ANOTHER Ear Infection?!!!

Hi A.,
My youngest daughter (5yrs. now) also suffered with ear infections. We took her to an ENT who told us to give her Robitussin 4 times a day for ten days. We did it and she hasn't had an ear infection in over two years. When ever we notice her becoming stuffy/ runny nose we immediately start the Robitussin and so far it has worked!
Good luck!

A.,

A couple of quick things....find a chiropractor that works on kids....I was not a believer of chiropractic medicine until it got rid of my oldest daughter's recurrent ear infections!!!
Be cautious and find a good chiro...Stop or limit sugar intake; sugars, high fructose corn syrup....etc... can ruin the immune system....start giving your daughter a good probiotic...go to Whole Foods or Earth Fare or a similar type grocery store and ask someone for a good probiotic for children; a powder will probably be best since you can put it in her juice, water, milk...etc....she won't even notice it....if you want to really boost her immune system, also use a good Colostrum powder! Try to feed her as healthy as you possibly can; this will also help her immune system ....When she got an ear infection, use warm garlic oil drops....this will relieve the pain and swelling.....I have a ton of other info....if you need anything else, email me personally and I'll get you all the info I can!

Pam

A.,
I have to agree with Pamela and Meredith. My oldest (3 year old) spent all last fall and winter with ear infections- 6 to be exact, with two cases of pneumonia and the flu (despite her flu shot!). Needless to say, it was a rough time, so I feel for you. We did start taking her to a chiropractor. I do recommmend it, but choose wisely. We started with one and it wasn't doing anything for her. Took her to another one whose practice I liked a lot better, after one adjustment she's doing fantastic. I would also agree with the probiotics (especially if you're giving her any antibiotics) and the healthy diet. I would also recommend cutting back on the dairy. Not sure why this is, but dairy increases a persons mucous production, and ear infections often occur because the mucous isn't draining well (which is one of the reasons for tubes usually). If she's already having issues with mucous drainage, it makes sense to not give something that will make more mucuous. If your pediatrician is pushing antibiotics, I would encourage you not to use them. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics says antibiotics don't work for ear infections, but peds are still prescribing them. And the antibiotics are just going to weaken your daughter's immune system. The garlic oil should help, and if she still has pain you can try tylenol or Similicin (I think that's the brand) makes a drop that acts like a numbing agent to ease the pain. Last, I would suggest you consider having her tested for allergies. I went that route with my daughter before looking into tubes, and it turned out she's highly allergic to dust mites and cats. Controlling the allergies has lead to no ear infections in 4 wonderful months! I do wish you luck in getting the ear infections under control. I know it's so hard to see your little girl constantly hurting and uncomfortable.

Hello My name is K. and I have a child who had a lot of ear infections when he was first born. I was frustrated because the prescriptions the doctor gave him didn't seem to help so I tried a more natural approach. I gave him garlic ear drops that worked wonders. I know it sounds crazy but it really works. They have garlic and olive oil in them and it not only sooths his ears but it also gets rid of the ear infection. If you want to know more just let me know.

My son had a very similar problem, although the tubes have helped, but a few months after the tubes we also pulled him off wheat products and but him on rice milk. I went to an acupuncturist because I couldnt get results out of the doctors and she suggested the diet change because they produced and increase in mucus...so if your daughter has less drainage it wont go in here ears. I would try it atleast for a month, but I think you will see changes within a week. I know that Lowes Foods has a lot of wheat and gluten free products (chicken nuggets, waffles, cookies, fruit bars, cake mixes) Hope this helps.

If you are still giving her a bottle? If you put her to bed with a bottle or let her go to sleep holding one, the milk(juice,whatever) can go into her ear and cause infections. If no bottle, I don't know.

I do know about ear infections.. my girl ( now going on 14 years old). still has ear infections about 2 to 3 a month, I have taken her to the ENT, family Doctor. at age 2 she had her tansils,adnord, and tubes in ears.. it helped with the infections til they fell out..( it took about 4 months for them to fall out), but after they fell out she has had ear infection all over again.. now that she is 14 the Doctor she sees now finaly told me why.. her dranage tube (that lets the fluid drain from the ear ) is to small, and it callaps on it self, like when you try to suck a thick milk shake thought a straw.. anyway kids do grow out of it but in some cases (like my child) that the only way for it to be repaired, is having to put a stint in the tube to keep it open..
I do hope you child will grow out of it, B.

