Ear Infections - Wake Forest, NC

Hi, I had the same issue with my now, 30 yr old daughter, when she was 1-2. They talked tubes, and I found an ent specialist, who doubled the antibiotic. That seemed to do the trick, and we didn't have to go the tube route.
Good Luck, K. from CH

My cousin had the same issue with her son and when my daughter got an ear infection she told me she used 'wally's ear oil.' she said it stinks but it works. it helped my daughter and her son has had great results with it. you can find it at some health food stores or you can google it and find lots of places to order it. Good luck

I've never posted here before, so not sure how this works but wanted to post a link to this book. I think you'll get a lot of it. Antibiotics can start a vicious cycle when it comes to ear infections. There are alternatives and underlying causes. Good luck!

A.

Healing Childhood Ear Infections
http://tinyurl.com/25mvms

There is a book called "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" that I refer to when my family is having symptoms of anything. In that book I discovered that many ear infections (especially chronic ones) are really caused by food allergies. Some of the more common ones are wheat, dairy, corn, oranges, peanut butter, and all simple carbs. There is lots more helpful info in the book. You may want to have your child tested for food allergies instead of trying more antibiotics or tubes. It would be a shame to go through all that if just a simple change in diet could help. If you want to check it out for yourself, the author is Phyllis A, Balch. I hope that helps, let me know how everything turns out.

Ask your pediatrician for a recommendation to an ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor. Your child may need ear tubes. Many children get chronic ear infections until age 2-2.5 because their bodies are small and the tubing that drains that area inside their bodies doesn't drain well until they're older (and therefore larger). Ear tubes commonly will fix this problem and the tubes will fall out ~ age 2, the hole will heal and most likely your child won't need new tubes because they've grown. Lots of parents don't like the idea of this surgery, but it's so much better for them than constant pain and infection and worlds better than chronic systemic antibiotics. My son was like this, he had to have the surgery twice, less than 5 months apart, but since the 2nd one, he hasn't been sick at all nothing...I truly believe it was the best decision I made. Coming on one year with almost no illness in a child who was hospitalized 4 time before his first birthday!

K.,

My daughter is 3 yrs old and went through the very same thing. Eventually, once the antibiotics stop working, the pediatrician will recommend ear tubes (myringotomy). Its a simple procedure that takes about 15 minutes and then its just a matter putting drops in her ears for the week following. Additionally, my daughter had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed and a fourth set of tubes. Unfortunately, she just kept getting really bad ear infections. After her tonsils and adenoids were removed she has been totally healthy. She has had only one serious cold and NO ear infection following it.

If you live in Raleigh, the best ENT Audiologist is Douglas K. Holmes. He is fabulous!! Great with kids and knows his stuff. His wife works the practice with him and they also do hearing tests.

Please don't wait to take your child to the doctor if you suspect she has an ear infection. She could lose valuable hearing. It may also be a good idea to check with the chiropractor who works with children. I have heard that they can alleviate the recurrence of ear infections through spine/neck alignment. Best wishses.

I went through this with both children. After Ped sent us to a ENT they both had ear tubes @ 2 & 4 years old. Rarely do we now visit the Ped other than physicals.

Highly recommend. It is a common & quick procedure for all ages. Ours were very successful without any recovery problems. Neither of my two complained slept the afternoon & back to normal.

Good luck & kisses & prayers for your little one!

Hi K.,
I just went through the same thing with my 8 month old daughter. It started in May. She was on 10 antibiotics from then until August. Her doctor sent us to an ENT and he put tubes in Aug 24. She has been a totally different baby. She isn't pulling at her ears or running fevers anymore. It has been wonderful not having her in pain. If it keeps occuring talk to his doctor about seeing an ENT. Good Luck
S.

I use to have ear infections all the time when I was little and they put tubes in my ears. It fixed it. Also my nephew did the same and he's not had a problem since.

K.,
My son had tubes put in his ears at 1 year old after experiencing multiple ear infections. He has only had one ear infection since getting the tubes and it was one year after they were put in. So he went an entire year without an ear infection after the tubes. I had to really be demanding with my pediatrician. The ear dr. in Greensboro who I would recommend is Dr. Shoemaker on Wendover Ave near the intersection of Cridland. I have several friends whose children got tubes in their ears at 2 yrs old and they all wished the tubes would have been inserted much earlier. It seemed to be a very easy procedure.

Hey K.!!

My 3 year old had the same thing right around 1 year old. She had over 6 or 7 in a 4-5 month period. It was so bad that we were running out of antibiotics to give her. She ended up having to have tubes put in her ears and she hasn't had an infection since. But when I was pregnant with my 7 month old, I went to a chiropractor to get some relief for my back aches. In passing, I mentioned to him about Becca's ear infections and the fact that we had to get tubes. He told me that in some cases children can get and keep severe ear infections around 1 year old if their neck or back is out of alignment. He told me of several children that he had worked with and helped and their infections went away. I really wish I would have known to have Becca checked before she got her tubes. I would much rather her not have had to get surgery. But my pediatrician and I didn't know what else to do. She actually lost some of her hearing. She has regained it but make sure you get his hearing checked because constant ear infections can lead to permanent hearing loss if they are not gotten under control. I don't know for sure that the chiropractor could have helped and I am sure not every child's ear infections could be helped by a chiropractor, but it is definitely something I would have liked to look into.

