Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Treatment for Ear Infections

FROM ABC: Experts report three out of four kids have had at least one ear infection by the time they turn three.

Khari Payne is only four years old and already he's suffered through nearly a dozen ear infections. "We were in the doctor all the time, it was just, I mean at least once a month for probably the better part of two years. It was endless. His symptoms often started with a runny nose, then came the fever, fussiness and irritability."

Some pediatricians differ in how to proceed with treatment. Dr. Vivian Lennon often keeps a watchful eye on a child before prescribing antibiotics. If the child however is younger, if the child is having severe pain, if the child is having fever then the decision may be made to treat with antibiotics.

She says the medicines should start working within 48 to 72 hours. Khari's infections kept coming back so his parents opted for surgery to insert tubes in his middle ear. The pain relief is instantaneous because the fluid is drained instantaneously. That's made Khari a happy boy. His mother reports he hasn't had an ear infection in about a year.

Does your doctor treat ear infections with antibiotics? I think all of mine have. (You know I am always in search of my perfect pediatrician!) Although, I remember one doctor saying not to worry about getting the child on antibiotics right away because ear infections are not treated with antibiotics in some countries and those kids do just fine.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

5 comments:

Kristin said...

My 6yr old had ear infections constantly when he was a baby. We had him on meds and had made an appointment to do tubes when his paternal grandmother suggested we see a chiropractor. I went ahead and tried it thinking that it sure couldn't make them any worse. The chiropractor used a tool to move the bone back into place so that his ears could drain properly. We kept him on the antibiotics along with going to the chiropractor once a week. By the time his tube appointment rolled around he had gotten over the ear infection, he hasn't had one since. So before you let a doctor tell you tubes are the only way to go to correct this problem, speak with a chiropractor. :)

Maria said...

We didn't use antibiotics all of the time before The Boy got tubes, but when the combination of homeopathic + chiropractic care did not cure the infection and the fluid was continual, we opted for tubes. He has had one infection with the tubes (maybe two?), but when we put the drops in his ears, they cleared quickly. Also, a little over a year later, one tube is now out, and he still is clear of infections. Hopefully the second tube comes out easily as well. :)

dayoub said...

Vitamin D deficiency which is making a comeback, especially in breast-fed infants is linked to recurrent ear infections. The FDA's and AAP's recommendation of 400 IU D3 is totally inadequate and several authors have suggested at least 1,000 IU D3 (NOT D2) in infancy and 2,000 IU daily beyond the age of 1y.

prevention is better that cure!



Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in young children undergoing placement of tympanostomy tubes.
Linday LA, Shindledecker RD, Dolitsky JN, Chen TC, Holick MF. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008 Oct;117(10):740-4.
Department of Otolaryngology, The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, NY, USA. lal14@columbia.edu
OBJECTIVES: We report the plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of 16 young children who were undergoing ambulatory surgery for placement of tympanostomy tubes. METHODS: We previously obtained blood samples from young children who were undergoing ambulatory surgery and reported that they had lower blood levels than adults of eicosapentaenoic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid), vitamin A, and selenium. Plasma frozen continuously at -80 degrees C was available from 16 subjects who were undergoing placement of tympanostomy tubes. RESULTS: The mean (+/- SD) age of the patients was 3.7 +/- 1.6 years (median, 2.9 years; range, 1.9 to 7.4 years). Sixty-two percent were male; half were white, and half were Hispanic. Sixty-two percent were private patients; the parents reported that half were taking vitamin supplements. None had a history of rickets. None had 25(OH)D levels less than 10 ng/mL; 50% had 25(OH)D levels less than 20 ng/mL (deficient in adults); another 31% had levels from 21 to 29 ng/mL (insufficient in adults). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D is essential for the production of endogenous antimicrobial peptides, and has been linked to seasonal, epidemic influenza A. However, the level of 25(OH)D needed to prevent infection with various human pathogens has not been defined. In view of increasing bacterial resistance and emerging new pathogens, further research on the relationship of infection to 25(OH)D and other nutritional factors is warranted.

agmon said...

The best thing for Ear infection is the eardoc. it is not invasive and it treats the problem rather than the symptoms.

The Eardoc was tested in a top medical university and a satisfaction survey shows that it helped in 94% of the users.
www.eardoc.info

Anonymous said...

Children exposed to smokers are more likely to cause ear infections, asthma, and cancer. Even if you don't smoke around your child, the smell of it on your clothes, hair, furniture, etc. can still be harmful. So if anyone that your child is around is a smoker, they need to quit or forfit rights to see your child.

 
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