I really feel for you. I am a mother of two boys, 13 and 10. My 13 year old had ear infections all the time. It was insane how many he got each month. He got one so bad when he was four that the fevers and infection gave him menangitis. He was hospalized for a month. After that happened I changed pediatricians. And I was glad I did because he hasnt had an ear infection since.He also has had his adnoids and tonsils out but they said he did not need tubes put in his ears. But he just got his adnoids out about three weeks ago. I brought him to two or three ear specialists in the last several years and no one could give me a straight answer on if his infections had effected his hearing. So I recently moved to a different city and decided to try a different specialist out of the area I had already been bringing him to so I could get another opinion and that was when they said he needed his adnoids as well as his tonsils out. Due to the swelling of both it was making his ear drum stay sucked in. I always believe that if something is reoccuring and if it doesnt feel right to you that they havent fixed the problem then go get a second opinion. My gradmother has bad thyroids and has to take medication. Well he doctor prescribed this medicine for her twhich made her hair fall out. I kept telling to try a different doctor for a second opinion. But she was stubborn because she had been going to him for a long time. Then her eyes starting messing up like they would go blurry out of the blue.Well me and my mom finally talked her into going and getting a second opinion and she agreed. She ended up going and getting the second opinion from another doctor and the hair loss and the eye problems wereboth from the medicine her doctor prescribed. Even though she had went to her doctor several times over a year or two complaing about what was happening to her. Now that she has been with the new doctor her hair is growing back and the eye problem has gone away. I say definetly returned to the doctor but if you are not satisfied with the results try another doctor.

Hi A.:

I hate to hear about your little girl getting so many ear infections. My 3 year old starting getting them after she started daycare at 9 months old. Before she turned 2 she had 6 ear infections in 4 months all during the summer. We saw an ENT and he recommended doing tubes since she had so many in the summer when kids usually don't get them. We didn't like the idea much since she would soon be 2 and should be out growing having ear infections and held off. Good thing we did. I talked to my mom and she told me that when my step sister was little she kept getting ear infections. Her pediatrician told her to give her Dimetapp every day. The Dimetapp keeps the mucus thin and help prevent ear infections. We started giving it to her every night and every AM as she also has allergies and takes Singulair. We have been doing this since the Summer of 2005 and she has only had 1 ear infection since then and that was when she had a bad sinus infection. It wasn't so much infected as it was just red. We have been giving Dimetapp to our 17 month old also since she was about 4 months as she also has allergies. She has never had an ear infection.

This has worked for us, maybe it will work for you. Depending on how much she weighs, you can probably give her about 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp. Just ask your pediatrician or a pharmacist. Our pharmacist told us we could buy the bigger bottles that say for children 6 and up and just give her the correct amount. I buy the Wal-Mart Equate brand as the big bottle is less than $3 where the name brand is over $6.

A.,

Definitely a chiropractor is the way to go. My husband is one and has worked on many babies with ear infections. He has had a lot of success stories. If you need help finding a chiropractor in your area, I would be happy to ask my husband to look into it for you. I used to not know much about different chiropractic techniques, but there are and I agree with the other ladies, choose carefully and do a little research. My husband uses the Gonstead method and is a graduate of Palmer University in Iowa. He has practiced in NC prior to having his own practice here in Greenville, SC for 15 years. Let me know if you need any help.

K.

I am so sorry to hear about this problem! It must be torture, knowing you can't do anything for her. My nephew had ear infections and a runny nose constant from the time he was born. When he was 5, the Drs. ran allergy tests (they wouldn't do it before age 5), and he was allergic to milk. We stopped giving him milk products, or things with milk in them and he was fine.He is 18 now, and has never had another ear infection. That might be something to ask the Ped. about. I hope she gets better:)