drops in the ears. Ask the person there how often...they should know. Colloidal Silver is very powerful and kills germs and infections within minutes.

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I would get a second opinion right away from another ENT. And I would be very very wary of trying things that people you don't even know post on here. You are messing with your child's hearing and that is a huge thing. My friend postponed getting tubes for her son and he had bad hearing damage and it caused speech problems. He is 11 and still has problems to this day with his hearing and speech.

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If you really think that these are related to her allergies then that's good news! Allergies are psychosomatic and can be released easily. Look for places who use BioSET / NAET or NLP technics. I have used it and it works.
Hope she'll feel better soon!

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I've been fortunate not to have these problems with my children but I've had a niece and a nephew go through it. I've heard some people have had luck seeing a chiropractor.

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I would eliminate dairy and have her see an allergist first. Honestly though, if she is only 11 months it is not shocking that the problems started just the last couple months. Kids don't usually get sick the first 6 months--its after that it all starts to hit. And she would have hit cold/flu season right about the time that her mother's immunity was wearing off after the first six months. If she has had four infections already--it does not bode well for her. At this age their tubes are just underdeveloped and any little congestion drains straight to the ears. I am sorry that you did not receive the bedside manner you were hoping for at the ENT--but tubes will stop the infections and ear infections hurt. I know any kind of surgery seems earth-shattering to a parent, but it is a simple procedure that will save your daughter the pain of ear infections the next few years. Most of the time the tubes just fall out on their own. Repeat ear infections can cause other issues such as a delay in speech which is worse than the tube procedure. I would do some research on how the ear and tubes work to reassure yourself. If she is still getting infections after seeing an allergist and eliminating allergens, than go to another ENT and get the tubes. Best of luck.

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Well, my daughter kept getting fevers of unknown origin. 1st at 3 months. they kept putting her on antibiotics, but after the 3rd time, I opted not to use them & hoped we could figure out what was causing the fevers. They would check her ears & would always mention tat she had lots of wax, but it looked clear. When she was 2, she was getting the fevers ever 45 days amost like clock work!! I had to see a PA instead of my regular Dr. & she advised irrigating my daughter's ears as there was a lot of wax. They take a syringe with warm water & squeeze it into the ear. Highly technical stuff!!
LOL about 4-5 times, then all this dirty water started draining out into the basin & then poof, a huge pebble like thing fell into the basin!! It was black & had hair all in it. The nurse thought it was a rock, but when she pushed on it with the syringe, it mushed all up & inside was dead skin & more hair!! DISGUSTING. We of course did the other ear and got about the same results, just not as bad. About 2 weeks later my daughter was talking up a storm & has not had another fever of unknown origin. She has complained of her ear hurting one time since then and I used a home remedy i heard about & we haven't had any more problems. My son also had a few ear problems & i used it & no more problems. They had talked about doing tubes for my son, but i wasn't open to it either. Both my kids were placed on zyrtec due to allergies. The home remedy is to place a clove of garlic just in the ear and put tape over it. Leave overnight. I've heard several things as to why it works, but not sure which, or a combo of both. Told it absorbs or draws moisture out of the ear. Told that with the heat of the body, the garlic is released & helps dry the canal and has natural antibiotic properties. I would worry with an 11 month old would get the clove & choke on it, but perhaps during daytime use? My kids were older when I used it. I say go with your gut. I've seen lots of kids get tubes & be better. I've seen lots of kids get tubes & a week later they fall out. If you can find a way to stop them or at least spread them out, then the child does grow out of it. There is also ear ache drops that are herbal at walmart. i have used those as well. Best of Luck with your little one. Oh & 4 infections in 2 months makes me wonder if it isn't the same infection just never getting fully gone.

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I second the chiropractor advice. I was ver skeptical about them for a long time, but since starting my own treatments for a different problem, my sinuses have gotten better. (Not perfect, mind you, but a lot less infections than I used to get.) If you insured, it is possible that chiropractic care is covered, too. Good luck!

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I get injection therapy for allergies, which I know is not an option for an 11 month old. But having allergies I get many complications from them. However, I have been told both by my allergist and general doc that ear infections are NOT due to allergies. Eustachian tube dysfunction is. That does not require an antibiotic, but instead staying on allergy meds and adding a steroid nasal spray. It is the sinuses backing up and causing a kink in tube that needs to be relaxed. There is slight fluid in the ears, but no infected fluid.

If your daughter continues to have true ear infections, I'd consult another one or two ENTs. I never have ear infections nor do my kids but I know a ton of families who have. Some with complaints, some without.

Good luck to you. A sore ear HURTS and I'm sure makes for a miserable baby and equally miserable parents.

My suggestion is to suck it up and get her tubes. My daughter went through five infections in three months and I was almost praying for tubes because of all the great things I had heard about them and I was tired of her being in pain!

