Ear Infections
Ear infections aren’t the result of a drug shortage or deformed eustachian tubes …
Are you treating the underlying cause?
Considering there are 10 million new cases of otitis media every year, many parents experience the helpless feeling associated with the cries of a young child with an ear infection. Ear infections are also the most common reason for visits to the pediatrician – accounting for more than 35% of all pediatrician visits. There is nearly a 50% chance that your child will suffer a middle ear infection in the first year of their precious life. They chances increase to 75% by the age 3.
Common ear infection symptoms include:
- Ear pain
- Tugging or pulling at one or both ears
- Fever
- Unusual irritability
- Difficulty sleeping
- Fluid drainage from the ear
- Loss of balance
There are two main sources for otitis media, either bacterial or viral. This is when antibiotics are typically prescribed, hoping the infection is due to bacteria. If the infection is viral in origin, antibiotics will only make the problem worse as they kill off part of your child’s natural immunity.
For many children, these infections can become a chronic problem that requires frequent treatment that greatly increases your child’s risk of permanent hearing damage and associated speech and developmental problems. Chronic ear infections are the 2nd most common reason for surgery in children under 2 (with circumcision being the first). At this point it is important to point out that this surgery requires general anesthesia which is never a minor thing for a developing child. It is also important to point out that your child’s ear infections are not the result of a drug shortage or deformed eustachian tubes, so why should your first choice of treatment be antibiotics and then ear tubes? Just because it is mainstream, does not make it the most effective treatment available.
What is the CAUSE of Ear Infections?
It surprises many parents to learn that some of the nerves that control and monitor your ear (1) begin in your brain stem, (2) continue down your spinal cord and (3) exit out from the spaces between the bones in your spinal column and regulate your ears. If the bones in the upper neck shift or become restricted (as they often do in the birthing process), the nerves that send signals to and from the ear and brain become compromised. When the nervous system becomes compromised, so does your body’s immune system – reducing the chances of your child’s ability to fight the infection on its own.
Subluxations are also accompanied by abnormal muscle tension that can exert pressure on nearby lymphatic drainage ducts. This prevents natural drainage, further compounding the problem. This is when ear tubes are commonly recommended. I will say this again, ear infections are not the result of a drug shortage or deformed eustachian tubes. As with any condition, finding the source of the problem and the cause of symptoms is far more important and successful than simply treating the surface symptoms with risky drugs and surgeries.
We believe in finding the cause of your child’s ear infections.
OWC Testing and Treatment for Ear Infections
The OWC will first complete a thorough consultation with you and your child to determine possible causes and/or contributing factors. When we have gathered the necessary information, we will complete a nervous system evaluation utilizing the Insight Millenium Subluxation Station, our non-invasive, painless technology that is able to locate areas of interference and stress in your child’s nervous system. There is a high correlation between interference in the first vertebra in the neck called the Atlas and ear infections. Once we have targeted areas of nerve interference, we will evaluate your child’s spine and muscles for any abnormal tension or restrictions.
Once we have had a chance to evaluate and interpret all of the results, we will sit down with you and your family and go over everything we discovered, explain to you what it all means, and present a customized treatment for your child if your child is a chiropractic candidate, and the costs associated with treatment. We promise to only offer safe, natural solutions with a high success rate that allows your child’s body to heal itself – the way we were all intended to. For more information on what we do, please contact us!
Chiropractic Treatment and Research
Chiropractors do not believe that ear infections are a result of a drug shortage or deformed eustachian tubes. We do believe that our bodies have an incredible capacity to fight infection and heal itself. When that ability is impaired, it means something else is going on. In most cases, nerve tension is found and can be gently reduced with safe and natural chiropractic adjustments. This helps restore nervous system integrity. For a child or infant, this usually requires a very light touch in a precise place and direction – it is the same pressure used to test the ripeness of a tomato.
Chiropractic adjustments to the atlas (the first bone in the neck) and occiput (a bone in the back of your skull) will encourage the middle ear to drain. As long as the ears can continue to drain without fluid build-up, infection is much less likely. The ears will build up their own antibodies and recover much more quickly and naturally. Some holisitic chiropractors will also recommend more natural supplements that are safe for your child to help fight the infection such as probiotics, special ear oils, or even 3% hydrogen peroxide drops directly in the ear. It is extremely important to never self-medicate yourself or your child, even natural supplements can be dangerous if taken inappropriately. ALWAYS consult with an educate, holistic practitioner before beginning any treatment regime.
Doctors of chiropractic are licensed and trained to diagnose and treat patients of all ages and will use a gentler type of treatment for children. Treatment frequency and duration will vary from child to child – on average, six to eight treatments are all that is needed to help with ear infections.
Chiropractic Adjustments for Chronic Ear Infections
Chiropractic Care for Children Receives More Press
Chiropractic Has Positive Effect on Acute Ear Infections
Chiropractic Helping Kids Fight Ear Infections
Chiropractic Kids Have Fewer Ear Infections
Chiropractors Treating Kids to Fight Infections
Medical Treatment and Research
Standard medical treatment for most cases of otitis media is with antibiotics. This is only effective if the cause of the ear infections is bacterial – but many cases are viral, for which antibiotics are useless. According to many research studies, antibiotics are often not much more effective than the body’s own immune system. Not to mention the fact that repeated doses of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant bacteria which creates a whole new gamete of problems and can still leave the child screaming in pain.
In severe cases, when fluids from an ear infection haven’t cleared from the ear after several months, and hearing is affected—specialists often prescribe “ear tubes,” artificial drainage tubes. During the surgical procedure, a small opening is made in the eardrum to place a tube inside. The tube relieves pressure in the ear and prevents repeated fluid buildup with the continuous venting of fresh air. According to Jack Paradise at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, for every one child who needs and gets tubes for the ears, about 20 others who don’t need them also get them. They almost always cause permanent scars on the eardrum and could impair hearing decades later.
In most cases, the membrane pushes the tube out after a couple of months and the hole in the eardrum closes. Although the treatment is effective, it has to be repeated in some 20 to 30 percent of cases. And this kind of surgery requires general anesthesia, never a minor thing in a small child. If the infection persists even after tube placement and removal, children sometimes undergo adenoidectomy (surgical removal of the adenoids)— an option that is effective mostly through the first year after surgery.
Antibiotics Usage During First Year Increases Risk for Asthma
Antibiotics Usage in Babies Linked to Asthma
Children and Unnecessary Antibiotics
Doctors Urged to Delay Kid’s Earache Drugs
Drugs Not Recommended for Ear Infections
