Antibiotic Resistant Ear Infections...

Please try chiropractic. It is safe, gentle, and effective for children and ear infections. I myself battled with ear infections as a kid and as as adult. Both of my eardrums have perforated twice. Since I have started seeing a chiropractor all of my ear problems have gone away.
I have been taking my children, ages 5 and 4, to the chiro once a month since they were infants. I also get them in for an adjustment when they come down with a cold or congestion. Neither of my girls have ever had an ear infection. Also, neither of them have ever been on an antibiotic.
I watch a 3yo girl M-F who got tubes about 8 months ago - she has still had 3 infections with the tubes and now it takes two rounds of Omnicef to clear it up. I have suggested Chiro to them many times but they have still not tried it. A chiropractic adjustment will properly align the eustation (sp?) tube so that it can drain.
Please try it - it really is safe, gentle, and effective. My girls actually enjoy going.

Please take her to a chiropractor! You may find that she doesn't need tubes after all! If her neck is out of alignment, her ears won't be able to drain. This leads to a pooling of the fluid, which becomes infected. If she can get aligned, then her ears will drain, and no more infections. My daugher had this problem. Her eardrums popped twice! Poor thing. Since taking her to a good chiro, she has had no more problems at all.

I would recommend seeing a chiropractor. My daughter had tubes and problems even with the tubes. She eventually had to have a second surgery because of hearing loss! Looking back I would have tried anything naturally before having her go thru the surgery! I have since seen many children have great outcomes with chiropractic!

I have numerous friends that used Chiropractic for ear infections and no more ear infections! Ask for referalls for the best..They can use very gentle teqniques without even popping!Remember, when our bodies our out of elignment- everything is out of whack. They even take babies for gentle
light stretching.

Bless your heart. Been there done that. The good news is that our now 19 year old son is over 6 foot, built like a line-backer and in the best of health.

He had 3 sets of tubes before he was 2! We finally switched pediatricians and found one who had a subspecialty in allergies, by accident! He was the first one to mention allergies as a possible trigger to the seemingly constant ear infections.
Knowing what I do now, many years later, I would have looked closer at his diet, again that no one even thought of. I am a registered nurse who now works as a wellness educator. Dairy is one of the biggest allergy contributors. She doesn't have to be "officially" allergic to be sensitive and have it cause problems. Some of the lesser known culprits are artificial colors specifically Yellow dye #5 and #6. They have been clinically shown to cause allergic and asthmatic problems to kids/people who are sensitive.

I would at this point ask someone, maybe the ENT if there is a safe allergy med such as Claratin or Zyrtec you can start trying. Start keeping a diary of things she eats and environmental stuff.
That was an eye opener to me way back then and when I took that in to the doc to explain why we were switching docs he had no response. He would NOT refer me to an ENT at the time (didn't need it for insurance, but just a curtesy referral) because our son had "periods he was clear". Once I started keeping track and was able to see myself and prove that the ONLY time he was "clear" was when he was on antibiotics.
Stay on top if it. YOU are her best advocate and your mommy intuition will tell you if you are heading in the right direction.

In good health,

Lori K
Certified Dr. Sears L.E.A.N. Coach

I don't know if you are into/willing to try natural remedies? A friend of mine had a son who had constant ear infections, they were going to put tubes in, but she adamantly refused. She started using garlic. I've read online about people putting garlic cloves/garlic oil in the ear...this is NOT what she did. She took a clove of garlic and minced it - put it in a cup of water and let it sit for 24 hours. Then took about 3mLs in a syringe and gave to baby (the water...not the actual garlic). Baby will probably not like it, as it is very strong tasting. Anyway, she did this for several weeks 2 times/day. No more ear infections - no more talks about tubes. Anytime he complains of ear ache, she goes back to the garlic regimen.

I never had to try it as once she gave me this advice, our sons ear infections stopped. Talk to your dr, see what he/she thinks. It is worth a try. When I mentioned it to my dr, he said that garlic has a natural infection fighting capability. He never heard of that course of action - but said it was safe to give it a try.

Good luck

Please try chiropractic first! I've seen many kids stop having ear infections this way. It's worth a try before surgery. And I agree with the dairy limitations.

Hi, E.. Our daughter had colds and ear infections for the first two years of her life. There was hardly a day when her ears didn't have fluid in them. We finally discovered that she had candida and allergies. She was put on a very strict diet -- and within a week she was better. She didn't have an infection at the time. So the diet involved: nothing sweet (not even fruit or fruit juice); nothing fermented (vinegar, pickles, soy sauce, tempeh; I can't remember the other things); nothing with yeast (that means switching bread to un-yeasted breads). Because of allergies, no wheat or dairy. We found non-wheat breads (there's a great all-rye sourdough bread; rice cakes; something called mochi that you have to bake). And non-dairy "milk" -- rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk. You just have to make sure they are unsweetened. This diet was the first thing that had worked in two years -- and we had tried antibiotics, homeopath, and Chinese medicine, back and forth among those three for 2 years. I'd be happy to give you more information if you want.

I am not suggesting you not have the ear tubes. But it might help in the meantime to put him on this diet -- and to put him on this diet afterward, in the hope of preventing another need for tubes. Good luck!
Siddheshwari

Chop up a clove of garlic, put it in a little bowl with some olive oil, heat in microwave or on stove. Let cool. Using a cotton ball, let a few drops of garlic oil in to each ear.