It does seem strange to me that he didn't even look in your daughter's ears but it may be that after a certain # of infections in a certain # of months, they automatically talk about tubes because more often than not, there is no other full proof remedy.

I realize that you believe her infections are a result of her allergies, and while this may be true, that means that she may continue to get ear infections as result of the allergies for the entire allergy season. Do you really want to risk her being in pain all that time?

My daughter had her tubes 1.5 months ago and has not had any pain or infection since. Her hearing was good before but is even better now. I'm really glad we decided to get tubes.

I know you were asking for alternative methods, but I just wanted to tell you that tubes are not all that bad. And because of her age, she may be in more pain that she's telling you.

Good luck!

There are garlic drops that I have used for my daughter. You should be able to get them at any natural foods store. You might also consider taking her to a naturapathic doctor (i think i spelled that wrong, an ND) who might be able to determine if there is something with her diet that is causing these problems.

Get her off of dairy and wheat, and to the chiropractor! I've seen it cut the length of my daughter's one ear infection and eliminate several childrens' problems with chronic infections! And zyrtec was recently recalled, beck that if you're still using it!!

My daughter was 12 months old when she received her first ear infection and that went on and off until 2 years old. She had a total of 8 ear infections and I brought up getting tubes to my doctor and she told me no. She wanted me to try ear drops that actually numb the ear drum and perscribed me antibiotics for her to take. That worked wonders and afterwards she grew out of the ear infections and never saw them again. Thank goodness the doctor did not agree with me or I would have put tubes in her ears. She is now 5 years old and has never had an infection since.

So ask your doctor about the numbing drops that helps ease the pain, throbbing, crying and etc. Works wonders. Also ask for an antibiotic to help her. Keep her head elevated because as they lay down that causes more pressure on their ears and for them to be in more pain. I always kept her in a swing or carseat to keep her upright.

Good luck!

If her ear infections are due to alergies, she would have to go through this pain every year her allergies acted up. Tubes are very common these days and work wonders. You asked about other natural remedies, but to me the most natural solution would be to get tubes and relieve her ears....versus keeping her on a drug constantly. The earlier the better as well: Good luck!

We tried Zyrtec, used warm washclothes to lay on, the moist heat will help with swelling and infection. But spring allergies lead to x number of infections, he was good for about a month and then fall allergies and then winter colds and he ended up rupturing his ear drums a collective 27 times, then we got the tubes. I'm all for trying without tubes, but they really, for us were a life changer. I would watch for ruptures and see how it goes, but realize that too many ruptures and you can permanently damage their hearing. Good luck, hopefully it goes better for you and your family.

I wasn't going to post until I read the reply about getting on and staying on antibiotics. I hope you don't go down that road as it can lead to serious infections with antibacterial-resistant bacteria that are extremely difficult to treat. We had the same situation with my daughter and had tubes put in at 8 months (she'd already had 6 double ear infections within 6 months!) and she was a different kid. Her speech picked up and she started sleeping through the night, she never had another infection after that!

We just had the tubes removed because hers didn't fall out on their own (she's almost 2) and we are hopeful that the eustachian tubes will be more developed now so that fluids can drain normally. We suspect allergies in my daughter as well, but the ENT has suggested we don't treat for that yet, as the immune system in a toddler is still developing and can give many false positives.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide, but we had great results with the tubes and no side effects so far.

I think your best line of defense at this point is to try to build her immune system as much as possible while realizing that you will need to take her to be checked and treated every time she has an ear infection. You have no way of knowing by looking at her if her eardrum has perforated. And that is serious! My daughter perfed her eardrum and it was only by taking her in and the doc getting a good look that we found out. Thank goodness I took her in instead of trying to ride it out with comfort measures.

You might try using a crib wedge in her bed to keep her head elevated, keeping her secretions moving by using a aspirator once or twice a day, using saline drops once a day and maybe see about a referral to an allergist.

I feel your pain. My son got his first ear infection when he was 6 months old. We were at the doctor every two and a half to three weeks because of them. It was horrible. He is now 12 years old and we still have ear trouble (though not as severe or as often) and I am as sure as I ever was that it is because of allergies.

I did look up the Eardoc you mentioned. I must say, after years of experience with ear troubles, I would not depend on that at all. I was very diligent in getting him to the doctor and treating the infections with antibiotics. Still, my son has permanent hearing loss. My suggestion is to get your daughter on some strong antibiotics to actually clear up the infection and then to keep her on some maintenance antibiotics to help keep a new infection from occuring. Please understand that the fluid in your daughters ears will, at some point, wear a groove in the bones and begin to affect her hearing in a permanent way.

I understand your disappointment with the ENT not even looking in your daughter's ears before talking about tubes. I would have been upset as well. However, if you were referred by her primary care doctor, chances are, he has already received her file and is familiar with you daughter's history of ear infections. I would suggest you ask for a referral to another ENT for a second opinion. Doctors are smart, but sometimes they "decide" that something needs to be done without really looking at the entire picture or based on what has happened with other patients.

