I'm new here ot mommytalk and I was just wondering if anyone here would have any suggestions..  My Daughter has had 5 ear infections since birth.  This last one started the beginning of Dec and we still have it..  It started as a right ear and we were perscribed amoxicillan and her symptoms got better then a week later the fever came back she stopped eating and they perscribed Augmentin she seemed to have gotten better then 2 days after she was don't taking the medicine it all came back. By this time both of her ears are infected so they perscribe omnicef.  Everything seemed to get better she was eating again no fever not crying for atleast 5 hours a night starting when the sun goes down.  So our Pediatrician wanted to see her on the day that she took her tenth dose of omnicef adn nothing had cleared up so he started shots of rocefin.  She recieved three shots 1 every-other day.  on the third shot she was evaluated again and now jsut her right ear is infected and still has a ton of fluid in the left ear.  They are sending us to the Ear Nose and Throat Spec for Tubes ..  I'm not fully convinced taht tubes are the way to go with my baby..  So What I am wondering is if anyone out there in mommy world has had similar problems and what they did.  I would like to take a homeopathic approach before getting tubes in here ears...   Any and All suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

My first I opted out of having tubes, because I was not going to do that.  However by the time I had the second and I was right back to the Dr office every 13-15 days after we were there to get antibiotics - when his Dr shuggest ENT specialist - I went gladly with open mind.  Sam got tubes June 2000.  It was simple out patient surgery and he was literally gone from me for 25 mintues, that is it. 

The tube looks like a mouse size thimble, but smaller - Sam's were blue.  Sam still had his tubes in at 4, they were a wonderful success.  If my youngest would have needed them, I would have done it again in a heartbeat.

I know all ppl are different, but listen to what the ENT Dr has to say.  You will notice a world of difference immediately and get a good nights sleep to boot!

Is your baby bottle fed? try feeding on side.  I think it is an old wives tale but I have heard people say it works. 

No she is not bottle feed she gave up the breast and bottle at 9 months and uses a regular cup most of the day.

my Lil Liv has been prone to ear infections.... just like kmom back and forth to the dr we went... I took her to the ENT spec. last winter I think It was feb my Dr said after a seris of test were run she didn't need to have tubs unless she were to get another infection in the next six months... she cleared that hurddle. She had issues with pain alot in her ears cause when the fluid woud drain it would creat a vacum and pull her ear drum in and thats what was causing so much pain. Thankful I believe that we are passed those issues now.

I would have done tubes if need  had been there I didn't want the chronic ear infections causing problems down the line with speech development or hearing problems.

talk with your dr get a sec opinion if you need to...

In the end you'll make the right choice for you and your baby.

Hello Welcome and you are at the right place here. My DD who is now nearing 30 got the tubes at r about 22 mths  ....I am SOOOO glad we did it !!!  She stopped having ear infections  almost immediately ... I would gladly have done sooner had it been offerred sooner to us back then  ...All thoser infections were awful .... Id say do it if Dr says  and give your baby relief and you too

Elliott got tubes in his ears before his was 1.  And they were amazing!!  No more sickness at all!!!  They stayed in for over two years at which point the ENT recommended having them taken out.  Which we did.  My pediatrician says his ears look good now and there is very little scaring.  He has had only 1 ear infection since they were taken out, and he will be six in march.  My pediatrican also recommends that I give him a decongestant at the first sign of any "snotty"  that way it doesn't go to his ears.

I would definitely recommend getting the tubes.  They were a god send for us!!!

We do not have tubes, but everyone I know who has gone through that with their children have had positive things to say - much like what has already been said.

If it were me, I would weigh the options (pros and cons); however, I would much rather tubes then overloading with antibiotics, especially at such a young age.

Best of luck to you...

tubes aer the only way. i'm suprised you havent been to a ENT yet . I do homeopathic stuff too but there isnt really a solution to this if you dont get tubes your daughter could suffer severe hearing loss if she keeps getting the ear infections my husband also had tubes when he was little too

My daughter was the same way. Kept getting ear infectons after ear infections. Finally we went to ENT doc after about 6 months of ear of never ending ear infections. The doc told us that she had so much fluid in her ears that she couldn't hear anything and thats why so wasn't speaking at 18 months of age. We got tubes in her ears and haven't had a problem since. She is now 25months old.

I agree with everyone, you should check out tubes. I don't know if you would ever consider taking your child to an osteopath, but osteopaths have other, less invasive ways of treating repeated ear infections. I don't think you should skip the ENT or anything, it's just something else you might want to look at. If you're not familiar with them, osteopaths are doctors, just like MDs, they're DOs , they can be surgeons, OB-GYNs, family practice docs, osteopathy just has a slightly different approach. Good luck!