I really hope you find something to help because I know how frustrating it is to have a child always in pain and always with an infection. Let me know what helps!!!!!!

K.

K.,
My daughter had ear infections like that when she was little. She had an allergy test and it turns out that she is allergic to soy and milk. I changed her formula and she hasn't been sick since January. It was a battle to get the dr. to do an allergy test on her, but it turns out that having a milk and/ or soy allergy is pretty common and a common side affect of allergies is an ear infection. Good luck!

i feel for you. my husband used to get chronic ear infections even as an adult. his son from a previous relationship also gets them often. our son that we have together has never had one infection. have you tried natural remedies? or tried converting your home to natural ingredient type products. i've heard that it makes a big difference. i can help you learn about a place you can get these types of products if you're interested. i know many ppl are now interested in getting back to the more natural types of cures for medical problems since a lot of things now are caused by toxins and chemicals and some medicines only treat symptoms and not the underlying problem. so i'd be happy to help you learn and become educated about these alternatives.
J.
____@____.com

I had the same prob w/ my son. went to an ENT friend who told me to get some Tylenol w/ codeine, give as needed to control pain. do not go to Dr for 24 hrs. usually pain goes away by itself. There is a major nerve b/t the back teeth and the ear canal that can swell causing inflamation in ear or tooth area. Often EI's are misdiagnosed. I treated my son several times for pain during the next yr but no more antibiotics! He's 12 now.

Hate to say it, but you may need tubes.

One thing I would try first is allergy medicine. I've had a lifetime of ear problems. Both eardrums ruptured at 15 and the holes never healed. Ten years later I discovered that it was probably the result of untreated allergies to grass and pollen which caused my sinuses not to function which resulted in long-term damage. To this day, if I don't treat an allergy outbreak my ears will fill with fluid and become infected. Talk about crazy -- ear infections at 32...

My own daughter had to have tubes at 10 months because one of her eardrums ruptured. In our situation, we had no choice. She continued to have infections after the tubes but not monthly like they had been.

The following spring they started again and I started to notice that on days when I woke up needing a Claritin for pollen and mold, she was waking up with a runny nose. Started giving her children's claritin and we've only had one ear infection in 18 months. She's 3 now and I still hold to the rule of thumb that if I wake up needing an allergy pill she gets one too. Worst case, it stops the runny nose. Best case, I think it prevents her ear infections because the fluid doesn't collect in her ear.

Wow! Sounds like my oldest son when he was younger. We tried every antibotic and he even started getting sick from them. We finally got tubes put in his ears and he hasn't had ONE ear infection since. I think he had an ear infection 8-10 times before we had it done... and he was only 9 months old. I think that is your best bet. Might want to check if there is fluid behind the ear drums. I know there are some home renmedies for ear aches. Some of them are listed at http://www.himalayahomeremedies.com/homeremedies_earache.htm
But these remedies are to help with the pain and not a cure for the infection.
I hope that helps. I would suggest tubes now, so they fall out before he's swimming and taking showers, etc.
-B.

My oldest son had chronic ear infections, at least one a month. His doc.sent us to a ear,noise,throat doctor and it was recommended that he have tubes put in his ears. After that he had one ear infection that year, and after his second birthday he hasn't had anymore (he's 9 years old now). This may be an option for you and your child. Also my son is now allergic to the penicillin medications because of having them so many times, his body build up an allergy to it.

Talk to your doctor about having tubes put in his ears. I had to have tubes in booth of mine and we haven't had any problems since. Also I have a great business if you are interested email me at ____@____.com luck.

Kristen,
Hi Kristen, I have also had recurring ear infections with my children. I have found an over the counter remedy that works wonders. It's called Similasan. They have remedies for ear aches, pink eye, and a couple of other ailments. and each product comes with coupons for $1.00 off. They can be found at CVS. I have tried many products in their line. Let me know how ya make out.
S. J

I would also suggest talking to your doctor about seeing an ENT my son went through all the antibiotics too. We had about 8 infections in a 5 month time span with no relief. The antibiotics were getting so hard on my child's stomach he didn't want to take them anymore. We finally saw an ENT who said my son (who was then 14 months old) would be a perfect candidate. I could tell that he wasn't picking up sounds and names and I didn't want it to prevent his speech growth and development. We had the tubes put in 2 weeks later and it has been a blessing (the doctor put in a longer tube-it's blue) so my son who is now 32 months can swim and play with water as much as he wants. We have not had 1 ear infection since the tubes have been put in. It has been fantastic!