Recurring Ear Infection

Oh I don't think it's at all a sign that you don't take care of her. It's most likely her anatomy. When my daughter was 1, she got them almost every month that winter. By the time she was 2, her ear anatomy changed (to allow for drainage) and she did not get them. On the other hand, my son (who arguably gets the same care, right?) never had one. Time will help with this one.

Infections can be a sign of allergies. Cow's milk is the number one allergy food. I suggest you eliminate any dairy products from her diet and see if this stops the infections. From personal experience I can tell you that I suffered repeated sinus infections until I learned of my milk allergy. I have never had another sinus infection since I went dairy free. AF

My youngest was getting an ear infection about every month when she was a year and a half. We had tubes put in, and no more ear infections since then!

A.

Hi C. I apologize for just responding. But back in March the Washington Post ran an article about this very thing. In addition to it possibly being some sort of allergy there could also be fluid build up in your daughters ears. I would recommend that you first get her tested for allergies, then see if there is in fact a build up of fluid. If so the doctor should suggest putting tubes in your daughters ears to help releave the situation. If your interested in the article go to Washingtonpost.com and search for "Coming around to Ear Tubes; After her son's fifth infection a Mom reluctantly agrees to surgery" All the best to you and your daughter

AS I have told MANY give your child probiotics bought at Health Food Center around Tidewater. You can buy them for infants. Stoneyfield yogurt has the good sugar in it too and will not mess with her immune system as regualr sugar will and the probiotics in yogurt only encourages good health.
DanActive Immune works great for my sons health and he hasn't been sick in a few years now!!!
God Bless

my daughter from the age of 2-3 was in the doctors every month with either a sinus infection or ear infection and I took good care of my daughter also,sometimes things like this just happen.My suggestion is to see and ear nose and throat specialist she may need tubes in her ears to me it is a serious thing although it is done on many children.Luckily my daughter outgrew her problems and has been good with ears and sinuses since then excepet for normal colds etc. she is now 10.
I am not sure where you live but dr.hamburger in glen burnie(i think crain towers) is very good with children my daughter saw him and she is very very shy around everyone especially men and he tried very hard to make her comfortable my father also goes to him and likes him.
hope this helps and good luck.
I also noticed you wrote about the potty issue I have done childcare for years and sorry I do not have any advice usually most children do the pee thing before the #2 in the potty.But you could offer a reward if she pee's in the potty.depending on what works for your daughter(play time at the park,piece of candy,sticker,extra t.v time)whatever works. good luck.

Hi C.,

One of the most simple things you can try is to get rid of all of the harsh chemicals in your house. They are found in most cleaning and personal care products. My friend had the same thing happen to her two children and by switching stores to one with safer products, she reduced the problem significantly. It took her two and a half years to convince me to do the same but I can tell you that now that I have, my family is healthier! We mostly go to well checks and that's it. My children are now 8 and 12. If you would like to see some others who have benefited. Please visit my business review under Home Employment and the Wellness Company. Please contact me if you would like more information.

I'm sure you are taking great care of your daugher. Ear infections happen to most everyone! Keep up the good work.

M. B.

Hi C..
You don't say how old your daughter is. Have you had her tested for allergies? My child used to get ear infections/high fevers constantly. I finally had him tested for allergies and it turned out that he was allergic to two foods. When I looked back at the school menu, sure enough,around the time each infection started he'd had one of the foods. We had him stop eating those foods, and he's only had one ear infection in 4 years.
Hope this helps.
M.

Hi C.,

Sorry to hear about your daughter's ear infections; I know how it is because both of my girls had the same trouble. You already have some great advise and the only thing I would add to it is on the subject of household chemicals.
The one thing that really seemed to help my daughters was when I started buying naturally based household products. Some of the regular cleaning products which are very popular make claims to be very mild/safe for everyday use/safe to use around children etc. and they are safe in that they probably wouldn't poison a child, but they still contain chemicals which cause irritation to the respiritory tract which in turn causes fluid build up/runny noses etc and prolonged fluid in the passageways allows bacteria to grow and multiply causing ear infections. Be very careful about what you are spraying around your house or using to wash and condition your clothes with etc.
I hope this helps.

L. P
Proud member of the M.O.M. Team
www.YouCanWorkFromYourHome.com

C.,

My first child(now 12) had ear infections every month from 9 months thru 18 months, thru another probelm we had to eliminate dairy from his diet and a "side effect" was no more ear infections. A previous writer hit it on the head, until this century doctors in this country were not required to take more than a semester of nutrition. In many other countries diet is changed when problems arise. I know its hard, but don't let her take too many antibiotics, because she could build a resistance that may cause problems later. Also as she is prescribed stronger and stronger antibiotics, she will get yeast infections and other problems.