I just wanted to give you a different prespective on the ear infection tubes/antibiotics dilema. I am 36 years old and had ear infections every two weeks from birth until I don't know when! Tubes were not an option with Kaiser Permenente so I was given penicillen. I eventually became allergic to penicillen and everyother -cillen out there and I now have quite a lot of scar tissue in my ears, especially in my left ear. The scarring is causing hearing loss, more significantly in my left ear. So without trying to sound mellow dramatic, I suggest going into the ENT office with an open mind and go for the tubes.

~lolo 

The biggest thing to consider is with frequent ear infections is the hearing loss, which we may not notice signs of until later,    My entire family, myself included were all prone to ear infections and we all had tubes, and I prayed my son would be the exception to all my allergies and problems i seemed to have as a child!!  and we all ended up with tubes, and now I am needing to get tubes for my 3 year old boy...slow medical system so it will still take about 2 months til i get to see the ear.nose,throat specialist

So once children start to learn how to talk, and they are always having infections and less sleep, and pain, they will not hear every word you try to teach or talk to them and miss alot of really important timing to learn how to talk/listen.. and with the pain and lack of quality sleep more than just hearing is in jeopardy!!  ( the early years when you learn so much you can't let them miss out!!)

So now I have to worry about the past year, my little guy had mild hearing loss...which is why he says alot of 'silly words' and asks to turn up the volume alot, asks 'what mom' all the time,     and he has Stiff EarDrums, so when he sais that noise that is loud hurts, it really does, because the Eardrum is not vibrating enough,   The Doctors answer, Tubes, They will angle the middle ears tube enough and we will just have to wait and see if the eardrums will relax and the fluid will drain once the tubes angle the shaft right (as they grow they change shape, so when angle properlly and won't need them later in life)  So I am still a little nervous of the actual procedure..but I do have faith in proven medicine!!  and thank you ladies for all the other positive stories..and Good luck, I hope your little ones stay Healthy and Happy!!

HI I recieved this when my son had his ear infection and thought you might want to take a look...I have to say though, i agree with everyone else! Being a speech/language therapist, I would be concerned with her language development. Chronic ear infections or otitis media cause temporary (sometimes perminent) loss of hearing, in turn missing out on soooo much exposure to language. a childs ear canal isn't on the same angle as an adult, therefore, water isn't able to drain as easily! Tubes simply in a way correct this problem. I personally and professionally would opt for tubes! it is very important for young children to recieve language imput! Just my opinion...good luck! Sooo many tough choices in motherhood aren't there??!

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here is some info. from my DH, jim, his been studying herbalism for
about 12 years now, totally passionate about it (maybe even
obsessive). His website is www.herbcraft.org the oil (see below) is
something my mom used when I was a kid- I remember liking the
soothing affect of it. Anyways, just wanted to pass on the
info.-there's also some links on some really good articles on the
topic.

in regards to warm oil, I highly recommend it, but you can easily make
it more effective by adding garlic and (if anyone took the time to
gather them last summer) mullein flowers. But, most people probably
don't have mullein around, and garlic will work just fine. You can
make it simply in your kitchen:

simply pour some olive oil (of course organic is preferable, but work
with what you got) into a pan and add slivered garlic. You don't need
to mince it, just slice it real thin. Over ~very~ low heat, saute
them... it shouldn't get so hot that you can't stick your finger in
the oil You don't want to brown them; just warm the oil enough for it
to more readily extract the oils from the garlic. After the aroma is
well pronouced, and you can taste it in the oil, strain this through a
coffee filter (easiest if the oil is still warm - be careful that its
not hot enough to burn yourself) and into a jar. whallah, you have
infused garlic oil, which is antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral,
so takes care of a larger array of critters than antibiotics can.

Apply by the drop or on a Q-tip.

Whole Foods has glass dropper bottles, as do some pharmacies and
health food stores. If you store oils in dropper bottles, be aware
that the oil will degrade the rubber "dropper" top over time. Better
to store the oil in a glass jar, and use the dropper just for
dispensing. I keep the bulk of the oil in the freezer for optimal
presevration, and run the jar under hot water when I need to thaw some
out to use.

HerbPharm makes a mullein garlic ear oil, but while I think mullein
oil is a real nice addition (helps with pain, swelling and lymphatic
flow), I wouldn't buy this over making something at home. Better to
gather some mullein flowers next summer...

Here's a couple articles on the issue from my website's article index
(which, incidentally, has a LOT on herbs for kids if you go to this
page and scroll down to "children":
www.herbcraft.org/articleindex.html )

Chronic childhood ear infections (paul bergner)
www.medherb.com/Therapeutics/Pediatrics_-_Chronic_childhood_ear_infections.htm#_VPID_90

Ear aches in kids (henriette kress)
www.henriettesherbal.com/blog/?p=404

The Midnight Earache (henriette kress)
www.henriettesherbal.com/blog/?p=465