Ear Infections and Antibiotics

I thought ears always got red with a cold. They are congested up. Put saline in the nose every diaper change to keep the eustacian (sp?) tube open. You don't want that junk hanging around in there causing later problems with auditory processing disorder. Unless there is an active infection, don't fill the prescription.

If you don't give him the full antibiotics his ear infection can get worse, or come right back..The anitbiotics are very important for ear infection. But they also have drops that you can put in his ears at the same time to make it heal quicker. My daughter went through a lot of ear infections. Give him the full antibiotics...

My kids have had quite a few ear infections between 6 kids over the last 22 years. 4 of them have never had an antibiotic for it, 1 only once and 1 several times (that kiddo ended up with tubes). I always used homeopathic remedies. A long time ago, I read somewhere that 80% of ear infections do not require antibiotics and will go away if left alone (don't quote me on the numbers - it was a long time ago). Anyways, I decided that I would see if I could treat them at home and largely with great success.

For the last 10 or so years (whenever it came out) I have been using Similician (sp). It is an orange box with an ear on it and you can buy it just about everywhere. It isn't cheap but a bottle lasts me a long time :) I have also done ear candling on my kids, but when they were older (it is too hard to be safe with an ear candle on a little one). I know that my ex-mother in law had different stuff that she did for my kids before Similician became available, but I can't remember - I'll bet if you Google it, you would find a few good home cures.

As far as the fever goes, remember that a fever is the bodies natural response to fighting an infection or other perceived bodily threat. There is nothing wrong with letting a kid have a fever (of course not too high) and let nature work its course.

when it comes to ears i would never (from experience) think twice about taking antibiotics. the thing is you won't know when the redness turns into an infection, so your baby may get worse, and delay getting better. why be miserable.

It just kinda depends on the kid and how bad it is. I have taken one of my daughters in and the doctor said she had some fluid in her ear and it was a little red but not really a full blown ear infection....yet. He told me just to watch her and if she got a fever, started waking all night long in pain etc. to bring her in again for antibiotics. But it cleared up on it's own so i never took her back in. Now my other daughter has had a few ear infections and she need the antibiotics. She is 3 so she can tell me when her ear hurts which helps in knowing when to take her in. One time i started giving her the antibiotics but after a few days she seemed all better so I stopped. Then about 2 days later it came right back with a fever and ear pain. So I continued the meds and then it was gone. So I really don't think it would have cleared up on it's own. I guess for me I fell like if the doctors says she needs the antibiotics I will give it to her cause I don't want her in any pain longer than needed.

I agree with Lola. My guys (2 1/2 twin boys) have been getting ear infections for the past several months. The first year and a half they were born I basically kept them in a bubble (they were born at 30 weeks, in the NICU for 6 weeks) and they were never sick. This past winter/spring has been so HARD! They have had several ear infections, strep throat, walking pnonomia (SP?!) and more ear infections. I was not sure what I was going to do at first with the boys as they are our first children. Use antibiotics, don't, do, don't???? I did and believe they are what is best for the little one's to battle their first or second encounter with these issues. Side effects may be diarreha, so you need to make sure they are hydrated, but they meds usually kick in within 24 hours and then you have your baby back :)

Funny enough, someone just sent me this link! http://www.organicauthority.com/health/health/how-to-rapi...
They seem to have a ton of great ideas, many of which I have heard before. Also, I wanted to second the suggestion to take him to a chiroprator. There are clinical studies showing how adjustments are helpful with ear infections. Oh also, good suggestion on the pribiotics, even if you don't do the antibiotics. They will help prevent.

Xylitol nasal spray 2-4x's a day will decrease the incidence of inner ear infections plus reduce the chance of your child getting cavities. I use and recommend Xlear nasal spray, you can find it in health food stores and on the internet. It is not a good idea to dose with antibiotics as you know. Xylitol has helped me reduce upper respiratory infections as well. Let me know if you have any questions.
Take Care,
B.

Between both my kids who are now 8 and 6 we have been given antibiotics for ear infections about 7 or 8 times in their lifetime, I only gave the antibiotics to my son once, my daughter never needed them. My soh is 6 years old now, most of the time I find they dont need them, having a little red in their ears means nothing, most of the time it clears up unless there is fever there really is no infection and in my opinion the antibiotics are more of a problem than a solution. Go with your gut feeling.

My son had numerous ear infections starting at the age of two. After repeated bouts of antibiotics, we had tubes placed & his adenoids removed. Now for the most part whenever he gets an infection & the fever is gone, I tend to let nature run its course since I, too didn't like the side effects.

If you child's ear is just a little red, I would be inclined to wait and see what happens. Get the prescription filled and have it on hand and ready. It isn't until kids get to 3 years old that your doc will tell you to wait and see.

You will know pretty clearly that the ear infection has worsened: fever, not sleeping well, not wanting to eat/nurse/take bottle, maybe tugging on his ear or something similar.

The antibiotics (I assume the doc prescribed amoxacillin) may give your child an upset stomach and appetite won't be great. It's also pretty h*** o* little bodies - give him plenty of yogurt or pro-biotics to help balance out the loss of good bacteria.

