Fighting Ear Infections

Might want to try a drop or two of warmed sweet oil ( this is in the pharmacy dept of any wal mart.) My dad used this old home remedy on me when I was young. Could also ask dr about swimmers ear drops. If the child stays on antibiotics they won't work for him when he gets older. Hope everything goes well for you.

3 out of 4 of my children have tubes in their ears. They all had tons of ear infections as babies. Did they doctor say why he wants to wait? I have had no problems with ear infections since the tubes. C.

Hey S.. It always pains me to hear of children that suffer. It is so frustrating but so common for kids to get ear infections. Many moms have experienced the same aggravations as you. And we end up seeing alot of infants in our office - a chiropractic office!
Here's some research to help:
http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/chiropractic/ear.htm

Lots of moms and kids have found much success with this simple adjustment. I encourage you to explore all your options.
Yours in health
J.

You should contact pediatrician Dr. Miriam Mills in Tulsa - Young People's Clinic (www.youngpeoplesclinic.yourmd.com/miriammills). She can most likely fix your son's chronic ear infection problem with OMT. If that's too far for you to drive, call her office and find out if she can refer you to someone closer to you who does pediatric OMT. It is amazing how simple her treatment is, and how quickly it works.

My 10mo is going through much the same thing.

Dairy is sometimes the culprit so if you breastfeed it might help to cut it down or eliminate it completely.

More links, as well as going to the chiropractor:
http://www.compassionateacupuncture.com/Ear%20Infections.htm
http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/article.asp?PageType...
http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/go/index.php/60/ear-in...

CHIROPRACTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just went through 5 antibiotics w/ my son before 15 month old and they threatened tubes. My chiro told me to bring him in and he has totally got ridden of all the fluid. He said he has prevented every kid from getting tubes. He does this odd pull technique and you can hear the fluid drain. Not fun...but works!!!!!

I would find a chiropractor that works on kids....worth a try. He also told me that tubes DOES NOT help fluid drain off the ear. It only EQUILIZES PRESSURE. I know that some people have success with tubes, but I thought it was worth a try to prevent surgery.

Also, I just saw a study done on TV and they said that decongestants DO NOT help ear infections that we are all over medicating our kids. I would look online to try and find that information. My son can't have them anyway because of a heart condition, but I thought that was really interesting. I wonder if our pediatricians keep up on that stuff like they are supposed to.

good luck!

My oldest which is now 7 experienced this. We spent months of med after med after med. TO no avail. Finally they did put in tubes. We actually had to prop him up at night. We did all the same things you have done. I know it is very frustrating, Try having them sleep in sitting position.( we went a few weeks of him sleeping in his carseat!) Or I slept in the recliner sitting up with him on me. It seems as if he is just going to be prone to them. Also the daycare. Check there. Alot of them do just lay them down to eat because you cant hold all at once. And during naptime at the daycare. We found out back then that the daycare was doing this with our oldest.

Tubes made a big difference for us too. Unfortunately, when they start out this early getting them, the body just never has time to catch up. It's not like you can get a baby at this age to down a lot of vitamin c or other herbs. I wouldn't be afraid of the tubes. I've had hundreds of daycare kids over 20 years and many of them had tubes and alaways did very well with them.

Suzi

My daughter ended up having 20 ear infections. We literally tried everything under the sun. We ended up having tubes put in. It was like night and day. She has had one ear infection since the tubes and we found out that the tube had come out so that's why she got it. I know the results are not the same for everyone and I recommend trying a variety of different things before resorting to it but it is an option.

The ear infection is still probably the first ear infection that never got completely cured. I can't remember the name of it, but there is a type of ear infection from when my daughter was an infant, that requires a culture to diagnose. Ask the doctor about this test. Back then, seven or eight years ago, there was only one type of antibiotic that would treat that infection. It's very possible that this is what your baby has. Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to ask. I hope this helps.

my soon to be 2 year old had many many ear infections in her first year and a half of life. it was miserable. i'm so sorry to here about little konner's toubles. our problem was fixed with tubes in both ears at 19 months. i don't know how early they will put tubes in, but if i were you i'd talk to a ENT, if you haven't already. good luck!

Usually, pediatricians wait to see if 8 ear infections occur within a one year time span. Some docs are different I am sure but this was the case with my children's pediatricians. My son had tubes at 2 and has been ear infection free since (he is four now). My daughter had tubes at one. ANd she is going in for surgery for another set of tubes tomorrow (she is two). I think this is the drawback. The younger the child, the higher the risk that the tubes will have to be redone before the child naturally outgrows the tendency to have ear infections. However, an overabundance of antibiotics is not a good thing either. Some have terrible effects on the teeth, and your child's body or the infection may actually become immune to the antibiotic used to treat ear infections. So, I would ask the pediatrician for a distinct reason to wait or proceed with tubes, weigh the pros and cons, and then follow through. Another thing, tonsils and annenoids are all very closely connected to the ears, so it may take multiple approaches or even surgeries to have a healthy child. Some of this has genetic links, meaning if you had ear infections or your tonsils out, the odds are higher that your child will have similar issues.

dont give up yet. first of all since he has been so many antibiotics have you given him any probotics? if no, do some research on them you may find them helpful. you can also use garlic oil in his ears. the garlic oil kills off any bacteria growing in the ear. it can be found at any health food store. i know tubes are very common but not always necessary. we were told to do tubes but threw our research decided not to and are son is now 3 and has had no problems. just do your own research on all options before doing the tubes. even though it is common it is still surgery on such a little guy. good luck, and God Bless!