We were stuck away from doctors when my daughter had an ear infection and was screaming and doing this every hour several times took away the pain. I had heard about it - but only used it when I not other choice. Natural!

Our recently-turned 2 daughter is facing tubes for the second time. She had them a year ago, the right has fallen out, and the left is in the ear canal.

She had 5 ear infections last year and has had another 5 this year.
She seems to clear in between them, but the conditions are appropriate for them to keep developing. We haven't dealt with anti-biotic resistant infections.

So, my advice from what we have gone through is to continue to offer the Motrin/Tylenol as needed until her tubes and spoil her with comfort/nurturing until the procedure takes place.

Good luck! I hope you get it resolved soon!

The tubes will be the best thing for her, FOR SURE! Both my kids battled the ear infection battle. There's just nothing like living an antibiotic free life!!! =0) The procedure for tubes is so quick and easy. My youngest had tubes and adenoids removed and the whole process was less than 20 minutes. The ENT will prescribe an ear drop that you will use for a couple days. Other than those drops.....you won't need anything special. For now...while you are waiting to have the procedure done, I would stick with motrin. I know Similiason makes and Ear Ache relief drop, but I think Motrin would probably still work better. I'm sorry you're going thru all this, but I promise you will NOT regret the tubes. =0)

Stop all dairy immediately! If you are nursing, you need to stop all dairy as well. Many people are sensitive/allergic to dairy, and it comes out as fluid in the ears. The biggest problem comes in the later years with the result of an auditory processing problem. In my business as an educational consultant, I see this time and time again, although your poor daughter is so extremely sensitive, you may want to have her tested for other foods as well, especially gluten.

I hope that you solve your problems quickly so that she can be pain and fluid free soon!

K. Johnson, MS Ed
www.pyramidofpotential.com

I suggest doing the Candida Yeast diet for her. All of the antibiotics she has taken would have let the yeast become rampant in her system. See http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/candidadiet.html for a sample of the diet, or google it for more information. It is highly likely that even after the tubes are placed whe will still have significant problems because of the Candida Yeast.

This diet will allow her natural immune system to strengthen and fight the strep.

My mom said when she was younger and had a TERRIBLE ear infection, her mom put a little warmed vegetable oil in her ear and it gave her INSTANT relief. She was obviously older than you daughter b/c she remembers it. I've never tried it b/c I am nervous but she SWEARS by it! Also she tells me to put a warm wash cloth over the ears that hurt...maybe have your daughter put her head down on it and the warmth will give relief.

Dear E., Have you had her checked for allergies?? You need to get to the root of why she gets ear infections. When my last son was little he also had constant ear infections. It was only when a new doctor suggested he may have allergies, we had him checked and started giving him Sudafed morning and night... the infections greatly decreased... just a suggestion. We never needed to get the tubes :-) Grandma Mary

I have done the garlic and olive oil in the ears on myself--obviously test it is warm not too hot before using. A heating pad on the area works too (when I am congested the muscles near my ear get sore and tight). You might want to talk to the doctor about the option of decongestants. I know they are no longer recommended for young children but in your child's situation it might help. My 15 month old has a very small opening between the nose and throat so when she is congested it is a problem for her head to drain. Because of this she gets decongestant when she is congested.

Would love to be able to give u any suggestions, but the best thing is having the tubes put in which u are already doing. Our daughter was 15 months old when she had them put in & has had only one ear infection since & she in now 12.

Good luck w/everything - boy do I remember those days. It was hard because there really isn't much you can do to console her.

I would never bring my children or myself to the chiroprater. That is crazy they actually do more damage than good. Nor would I put hot oil in my child's ear. I know an adult who burned their eardrum & now has permanent hearing loss. I would take the recomendaion below about the food allerges as well as drinking a little bit of garlic water. Garlic most bacteria in the body great for colds, wart removal...etc. Good Luck!!

Hi There,
My son had 8 ear infections from age 7mos to 15mos... he was on several different antibiotics which would help the infection go away temporarily, but he would still have fluid, which would ultimately get infected again (he would spike fevers, become lethargic, no appetite etc.). Finally, with no end in sight, we decided on getting tubes... He went from constantly being sick to be completely healthy! He has had one infection since, but it was just fluid draining from his ear(like it is supposed to) and was treated with drops no problem). It was the best decision. I am not sure I agree with the Chiropractor method at this age. It is not a permanent fix, as you have to keep going back. Babies and young children naturally have a narrow/angled inner ear tube.... as they grow the angle changes. The reason young children get more infections, is often simply because of their anatomy (the fluid pools and can't drain). For some kids this is just more drastic than others. My son's tubes are not functioning now and are falling out, but the ENT wants to wait until the fall to see if he continues to remain healthy- then he will decide if he even needs them re-implanted. However, my son does get speech therapy now for an expressive language delay. His hearing tests have always shown until this point that his hearing is "within normal limits", but there is no doubt that the constant infections in the first few months contributed to his speech problems. So, I say go for the tubes ASAP... the surgery takes all of 10 minutes and my son was up and playing later that day. Meanwhile, continue with tylenol and whatever makes your little one comfortable. You could always try and Pro-biotic, which is supposed to regulate bacteria in your system. We use Culterelle, because you can open the capsule and sprinkle in in juice or milk. It is harmless and safe for kids....
If the tubes don't work, then I would move on to other options such as Chiropractors or Accupuncture. Good Luck!