Ear infections and chiropractic care

You know how it works, about 1:00am your child wakes up crying and pulling at their ears, they usually have a high temperature and are generally uncomfortable, have red ears and may be pulling on them, and you think to yourself, “another ear infection!”.  Otitis media, the medical term for an ear infection is prevalent amongst infants and young children.  Ear infections are apparently the most common cause of pediatric visits, and subsequent antibiotic use during the first two years of a child’s life. In the U.S., the cost of the medical and surgical treatment of otitis has been estimated to be between three and four billion dollars annually.  How many children do you know who are plagued with ear infections, whose parents are desperate to find some relief from the pain and problems associated with the infections? According to Dr.Sears  (the father of eight children as well as the author of over 30 books on childcare) there are 8 main symptoms of an ear infection:

1. Cold symptoms – keep in mind that ear infections are almost always preceded by a cold. Often a clear runny nose will turn yellow or green before an ear infection sets in.
2. Fussiness during the day or night
3. Complaining of ear pain or hearing loss
4. Night-waking more frequently
5. Unwillingness to lie flat
6. Fever – usually low grade (101º – 102º); may not have a fever.
7. Sudden increase in fussiness during a cold
8. Ear drainage – if you see blood or pus draining out of the ear, then it is probably an infection with a ruptured eardrum. DON’T WORRY! These almost always heal just fine, and once the eardrum ruptures the pain subsides.

So what can you do when your child gets yet another ear infection before his or her third birthday?  The first step could be speaking with your chiropractor. Your chiropractor has some techniques that can help improve symptoms of an existing infection or better yet, solutions to help to keep those  infections at bay.  Dr. Sears comments: I routinely prescribe chiropractic care to my pediatric patients with chronic ear problems. I am excited to see that osteopathic adjustments show benefit in a research study.

So what can your chiropractor do for your child’s ear infection?

According to an article posted on the American Chiropractic Association website ”…Chiropractic mobilizes drainage of the ear in children, and if they can continue to drain without a buildup of fluid and subsequent infection, they build up their own antibodies and recover more quickly,” explains Dr. Fallon. She’d like to see her pilot study used as a basis for larger-scale trials of chiropractic as a therapeutic modality for otitis media. Dr. Fallon uses primarily upper-cervical manipulation on children with otitis media, focusing particularly on the occiput, or back of the skull, and atlas, or the first vertebra in the neck. “Adjusting the occiput, in particular, will get the middle ear to drain. Depending on how chronic it’s been and on where they are in their cycle of antibiotics, children generally need to get through one bout of fluid and fight it off themselves.” That means, for the average child, between six and eight treatments. If a child’s case is acute, Dr. Fallon will check the ear every day, using a tympanogram to measure the ear and track the movement of the eardrum to make sure that it’s draining. “I’ll do adjustments every day or every other day for a couple of days if they’re acute, and then decrease frequency over time.”  To read the entire article go to ACA  

Fluid build up from chronic ear infections can not only be the cause of a speech and language delay, but can also be the cause of behavioural problems from a child frustrated by constant pain and exasperated by the difficulty in communicating his or her needs. So the next time your child shows signs of the onset of an ear infection, or if this is a chronic condition your child suffers with, contact Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at Fontana Chiropractic in Evergreen Colorado to discuss a way to manage this condition without the use or over-use of antibiotics.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at (303) 674 1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com

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