S.,

If he goes to daycare, you should probably stay home with him because all the germs there just make ear infections worse. Also, you should get him off of dairy if he is on a milk-based formula. Good luck.

A.

Take your son to a chiropractor who works with children. They can do wonders without medications or surgery. Give it a try before anything else medical. I've had great luck with my children and I know many others who have as well. I hope you have a good experience!

I know this sounds crazy, but have you considered chiropractic care? My kid when she was 6 mths had a bad spell of ear infections and I didn't like her being on so many antibiotics. I took her to my chiropractor, and it really helped (it can also help with colic!). The lady I use is in Arnold, but if that is to far away for you, I can ask her to recommend someone in your area that has experince working with babies. Don't just go to anyone...you want a recommendation. I didn't think it would work, but I was at my wits end...I was so amazed when it did work. It broke the cycle long enough that she was able to get off the drugs and get well again. Send me a personal message if you want more info.
E.

Hi S.,

My twins went thru the same thing with ear infections we never seemed to get rid of one before another one started so finally my Doctor sent us to a ENT and they had tubes put in when they were 2 they are now 6 only one ear infection since we have put these in. I was really scared at first to put tubes in but they have saved them from being in so much pain and drainage. I would first talk to your Doctor about it and with other parents and see what their opinons are on it. Hope your son gets better.
D.

HI. I know exactly how you feel. My daughter had alot of ear infections. We moved here from Florida. She had 12 ear infections (give or take one or two) We had tubes put in a year ago & she is doing great. We have had one ear infection since the tubes were put in. I would talk to your pediatrician about getting tubes. My daughter would get one infection & then another one just after the one went away. It was awful & it lasted for a year or better.

S.,

My son Gage had cronic ear infections until he was 6 months old when we had to put tubes in his ears. He had to have them in both ears also. The procedure was very easy and Gage has been good since. One thing that I found helped him before the tubes were put in was a cool mist humidifier. Also right now at this time of year when the air is cool and very windy. Anytime that you go outside (to the car or to the mailbox)no matter how small the trip I would have his ears covered. Also when you are doing bath time make sure to get no water in his ears, and dry his hair before bed if he has any. Don't let the blow dryer blow in his ear though. I hope that this helped a bit. Good luck.

ps.....don't let them waite too long before he sees an ENT my son had 75% hearing loss by then. He has regained it all now but it was scary.

Thankfully, I have not had the same problem as you, however, I do contribute it to a great product that I was told about. I worked for a chiropractor who was very much into herbal remedies as opposed to prescription medication. Whenever my daughter was teething or when it appeared she may have been getting an ear infection (pulling ears and fussy) I would use Ear Oil. You can get it at Wild Oats or any natural foods/herbal store. All you have to do is put a few drops in whichever ear is causing the problem. If it's a full fledged ear infection you only have to do for a few days. It breaks up the blockage and works great. I have used it on my daughter and I've gotten some friends to use it on their kids and it's been success all around. Also, I would recommend seeing a chiropractor that works on children. This also helps with constipation, gas, and numerous other things. It's not fun at first, it doesn't hurt them it just looks like it might, but you get used to it and it gets easier when you can tell your child is feeling better...they will start to laugh instead of cry when they're adjusted. It's not an adjustment like would be done on an adult...it's just light pressure. There's no twisting and popping or bending your child in two. Hope this helps and good luck.

A.

Try a chiropractor. My son had the same problem and the chiropractor we went to solved the problem within a couple of days. He has not had an ear infection for over 2 years. Not sure where you are located but if you are near Wentzville,MO I can give you the name and phone of the doctor that I take him to.

Are you nursing?? If you are keep nursing as long as possible. In Europe they do not give antibiotics anymore for infections. I was right where you are with my son and he was on antibiotics for many many months off and on. He was scheduled for tubes and I had a dream that he had a cardiac arrest on the operating table so I called to cancel it the moment they opened and made an appointment with a naturopath. Apparently ear infections and food allergies go hand in hand. You might check that one....eliminating dairy and giving him garlic mullein drops (whole foods or any natural health food store will have these) every night at bedtime resulted in him never having another one. The other thing the naturopath suggested was a smaller child care setting so I moved him to an in home setting where there were about 4 children rather than a center which has so many more. When my daughter got her first ear infection a month ago the pediatrician again prescribed amoxicillin. I took her home and started her on an accelerated dose of the garlic mullein drops and it was gone within 7 days, completely. The main causes are immune function, food allergy and being around a lot of kids with cold viruses constantly (day care esp during the winter).
Here are some articles for you to read:
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/article/0,19840,###-##...
http://iparenting.com/sears/answers/earinfect.htm
Good luck!
L.