I am all for alternative medicines, however, in this case, I would advise you to stick with western medicine. The consequences of the infection continuing and the damage it causes are too severe.

Another thing we have learned along the journey....The adenoids sit on top of the other end of the eustation tube. They put some pressure on the tube on a good day. If they are swollen, they can pinch of the other end to the point that they cannot drain properly. When my son had tubes put in the first time (at two), the doctor asked me, on the day of surgery, if I would like to have his adenoids removed as well. I asked if there was any reason to and he said there wasn't, so we left them intact. He never explained where they were or that they swell with allergy or sinus probolems. It wasn't until I went to an allergist and she said my son's tonsils needed to come out and she showed me a detailed picture of "all thee stuff in there." (I'll admit, the picture was actually for my son so he would know what was going to happen and where, but I found it fascinating.) When we went back to our ENT to discuss and schedule the surgery, I took the picture. I pointed out the adenoids and told him I thought they needed to go as well because of their position in relation to his tubes. He told me i just made his job easier and we did it. I must tell you, things have been SOOOOO much better. Rather than having 6-8 infections a year, my son now has 2-3.

Oh! You might also have a dentist look at your daughter's mouth. I know it sounds crazy, but my son also has a really high arch in the roof of his mouth. That means that his sinus cavity is much smaller than it should be. Again causing drainage problems. We are going to get him braces with a palate expander to bring that down some. The ear doctor said that it could very well help and make his next surgery to replace the eardrum a better success (he blew the new eardrum out the first time).

On the tubes in the ears, I am not against tubes, but they DO NOT prevent ear infections. My son had as many with tubes as he did without. If the fliud in your daughter's ears is as think as my son's was, the tubes will simply become blocked with it and she will wind up blowing the tubes out. My son did that twice. Yes, it took me too times before I said that we would not do the tubes again. I switched ENTs at that time as well because not happy with me for not going the tube route again. The one good thing about the tubes is that they drain the infection out of the ears when they place the tubes. It gives them about a month clear. Woo Hoo!

I know that is a lot of information, but I have been there and want you to have all the info I have learned over the years. I know that I am forgetting something and if I think of it later I will add it.

Good luck to you. I hope some of what I have shared is of help to you.

PS The saline drops is what I was forgetting. So glad someone mentioned them. If you will use the saline mist 2-3 times a day (wouldn't ue more than that as it can cause her nose to become too dried out) that will help if it is indeed allergy related. It will flush the allergens out of her nose. Now, I would not put the drops in and then suction out her nose like we typically do babies. That will actually wash some of the allergens right on through. It may take two people to do it this way, but keep her and the saline bottle upright and just squirt a mist into her nose and let it drain back out itself. If that is not tolerated, you might try using moistened q-tips to wipe out the nostrils. I would suggest doing it anytime she has been outside, upon awakening in the morning, and any other time she has been exposed to allergens.

Also, if she has an infection or you think she may be getting one (if you think it, it is probably already there), limit all dairy products. The dairy products will thicken the mucous. Sometimes it is hard to make kiddos understand that they cannot have the milk they want or the cheese. Try soy. We discovered it because of the infections and still drink it occassionally because it does taste good (some of it anyway).

Be sure she is not drinking while lying down. This can cause and/or worsen ear infections. Always have her drink sitting up or at the very least, propped up on a pillow.

I've also heard giving small daily amounts of LOCALLY harvested honey can help booster the immune system against allergies. Once she's 12 months, you might try this to help combat the allergy issue.

M.- my son had several ear infections and what we tried one day a pharmacy near me had told my mom about was sweet oil,he had fluid in his ears left from the infections and sometimes even though the infection is gone the fluid can stay longer and it is then easier for them to develop into an infection as long as fluid is present we used it for awhile putting it in there every night and remember now that fluid was there forever well when his checkup came up and after all that time of her seeing the fluid it was gone i know it was the sweet oil.

Just to clarify the response about hearing, I believe the speech/hearing issue is from having the fluid in the ears and once that is cleared up, hearing should return to normal if it is just related to fluid in the ears. My daugher had repeat ear infections and we wound up putting tubes in when she was 3 (an amazingly easy procedure with no real recovery needed, other than letting the anesthesia wear off). She had hearing problems before they were put in and it affected her speech because she couldn't tell how we were pronouncing the words. (She would tell us after school that the "natch berry" came. After a couple of weeks, we realized she was talking about the "nap fairy" who would put a sticker under their pillow if everyone in her class took a nap) Anyway, once she could hear how we were pronouncing the words, she got right back on track and pronounced everything correctly.

It sounds like working on her allergies is a good plan. But I also encourage you to be open to the tubes if she needs them because it really was an easy procedure for us and she hasn't had an ear infection since (she's 8 now). Good luck to all of you!