I've read so many confusing things about treating ear infections. Some say don't treat with antibiotics, some say do. I'm very naturally minded and only treat my children with medication if it's absolutely necessary. Well, my DD has an ear infection that has come at the same time as a virus. I asked her doctor if he thought the ear infection was caused by the virus and he says he thinks it's just a coincidence and that in a child under 2 he strongly suggested antibiotics. Here's a run down of how she's been: last week she ran a fever for 2 days or so, she's still been fairly active but really cranky. The fever subsided and then she broke out in a rash and began tugging at her ear (that's when we went to the doctor.) I know there's no way to tell a viral ear infection from a bacterial one, but for some reason, I don't think that it's a coincidence that she developed a bacterial ear infection at the same time as she contracted a virus. It seems related to me, so if it's a virus, then there's no need for antibiotics. What do you think? I know her ear still hurts, and I've been giving her Similisan drops for relief. Would you give your LO the antibiotics? I'm so conflicted right now.
naturalbirthmama
09-10-2007, 02:47 PM
I would not give my LO antibiotics. We do the following: breastmilk in ear, chiropractic, massage the tubes. Always clears it up.
teaghansmama
09-10-2007, 02:48 PM
we haven't had ear infections here yet... but i'm inclined to agree with you
i know from personal experience that my ears hurt when i have a lot of nasal congestion/sinus congestion/cold virus symptoms
but i don't think everytime i have any ear pain it's an ear INFECTION
i'm inclined NOT to give antibiotics to my kids (or myself) unless there are true signs of infection, it doesn't clear up in a reasonable amount of time, or it seems to be significantly worsening
there are studies out there that suggest antibiotics aren't necessary even for true ear infections.
my :2cents:
iloveaidan&finley
09-10-2007, 02:51 PM
I would not give my LO antibiotics. We do the following: breastmilk in ear, chiropractic, massage the tubes. Always clears it up.
How do you massage the tubes? Is that after you put the breastmilk in the ear? What does your chiropractor do? :goodvibes:
madebytrudi
09-10-2007, 03:01 PM
MY HONEST OPINION HERE:
DO NOT DO THE ANTIBIOTICS!!! It'll just make things worse and weaken her immune system & grow the candida!
I've successfully used chopped up garlic in olive oil for everything from ear infections, viruses, bronchial infections, bladder infections, etc. Chop/mash some raw garlic cloves and let soak in some garlic oil for a few minutes. Longer if possible. I usually end up leaving the garlic stay until the oil goes rancid months later. DO NOT USE BABY OIL or MINERAL OIL :yuck: . Vegie oil is ok, but olive has it's own healing properties too. After a few minutes, drip a couple of drops of the garlic oil into their ear & massage the lymph area with the oil. Garlic is a super strong antibacterial & antifungal that works quickly. It will kill 'super-viruses' and things that antibiotics won't kill anymore.
My DD had gone thru a season of health issues 2 yrs ago with an autoimmune disease andwould end up in the hospital with a kidney flare-up every time she got sick. Didn' matter if it was a cold or ear infection. She tended to have lots of ear infections (typical of nephrotic syndrome) and the chemo meds she was on gave her cronic bladder infections. Needless to say, I was tired of constantly going to the hospital for meds that I didn't agree with. What to do?? I remembered the garlic & thought 'what the heck?' and tried it. By the next morning, her infections would be GONE! Her neph doc always chuckled when I told him I'd give her a garlic rub when she got sick, but it worked and kept her out of the hospital!! Those bladder infections were horrible for her! For those, I'd dump the garlic oil in her bathtub & let it absorb into every pore. don't use soap in the tub with the oil. I give the garlic rub anytime the kids have a fever or any kind of sick. works great to heal booboos quickly too. and they usually love the rubbin!
Whether it's viral or bacterial, why risk the antibiotics when her body will take care of the problem by the time the drugs work anyway? My kids now ask for the garlic oil because it helps soothe the pain too. Learned that technique from Dr Mendhelson's (sp?) book "how to raise a healthy child inspite of your doctor!"
Have you considereed taking dd to a chiropractor for the ear infection? that has helped us a lot in that respect too.
good luck!
Tiffer23
09-10-2007, 03:11 PM
We tried EVERYTHING mentioned for ear infections and my son still got them time and time again. He was in immense pain and it was horrible. He'd had 7 by the time he was 8 months old so we ended up with tubes. We did to antibiotics and it always cleared them up. BUT, they always came back. I would definitely give her some pain meds though, Tylenol or Motrin. How old is she, can you give her anything? Ear infections are SO painful, I cannot imagine making my kid suffer through it. The similisan drops really don't help that much (imo). From what I've read ear infections seem to not heal any faster with antibiotics, they just tend to prevent other things that the ear infections can lead to.
