Imagine that you wake up in the middle of the night with your one-year-old daughter crying. You try everything you can think of, but the tears just keep coming. You notice that she is pawing at her ear and won’t let you touch it. Then the thought pops into your head: “Could it be an ear infection?”
Of course, the next day you sleeplessly bring her to the doctor, and the doctor tells you, “Her ear is fire engine red.”
This situation is probably more common than you think, but the question you have to ask yourself now is “What do I do?” As a parent, you just wish with your entire heart that you can make them feel better. And we have tips for how to do that.
What Is an Ear Infection?
The ear is divided into 3 different parts:
- Outer ear, which is the part outside of the eardrum
- Middle ear, which has a few bones
- Inner ear, which is where the sound waves are translated to the brain
It is in fact the middle ear where the ear infection typically occurs. The middle ear is a dark and wet area that is perfect for bacteria and viruses to grow. The middle ear does have drainage tubes (called Eustachian tubes) that help to drain the middle ear into the back of the nasal cavity.
In adults, these Eustachian tubes are angled downward and are large enough to let gravity drain the middle ear. BUT, in children, since their bodies haven’t finished growing, the Eustachian tubes are horizontal and smaller than adults. This makes it difficult to drain the middle ear, and can cause back up which is when growth of bacteria and viruses can happen.
I recently worked with an 18-month-old girl who was suffering from an ear infection, and her mother had a similar story as the one above. Both mother and daughter were very tired, and the girl was clearly not happy.
Addressing Ear Infections Holistically
Here were the instructions I recommended and treatments I performed for her daughter to help relieve her symptoms — without the gut-damaging antibiotics.
CLOVE OIL MIXTURE
Put a few drops of a mixture of clove oil and lavender into the ear every 12 hours.
Studies show that using herbal drops can be as effective as antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin. The drops have a soothing effect to help with pain (which means a happier kid and better sleep for BOTH of you!). The drops can also help to fight the infection.
NO DAIRY
Another action step you can do is take away dairy for the duration of the infection. It has been seen that cow’s milk does cause inflammation, and when those Eustachian tubes become inflamed, they close off, impeding the drainage of the middle ear. For babies, breast milk does not cause inflammation. Breast milk provides good nutrients and will help with the baby’s immune system to fight off infections.
GET ADJUSTED
Another great treatment that I always recommend for ear infections is getting adjusted. Especially getting the neck adjusted will allow the nervous system and muscles to calm down, which promotes a strong immune system and helps calm inflammation. That 18-month-old girl mentioned above was able to overcome her ear infection within a few days of her first visit here at Valeo Health and Wellness Center. Both mom and daughter were very appreciative!
Learn more about pediatric chiropractic care at Valeo. We treat kids of all ages.>>
Getting Down to the Root
But there is still one question remaining: what caused the infection in the first place? Is this a recurring issue? Could something in the diet be causing the immune system to respond and overreact? Is the immune system compromised? Does your child have a different infection that caused the ear infection?
You can expose 10 different kids to the same infection, but only a few may get it. What’s the difference between the kids that get sick versus the kids that don’t? Wouldn’t it be great to be in the group that doesn’t get sick when exposed to viruses and bacteria? To do that, we need to focus on prioritizing health and wellness (in other words, preventative care) rather than taking a reactionary approach to sickness.
If you’re ready to work on maintaining good health, call our office at 952-949-0676 to schedule a wellness visit.