I hope he's feeling better soon!

My son never had them as young as yours, but we absolutely take the 'wait and see' approach. I feel bad everytime I have to give him antibiotics. Mine tends to get 3-4 ear infections a year, only in the last few years. Basically how I gauge it is: if he is eating and happy most of the time and Motrin takes the pain away, he does not need them. A few times he has seeemed a little off but not complaining of ear pain, I ake him in and the dr. was blown away by how bad his ears were and how happy he seemed with such terrible ear infection(s), when they are really bad and both ears, etc. I give in and give him the antibiotics.

We get sick from amoxicillan so we get zpacks for it, it's only 5 days, once a day...something to consider.

Often times, I have to almost argue with the ped. that he does not need the meds. I usually wind up with a prescription to fill only if he gets worse or doesn't start improving soon, and they never get filled.

Usually if you can manage the pain, it will heal on its own. Have heard great things about chiropractors but have not tried it for ear infections yet.

Yes, take him to the chiropractor! And use a tiny amount of a powdered probiotic each day while on the antibiotics...and yogurt too! Ear infections are not to be messed with, I gave my daughter the antibiotics with her first and only ear infection, took her to the chiropractor at least every other day while on them, and at least every week for a month after. Now every month at least once or twice, helps keep systems regulated and when they do get sick it isn't as bad and doesn't last as long.

Let me start off by telling you the side effects of NOT giving the antibiotics. Once the ear is infected the ear drum begins to swell - the redness is just the start. If the infection is not taken care of, the ear drum can and will bust. Again, if not taken care of, the split in the ear drum will be come worse and take longer to heal and can lead to hearing problems. What happens is that the ear drum becomes scarred and the vibrations from noise do not react the same way when they hit the ear drum.

Both of my boys had constant ear infections. Neither ever had feevers with them. Neither would be upset or bothered by them or at least it seemed. I found my oldest had an ear infection the first time when I found a small spot of blood on his sheet in the crib. I then noticed it in the ear and took him in to the doctor. His ear drum had split due to the swelling and infection. From that point forward, when he explained what can occur, if he had any kind of congestion I would take him in and sure enough he would have an ear infection. He now has a hearing problem - no one can say for sure that it is because of his ear drum splitting, but the problem is in the same ear.

My youngest has a similar story. Don't wait - anitbiotics aren't that bad!! And better to ensure that you are not damaging the ear than to choose to wait and see what happens.

It depends. If they have a head cold, I wait. Head colds can cause ear pain that is related to the sinuses and not actually the ear. My son did have ear infections twice, but he didn't have a cold either time. He had been pulling on his ears and whining, and that's how I knew. He took antibiotics those times, but none of my kids have had them any other time. I give them a decongestant, sometimes a warm compress for their ear and wait. The pain has always subsided and they've been fine. If it didn't then I would go to the pediatrician. If you choose to give him the antibiotics, just make sure he finishes them.

i didn't get to read all the answers, but IF you do decide to give your child an antibiotic, make sure to also give your child probiotics!

Hello M.,
I used to think that you always needed antibiotics for an ear infection, But I have learned that is not the case! First we started living a more holistic lifestyle and I started to educate myself on food, nutrition, and medication.
Then my son, 3 years old, got an ear infection, and I spoke with friends that also try and live more holistically who told me to put hot compresses with chamomile and lavender on the ear, Motrin for pain, and let his body fight it off (no sugar in his diet while fighting sickness). After a week, my anxiety kicked in and I brought him to the Dr. who said it was clearing up and that 95% of ear infections DO NOT need antibiotics and that they prescribe them because that is what parents expect!

Usually an ear infection will run it's course without antibiotics. If you fear you need to do something a drop of colloidal silver in the ear should clear it up quickly. Also, one drop of melaleuca oil in a teaspoon of olive oil will help too. ONLY apply one drop of that solution. This is soothing as well.

Like suggested, a principled upper cervical chiropractor can rid a child of ear infections....and keep them away. The immune system is built by allowing the body to work the way it is supposed to and chiropractic care puts everything where it is supposed to be so it can work at its optimum level. Our bodies are miraculously resilient and can handle a lot when they are healthy!

Antibiotics will break down the immune system and your little one will be more susceptible to future infections as well. Make sure, if you decide to use them, that you utilize a probiotic/prebiotic to assure that yeast does not invade the system.

Hope this helps!

I would bring our kids (I think our daughter was like 6 months old the first time) straight to the chiropractor when they would get diagnosed with ear infections.

I never gave the prescribed antibiotic to the kids for ear infections because the chiropractor worked every time! The one time she had a really bad double ear infection (according to doc) and when we went back for a check up like 5 days later he said, "Keep giving her the antibiotics they are really working. Her ears look completely better already!" SHE NEVER GOT THEM! LOL

I took the wait and see approach, and my children never needed the antiobiotic. If you give it to them, you have a much better chance of it coming back as it takes away the body's natural way of fighting it off. I hope this helps.