Oh, we just did the onion/garlic oil for DH during his last ear infection and both his ear drums ended up bursting. *sigh* Not because we used that, but the oil just didn't do anything at all for him unfortunately.
If you do decide not to get antibiotics, then I'd give her some decent pain meds. :) We have ear infections here a few times a year and OUCH! I'd die without Motrin. ETA: I just saw she's too little for Motrin. I don't know what I'd do then. Poor baby, she has to be hurting so bad.
Sorry your little one isn't feeling well. I hope she gets better quickly!
Synchro246
09-10-2007, 03:22 PM
I don't do antibiotics for ear infections. I do mulien (sp) & garlic oil in the ear, vitamin c, & probiotics. I also do pain meds so the LO can sleep as much as possible..
Here's the AAP official guidelines for OM (http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/earinfections.cfm)
From another website http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/other/otitis_19/
Treatment of "Non-Toxic" Otitis Media
What happens if your child does come down with otitis media? Obviously, he or she should be seen by a doctor. But not all cases of otitis media need to be treated with antibiotics. In so-called "non-toxic" cases, where the symptoms are mild and the danger of damage to the ear remote, there is a growing consensus among doctors simply to observe infants and make sure that the disease does not become toxic.12, 13,14
Treatment of "Toxic" Otitis Media
As with many common infections, doctors have to walk a fine line in treating otitis media. On one hand, children with acute otitis media must be given antibiotics; on the other hand, both because of overprescription and misuse of antibiotics, the organisms that cause otitis media are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotic drugs.15,16,17 For example, according to recent studies, between 30 to 60 percent of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria are now partially resistant to the antibiotics penicillin and amoxicillin. Often, antibiotics lose their effectiveness in children who have been given them repeatedly in a short period of time.
In response to this problem, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has given out new recommendations on how to treat otitis media more effectively with antibiotics. To paraphrase these recommendations, if the infant has not received antibiotics in the last month, it is recommended that the infant be started on usual-dose or high-dose amoxicillin. If the treatment is not working by day three, then the infant should be given high-dose amoxicillin-clavulanate (AugmentinŽ) or cefuroxime axetil (CeftinŽ) or injections of ceftrianone.
For an infant who has received antibiotics in the last month, it is recommended that high-dose amoxicillin, high dose amoxicillin-clavulanate or cefuroxime axetil be started. If there is no improvement by day three, treatment options include injections of ceftrianone, clindamycin or tympanocentesis, which means using a needle to puncture the ear drum and remove trapped fluid. In both cases, infants are reexamined on days 10 to 28.
madebytrudi
09-10-2007, 03:28 PM
when my dd had her first infection & I used the garlic oil, her ear drum did burst and it stunk for 2 weeks as the infection drained out her ear canal! YUK!, but according to many natural peds, this is ok and will happen at the right place & will heal fine. A lot of dr's are doing tympectamies (sp?) where they'll poke a hole in the ear drum to help drain the infection . .. but the dr mendhelson says that letting it burst naturally is much better and will heal better too.
I've also had several people tell me they've got hearing problems from having so many infections that burst their eardrums. I'd think if they were having that many infections, there was something else wrong or what they are doing was not the right thing.
I've personally suffered with a lot of infections as a child & still have more than usual as an adult, esp when the sinus start to drain. But since I learned about the chiro & garlic, things are better.
I just remembered another great remedy my girlfriend swears by: grapefruitseed extract. not grapeseed . . . . . It comes in a thick liquid you drop some into her ear. Grapefruitseed extract is a super germ killer too. We take the pills to fight infections in our bodies as well.
madebytrudi
09-10-2007, 03:33 PM
I don't do antibiotics for ear infections. I do mulien (sp) & garlic oil in the ear, vitamin c, & probiotics. I also do pain meds so the LO can sleep as much as possible..
what form does the mullein come in? I'm assuming oil insfusion . . .? But yes, good recommendation on the vitamin c! Take it like you take an antibiotic . .. once every couple of hours. We've also done liquid Propolis the same way. Kinda yucky, some won't take it very well, but it works excellently!
iloveaidan&finley
09-10-2007, 03:37 PM
Thank you so much for the suggestions. I'm going to look into the garlic and grapefruit seed extract. The Similisan really seems to be helping with the pain though. I've heard the homeopathic ear tablets help too.
kmadden55
09-10-2007, 03:44 PM
ds has only ever had 3 ear infections since he was born, but each time i i squirted enough breastmilk in his ear for it to pool up and drip out (while he's on his side) i waited for it to go "down" and would massage his ear, kinda like what you do with swimmers ear drops (or at least from what i remember when i got swimmers ear all the time when i was little lol). and it healed up in a day! hth!
haydn'smommy
09-10-2007, 05:05 PM
I'm a PNP and here's my take on it. Most (>90%) of ear infections (Otitis Media) are viral, and the US is the only country in the world that routinely gives antibiotics for every ear infection. Most research shows that if untreated the ear infection will go away by itself, yet most of us still prescribe because of pressure from patients or fear of negative consequences.
