Preventing Ear Infections

Go to Bed Bath & Beyond or Linens and Things and pick up some 3 inch bed risers. Then place them under the head of the bed only. This puts the baby's head 3 in. higher then the rest of his body assisting in ear drainage. This was recommended to me by my son's doctor, and he never had an ear infection until we switched to a toddler bed and Mommy forgot to put the risers back. Since then, no more infections. I have recommended this to all of my friends and family members, and I'm happy to report no infections, even from the ones who previously suffered from repeated problems. The plus is, they're not expensive, and non-intrusive.

Is he in day care? If so maybe you should look into a new one. My older kids were constantly getting colds then those led to ear infections. Finally I switched there day care and while every now and then they would still get one. It was not nearly as bad as the first day care they were in.

This is what my doctor has told me about helping to prevent ear infections. Have the little one in a more up right position when drinking. Don't let them lay down when drinking because there is a flap between the ear and throat area that opens and closes and if they are laying down milk can behind the flap and cause ear infection. I have to put cotton in my sons ears when giving him a bath as a double protection for giving him a bath. Can never be to careful when giving them a bath. Some doctors say that having a cap on don't mean anything and others say it does. In the summer I don't worry about the hat thing. Spring and Fall I make sure when it is really windy that his head is covered. I did some research and also found out that allergies can play a role in it to. My son does have allergies. His pediatrician also told me that it usually starts in the sinus area. Teething can also trigger it. They told me no at first but every time my son would get a tooth in he got ear infection. Still happening off and on. He is 2 1/2 and still trying to get his 2nd year molars. I know what you are going through with the ear infections, it really isn't fun mainly when they can't tell you what is wrong. My son can tell me now and I am thankful. I hope what I have told you is helpful. Good luck and hope these things help you. If I remember more I will let you know. J. P.

My younger son (who is now 22; I'm a grandma of two) had a real problem with ear infections that started when he was about 4 months old. We spent more time in the doctor's office than at home and he took a lot of medicine which helped a little. Unfortunately, the infections kept coming back. After 4 years I had enough and I took him to a specialist--David had tubes put in his ears. You wouldn't believe the difference. The result--NO MORE EAR INFECTIONS! If your son continues to have ear infections that keep coming back, you might want to ask for a referral from your doctor for an ear/nose/throat dr. I wish I had taken my son sooner, I could have spared him a lot of pain and sleepless nights, not to mention he had difficulty pronouncing quite a number of words (which didn't happen after the surgery).

My neighbor is a pediatric nurse and she told me about Prevnar - it's a medication that is given by the pediatrician (via injection) 3 or 4 times during baby's first year.

Try tilting him in a more sitting position when you feed him. It can be challenging sometimes if you're nursing, but try to prop him as much as you can.

Also, when he's finished eating, let him stay propped up for about 15 mins or so. That way all that liquid can stay away from the passages to his ears.

Other than that, I would just consult his doctor and see if he/she has any suggestions for you.

GOOD LUCK!

Hello J., Well I'm giving you another vote on Chiro. care. My 5 year old had 9 ear infections by the time he was 7 months old, they put tubes in at 14 months and yes it helped, but as soon as the tubes came out about a year or so ago he started with ear infections again. We stumbled on a pediatric Chiro. in August 2007 and my son, my daughter(9 mons. at the time) and myself started going regularly(Spelling??). My son has been ear infection free for about 5 months or so now(longest ever without tubes). This winter none of us had more than maybe a runny nose, no major colds or other illnesses, I had a few scratchy, itchy sore throats but they never lasted more that 2-3 days and I didn't take anything. Alos my chiro. said that milk and dairy will contribute, we have cut back but we can't live with out milk, cheese and yogurt. I was VERY skepitcal at first, but insurance covered it all so I figured why not give it a try it won't hurt, I'm very glad I did, it's been the best thing for us. I have a Chiro. who is also a pediatric chiro in Shorewood if your interested let me know and I will give you his info. Also your first visit is free, it's an evaluation and consultation, they will take x-rays of your neck and back(spine), and before you decide whether you want to have adjustments they will have you come to a orientation and will go over EVERYTHING with you and show you good and bad xrays so you can understand what you're looking at when you see your xrays, they are very good. I can't say enough about it. Good luck and let me know if you want the info.