A bit about me: I have taken several nutrition classes(not a certified nutritionist, yet) and my other 2 children(now 10 and 5) have each had 2 ear infections, both related to swimming. My oldest has not had an ear infection since he was 18 months.

How old is she? My daughter had to have ear tubes put in when she was a year and a half. It is a quick, outpatient procedure and she has only had one ear infection in the last 2 years, since she got the tubes. Most pediatricians have a threshold for determining if this is necessary. I think it is 5 infections in one year. Now we only have to use ear drops if she does get infections.

I don't see her ear infections as a reflection of your parenting. Some kids just get them. I would be extra cautious about triggers though if she is getting them so frequently. Keep her away from ciggarette smoke, or anywhere that has been exposed to ciggarette smoke. That stuff is REALLY bad news. Does she swim? sometimes water will get in there and cause infection to occur. Talk to her pediatrician and go over her environment to see if they think there are any other triggers you may not have thought of. They can also maybe give you a plan for how to deal with future infections. Good luck to you.

My youngest gets chronic ear infections. He's almost 2 1/2 and has had them since he was just a few months old. He got about 5 or 6 during each of his first 2 winters. He just got over one a couple weeks ago which was his first ever in the summer. We did consult with an ENT and decided that since they were all during winter/cold months we would "wait and see". If he gets them again this winter we will probably go ahead with the tubes.

Ear infections are not a sign of how good you take care of her so dont worry!! It could be coinciding with her teething. My daughter had 14 ear infections by the tine she was 13 months and that was with getting tubes at 8 months. Some kids are prone to them. We were told she has a very short canal so its easy for bacteria to get in there. We were also told to take her off milk products. Apparently the dairy causes more mucus production in the canals and that can cause bacteria to stay in there as well. We rotated between almond, soy and rice milk with her. I also started taking her to the chiropractor (kind of helped that my husband was in school to be one at the time). We also took her off the bottle at 12 months exactly and stopped putting her to bed with a bottle, I just rocked her instead.
Her infections dramatically decreased and after 14 months she has only had 2 infections and she is 3 now. I dont know if it was anything in particular or all combined but that worked for us.

Good luck, I know it can be frustrating when they dont feel good.

Have you daughter tested for milk allergies. My sitter had read an article about babies getting their first ear infection at 10 months then having a constant recurring infections. At 15 months I asked our pediatrician about the milk allergy and she told me no way but if I wanted my child put through the injections it was up to me. My son ended up being allergic to milk, chocolate, eggs, orange juice, and certain weeds and field grasses. Later he developed a severe reaction to yellow jacket. Had I not trusted my gut instinct to have my son tested we would have spent a lot of time in misery. And by the way my pediatrician was floored! A.

In some cases ear infections cannot be prevented no matter how good of care you take to keep her healthy. My daughter had to have tubes in her ears shortly after her 1st b-day. She would get ear infections even if she was perfectly healthy. The doc told us that her ears simply did not drain properly. She has never had another infections since getting the tubes and that was 2 years ago. I know surgery isn't any ones first choice but we felt it was better than pumping her full of antibiotics all of the time as she required stronger ones the more she got the infections.

Best Wishes!

her eustachian (sp?) might be too narrow. Our daughter had 7 in 7 months. We got her tubes and she has never had another ear infection in the 2+ years since.
You might want to see an ear nose and throat specialist.

You say your daughter gets ear infections every so many months. How many? Because ear infections are part of childhood. As their ears develop and they get bigger, children stop getting them. However, when they are young their ear tubes are level and are subject to clogging and getting infected (they grow more vertically as the child gets older).

Breastfeeding reduces ear infections, but my exclusively breastfed baby still had 2 ruptured ear drums in her first 12 months.

To reduce the likelihood of ear infections, make sure that your child eats (drinks) in a partially upright state if she is still using a bottle and don't put her to bed with a pacifier.

She will grow out of them.

There are some studies that suggest that decreasing the dairy products in your child's diet can help with recurring ear infections.

http://www.healthychild.com/managing-ear-infections.htm

There are also some articles on the Mothering Magazine website.

Best,
W.
http://motherrising.blogspot.com

Do you mean ear infection....if so, nothing you are doing is causing this. It can range from being aroung other kids, to allergies, or just her anatomy. Follow up with the pediatrician and they will most likely send you to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor if they feel there needs to be surgical intervention.

C.,

I'm so sorry to hear your little one gets so many ear infections. My suggestion would contact an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. I recommend Dr. Choi at Childrens. Two of my children had numerous ear infections and had to get ear tubes placed. It's a minor procedure done in the hospital. Since the tubs my youngest son 3 has had tubes for 2 years and only has had one ear infection with the tubes. Best of luck!