That said, I wouldn't do antibiotics for my ds unless he had a high fever or was in alot of pain (the real indicators for need for treatment with antibiotics for otitis). Otherwise, I'd let it run its course.
I would not, however, put anything down in the ear except something designed to treat pain. You CANNOT treat a middle ear infection with a topical product because the infection is behind the ear drum (TM) and unless it's not patent, you can't get anything back there to actually do anything. The only type of ear infection that you can treat with topicals is Swimmer's Ear (Otitis Externa).
Just my :2cents:
kezoo
09-10-2007, 07:35 PM
I would not give my LO antibiotics. We do the following: breastmilk in ear, chiropractic, massage the tubes. Always clears it up.
Same here. DS has had 1 EI (maybe 2, but we used breastmilk immediately and by morning he was fine), dd has had 2. Neither has ever had abx (and dd had a double EI at 9 months that our ped agreed to watch & wait on). I've used breastmik very sucessfully for both kids (and myself), in addition to the Similasan ear drops and other homeopathic remedies. IMO, abx only compromises an already weakened immune system, leading to a downward spiral of continuing ear infections. Support the body's immune system, and the body will deal with the infection. :)
madebytrudi
09-10-2007, 08:05 PM
good info,PNP . . . but with the grapefruitseed xtrct, garlic oil & breastmilk, is that the healing components of the said products absorb into the body where the infection is. that's why they work topically. the garlic oil will work just as well rubbin around the eustacian tubes & around the whole gland area.
curlie
09-10-2007, 08:27 PM
Bacterial ear infections are caused by bacteria and can be "cured" with antibiotics; viral ear infections are caused by viruses (generally colds, i.e., if there is a lot of drainage in the head) and can't *really* be cured with antibiotics. The fact that peds resort to abx without considering that more than half of the ear infections are probably not bacterial is criminal if you ask me. I would consult a ped, use mucus-thinning meds (over the counter--Guaifenisen is the active ingredient, don't give anything with pseudoephedrine in it; Tussin is the generic name for it at Wal-Mart, as it's basically plain ol' Robitussin) to thin the stuff in their heads so it can get out of their heads when they have a cold. The other thing you can do is tug at the ears in a circular motion to help the stuff drain. Yes, it looks silly, but it really does work. Massage the glands behind the ears all the way down the sides of the throat as well. Consider the body as a holistic unit; that drainage has got to go somewhere. Is it any wonder that kids sometimes have mucusy stools when they have colds? :) Yet no ped ever told me any of this.
We have been ear infection-free for nearly a year since beginning these practices, and thankfully so... since my dd #2 is allergic to Amoxicillin and everything else makes her sicker than the EI itself does!
haydn'smommy
09-11-2007, 06:19 AM
Bacterial ear infections are caused by bacteria and can be "cured" with antibiotics; viral ear infections are caused by viruses (generally colds, i.e., if there is a lot of drainage in the head) and can't *really* be cured with antibiotics. The fact that peds resort to abx without considering that more than half of the ear infections are probably not bacterial is criminal if you ask me. I would consult a ped, use mucus-thinning meds (over the counter--Guaifenisen is the active ingredient, don't give anything with pseudoephedrine in it; Tussin is the generic name for it at Wal-Mart, as it's basically plain ol' Robitussin) to thin the stuff in their heads so it can get out of their heads when they have a cold. The other thing you can do is tug at the ears in a circular motion to help the stuff drain. Yes, it looks silly, but it really does work. Massage the glands behind the ears all the way down the sides of the throat as well. Consider the body as a holistic unit; that drainage has got to go somewhere. Is it any wonder that kids sometimes have mucusy stools when they have colds? :) Yet no ped ever told me any of this.
We have been ear infection-free for nearly a year since beginning these practices, and thankfully so... since my dd #2 is allergic to Amoxicillin and everything else makes her sicker than the EI itself does!
It really is amazing, isn't it? All of us prescribing these antibiotics for something that is generally viral? We've done a decent job of teaching people that antibiotics don't treat colds, but we are a long way from teaching them the same thing about ear infections. It doesn't help, too, that we have a overly litigious society and we all live in fear that we don't treat something and it costs us millions and our licenses. Unfortunately, the times I've personally tried the wait and see approach, the patients just got angry and went somewhere else for their antibiotics. :banghead: This is the one area where I treat patients differently than I would my own child, and that's sad b/c that, for me, is the gold standard---what would I do for my own kid? KWIM?
I'm glad to hear about alot of mommies that are starting to realize that there's a better way to do things, that doesn't include always taking "medicine." Keep spreading the word and maybe one day I can put away the prescription pad.