I would agree with the allergy responses. My daughter has had 6 ear infections since this last October and I have found over the past months that she is allergic to...a lot. I am out of my realm a bit, as I have never had allergies; however I took wheat and dairy out of her diet (on top of the other things she is allergic to) and she has gotten SO much better with the double ear infections.

Remember, you little one is consuming what you consume...even if he has never had milk, maybe you have been drinking it or eating cheese, etc.

The skin test will feel a little harsh for you to do for a 4 month old; however our Maggie was 6 months and she bounced back right after they put it on her back.

Good luck to you! Navigating allergies can be a couple extra steps in planning; however you will have such a healthier little guy once he is off all of those antibiotics!

Take care

I also agree with getting chiropractic care. My husband is a chiropractor in Sycamore (Olympic Chiropractic) and needless to say, our daughter has not had one ear infection (she is almost 9 months old). Getting adjusted has also helped her get over the few colds she had during this brutal winter, very quickly. We have not given her any medications, over-the-counters, etc; those all just contribute to the problem. My husband has also said that there is no reason children should get ear tubes, there are natural ways to prevent and treat ear infections and therefore I would definitely recommend you try a natural, preventative way to treat the ear infections before you go to such extreme measures. Please let me know if you would like to get in contact with him. Take care!

Ear infections can be hereditary. Also, my younger daughter experienced 11 trips to the doctor for ear infections in 7 months whe she was little. Our trouble came when I was no longer able to produce enough milk for her, around 5 months. This occurred until she went onto whole milk at 12 months. The ear infections went away like magic. I would talk to your doctor about what your child is currently eating-breast milk or formula. I also have had two friends who's children had difficulty with their breast milk. Good luck!

We finally narrowed it down to allergies with our son. He had a number of ear infections consecutively. He'd be fine and healthy, off antibiotics for two days, and then he'd have another one! It was frustrating. He was miserable and so was I!

We put him on a prescription medication (Singulair) and he hasn't had another one.

allergies and positioning need to be looked at. I would absolutely not let a ped put my new baby on a medication such as singulair or any other pharmaceutical without trying to first identify the exact cause of the problem. Find a chiro that specializes in infants and children. There is a great one here in Palatine-Hands On Family Health, Dr Tara also specializes in fertility issues, but I can't say for your area.

he could be allergic to breast or formula. or his drainage cavity hasn't fully developed yet. i would take him to ear nose throat doctor. more ear infections that little could scar his eardrum and make him hard of hearing later.

Ah the ear infection nightmare. Unfortunately for me my daughter as an infant had 2 double ear infections that caused extremely high fever and her to have seizures. The doctor said as infants their ear tubes aren't always developed yet so the fluid doesn't drain down as it would in an adult. The most important thing is to watch the fever the ear infection causes, seizures for me were very scary. If your a smoker too that could be the cause of the ear infections as well.

Below I have copied and pasted the prevention portion of an article on WebMD.

This is the link to the full article, which discusses just what specifically causes ear infections, proper treatment, and when to worry.

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ear-infection/ear-infec...

Here's the prevention part of the article:

You may be able to prevent your child from getting middle ear infections by:

Not smoking. Ear infections are more common in children who are around cigarette smoke in the home. Even fumes from tobacco smoke on your hair and clothes can affect the child.

Breast-feeding your baby. There is some evidence that breast-feeding helps reduce the risk of ear infections, especially if ear infections run in your family.

If you bottle-feed your baby, don't let your baby drink a bottle while he or she is lying down.

Washing your hands often. Hand-washing stops infection from spreading by killing germs.

Having your child immunized. Current immunizations don't specifically prevent ear infections. However, they can prevent illnesses, such as Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) and flu (influenza) that may lead to ear infections. Have your child immunized at the ages suggested by national guidelines. For more information, see the topic Immunizations.
Having your child immunized with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) may help reduce the risk of ear infection.

Taking your child to a smaller child care center. Fewer children means less contact with bacteria and viruses. Children in child care settings can easily spread germs to each other. Try to limit the use of any group child care. For more information, see the topic Choosing Child Care.

Not giving your baby a pacifier. Try to wean your child from his or her pacifier before about 6 months of age. Babies who use pacifiers after 12 months of age are more likely to develop ear infections.