J. Z.
Independent Shaklee Distributor
www.shaklee.net/Z.
Now offering Paraben-Free Cosmetics

Hi C.,
My daughter had the same problem from the time she was born until about 2 1/2 . At that point, an ENT Doc looked at her tonsils and THAT was the problem. They were so large that proper drainage did not occur resulting in a constant ear infection. They took her tonsils, adenoids and put in tubes. She has not had an ear infection since and she's 10 now! Good Luck!

i know your daughter just turned 2 because of another question you asked. my daughter is on her second set of tubes and has had her adenoids removed, as well. ear infections don't have anything to do with how well you take care of her.

the eustachian tubes on children are very narrow. these tubes allow drainage from the middle ear into the throat. often they become swollen and close to allow no drainage. the fluid in the middle is trapped and this is a middle ear infection. this occurs behind the ear drum so bathing swimming and general waxy ears have nothing to do with middle ear infections. on some children glands, usually adenoids, are so big (naturally) that they contribute to the closing of the eustachian tubes. this is something your child will outgrow, however, if she is having ear infections every 2-3 months your doc may want to send her to an ENT. in the case of my daughter the ear infections were infecting her hearing and speech development. if the ear infections are occurring every month than it's likely the antibiotics aren't knocking them out. They don't put tubes in as much as they used to but for kids with chronic problems they do and it's totally worth it.

btw, if she sleeps with a pacifier or bottle taking that away may help. feel free to message me with more questions and good luck!

Start with her diet. Dairy products are the main culprit of ear infections. As many people are allergic or sensitive to them, and it causes mucus. Also any processed sugar.
Depending on how much processed food she eats and how much dairy, it's usually a simple process. Most Dr.s are not required to take any advanced nutrition courses and do not have good nutrition knowledge. There is a great herbal ear oil that you can use as well. It's very important to start from the inside out with diet. Consulting a chiropractor,homeopath or naturpath would be helpful.
I'm happy to answer questions, and make referrals to competant practitioners for you. Feel free to contact me.
L. M.
Birthbliss
HypnoBirthing Childbirth Education and doula services

hi C.,
some kids are prone to 'em, it's nothing to do with good care. both my boys had crappy ears.
be careful with tubes. if i could go back, i'd do a LOT more investigation of food allergies (and the suggestion to check the house for harsh chemicals is also an excellent one) and less reliance on antibiotics and tubes. dairy and wheat are common culprits, but today our littles are assaulted on all sides by chemicals, pesticides and allergens. you'll be a lot better off controlling her exposure to these things than trying to fix it all medically. both my kids have scarred eardrums, not so much from the infections as from the repeated insertion of the tubes.
good luck!
khairete
S.

SORRY I'm so late with this response C.. There are so many possibilities regarding the cause of her ear infections. One common cause can be an allergy to milk and dairy products. This is an easy one since all you do is stop cow's milk for a while and see how she responds.
Another consideration is her environment at home. SOme children (and adults) have reactions to the chemicals that they are exposed to daily at home. Many things you don't even know about or think of. Check out this website www.saferforyourhome.com and then let me know when I can share with you what we have done for our family. We use to be a family that suffered with all kinds of different allergies but not any more! Praise God!

I look forward to talking with you soon! Email me anytime at ____@____.com Care,
N. :) SAHM homeschooling 3 boys 12, 7 & 2yrs old. Married for almost 15yrs to Mr. Wonderful. We share with everyone how we shop for safer, healthier products (that we all use every single day) on a tight monthly budget AND SAVE MONEY TOO! How about the price of groceries now days? Check out www.angelfoodministries.com for good food for a whole lot less money. Email me if you have questions.

If she is having recurring ear infections ask her dr. to refer her to an ENT dr. for an evaluation. She may benefit from tubes in her ears especially if she has fluid remaining in her ears that effects her ability to hear well. Hearing is very important for proper speech development.

My daughter had cronic ear infections too as a child. It seemed we were always in the doctor's office. She was sent to an ear/throat/nose specialist and they considered putting tubes in her ears but because the medicine always improved her condiditon they didn't. As she got older (2 - 3 yo) they suddenly went away.

Hopefully, you can just be patient and time will correct the situation. But you may need tubes as well.

Good luck.
Mary
www.fredericksburgmommies.com

How old is your daughter, you did not mention?

I am not sure if anyone around your daughter smokes, but my nephew (who is now 18 yrs old) had bad ear infections when he was younger. His father smoked in the house. The Dr said that was the cause and once my sister moved out and divorced him, he no longer had ear infections. Coincidental? Perhaps but just wanted to offer some advice. This happens A L O T in babies/children.
Thankfully our almost 14 month old has never had one and if she did she didn't show any 'signs' of her ears bothering her.
Good luck to you and your new job. Child independance is a great idea! Especially a female.
H.~