Covering his ears is not always the answer. Many ear infection can be caused by allergies or another virus and the ears fill up with liquid and causes an ear infection. When a child gets tubes in their ears it is so the fluid drains from the ear and a ear infection is prevented.
If you are still breast feeding that is a good way to help the immune system. You can try a chiropractor but it did not work for us and our son ended up getting tubes before he was 2 years old. You can also go see and ear, nose and throat doctor to get your son checked out for possible under developed ear canals and there for the fluid will not drain away. You can also check with an allergist to see if there is something that he is allergic to. It is amazing what can be passed through breast milk to our babies. If he is on formula you may need to change formula because of an allergy.

Good Luck...
S.

I have an 8 month old that has already had 5 or 6 ear infections. All I can tell you is that you need to get a referral to an ear, nose and throat specialist. My little girl has to have tubes. I'm not too fond of it, but her ears just keep fluid in them and continually get infected and she is constantly on antibiotics...which isn't good, either. Call your pediatrician and ask for a referral. ~Tried and true mom of 3 children

Yep, I'd say it's definitely the day care, but I'm not sure it would help to change to another one; there are just a lot of kids so there are lots of germs. My son ended up getting tubes put into his ears at about a year old; the last infection he had was still in his year after they tried four different antibiotics. The good part is that he has a great immune system - he hardly ever gets sick and he's almost ten now.
I would try the chiropractic as well... Maybe first..

Is he breastfed? Do you know if he has allergies, possible dairy. My daughter was allergic to the casien in dairy and it caused ear infections. Also his bodies immunity is down. You should consider supplementing. I represent a nutritional product called Reliv. You can check them out on the net. The products are safe for pregnent/lactating women and infants. People have had amazing results in situations just like this. We had great changes in sleeping, energy, eczema, stomach and behavior issues amoung others. These products have changed my life.

My daughter had chronic ear infections from the first week she was born until almost age 2. It was a nightmare--she would have an infection every other week. My pediatrician said that she probably had allergies, and indeed he was right.
when she was older, we found out She was allergic to the lactose in milk, and also had spring allergies.
The ear nose and throat doctor wanted to put tubes in her ears when she was 2, but I took her to a friend of mine who was a chiropractor, and he did treatment on her for 6 weeks, 3 times a week, and then once a month for maintenance for about a year, and she is now 18 and hasn't had an ear infection since age 2.
My 11 year old had the same problem, and I did the same treatment for him, he is now 11 and hasn't had an ear infection since he was 3.
The treatment is very simple, and painless.. The chiropractor did spinal manipulations to align the spine, some manipulations to the neck and ear area.. it only takes about 20 minutes a session and it saved my kids from getting tubes.
If your child is on formula, You might want to talk to your doctor and see if it might be the formula..I know if the child does have enviromental allergies, they usually don't show up until they are about 3 years old.
Good luck, I know how horrible it can be for your child, but also for you because of all those sleepless nights.

J.,
I have responded to tons of other questions about ear infections...and my response has always been chiropractic care. All 4 of my kids go and 2 of them have NEVER had an ear infection or been on antibiotics. The older two had tons of ear infections until we started going to the chiro and it has been 4 years since they had one. Good luck!!!!

My granddaughter(now 9 months) was going through the same thing from 6 months on. She is now off dairy and seeing a chiropractor certified for infants twice a week. The chiropractic care seems to be helping with the fluid buildup that was in her ears. It's only been a couple weeks, but you can tell that she feels a lot better.

When he is nursing or eating he must not be in a reclining postion....So if you need to he needs to be upright. I know easier said than done. Not to may sucking things like pacifers or sippy cups...My daughter had the same problem.
I really don't think they are allergic to your breast milk. Never heard of such a thing. The tube isn't long enough yet so all the fluid doesn't drain properly and builds up. So when they are laying down it gets trapped and then infected.
THIS TO WILL PASS...If it becomes a real problem they may place ears tubes in his ears which sounds scary then it really is. Email me if you want to talk ....I have been in your exact situation at one point and my daughter is now 9 years old. I can relate in a big way.
Good Luck and I would start with comfort healing like warm wash cloths and if he is NOT infected at this time. Limit the extra sucking he does while laying in a reclining postion. Keep him in a car seat or sitting postion.
I hope this helps..

I've learned that many times it is genetic or children have a predisposition to them. My brother had them quite often as a child and both his daughters suffered as well.

The best thing would be to see a specialist that can help you with trying to prevent them as well as treating any hearing issues before they cause speach problems and so forth.

I also agree with chiropractic care!! My daughter has been adjusted by a chiropractor since she was 3 months old and only had 1 double ear infection (thanks to a horrible cold from her cousin)!! She is now 2 1/2 years old! Good luck!