Blog? Do I have a blog anymore?!? I am constantly amazed at how life swallows me up and the days fly by in a blurry haze.Anyways, the recent issue in our family (besides debating over possible baby names) has been in regards to ear infections. Truthfully, I know little about ear infections -- what causes them, symptoms, etc. I have a vague misgiving about using antibiotics too quickly (or any medicine for that matter) for ear infections especially because of the potential of creating anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria in my kids. Besides the fact that I hate the generality of antibiotics. Good bacteria in our bodies are good and I hate having to kill the good germies along with the bad ones.
Last week Clive came down with something. At first it seemed like a simple runny nose/cough thing that we thought may have been teething related. He woke up several nights coughing so we fired up the humidifier, gave him lots of honey throughout the day (which Clive ever-so-cutely called his "honey medicine"), and propped him up in bed with pillows so his head was elevated. We even resorted to tylenol a few nights when nothing else was cutting it. Believe me, after one extremely long hour of trying to get him to sleep on me and my bulging baby belly I was ready to try anything!
He improved after 3-4 days and eventually his cough dissipated and his runny nose dried up. BUT the weird aspect was that Clive started sucking his fingers. Continually. So much so that I gave up trying to prevent his finger-sucking ways he was an unsightly drooly mess.
Matt insisted on taking Clive to the doctor a few days ago even though Clive's symptoms were almost totally gone. The doc confirmed that Clive had an ear infection. What I HATE is that the doc didn't qualify the infection. Having an ear infection is one thing but was it bad enough to warrant antibiotic use? Apparently so as the doc sent Matt home with a scrip for Amoxicillin.
You can probably sense the conflict which arose between Matt and I on this subject. After doing a tiny bit of research, I found that it's good practice to wait a few days to see if the infection will clear up on its own (hence proving it was a viral infection and not bacterial). I won't go into the gory details of our confrontation but I successfully convinced Matt to wait a few days before filling the scrip.
Today was our agreed-upon day of reckoning for Clive. I took him into the doc for one more check of his ear to see if it was truly worthy of anti-biotic pummeling. By today, Clive was totally himself. Absolutely no symptoms and he's even stopped the dreadful finger-sucking.
The doc confirmed that Clive's ear is healed! Only a tiny bit of fluid still remains and the doc commended me for NOT treating the infection with meds. ! The doc also told me a surprising fact -- that 2/3rds of ear infections will clear up on their own without anti-biotic intervention.
What's your stance and experience with ear infections?
6 comments:
Oh...gotta love ear infections. We just went through Brooke's second time with an ear infection. For her, it was a high fever. The first ear infection, she had a fever of 105. Too crazy for me. This time it was only 102. She's been on antibiotics. The interruption of sleep is enough to drive any sane parent into the realm of insanity.
We choose to forego antibiotics, for the same reasons you stated. Antibiotics can compromise the immune system for years (!).
For ear infections, we use Willow/Garlic Oil (we get it at Whole Foods). Garlic is a terrific natural antibiotic, and this remedy combines it with olive oil. It goes right into the ear and has worked almost immediately. Since it's natural, it can be used as often as you like.
In a pinch, you could certainly make your own... tea tree oil is good, too, but quite caustic.
So glad Clive is feeling better! Poor guy!
I'm so glad Clive is better. I have no idea what I would do if I had a child with ear infection symptoms. Several years ago the largest clinic in our town stopped writing scripts for ear infections. Major backlash on that one, but pediatricians in our area seem to have a very cautious stance on this issue. As a child I had recurring ones which eventually were attributed to allergies. I was miserable & if I hadn't had meds would probably have had hearing damage. Either way, I guess as a parent you must tread prayerfully & carefully.
Once again, I'm so glad Clive is better & that you & Matt were able to resolve your conflict peacefully :-)
We don't generally use antibiotics (3 out of my 4 kids have never had any) and actually seldom go to the doctor except for well check-ups. Based on the research I've read, most things will clear up on their own and we've certainly found that to be the case around here.
we have had our share of ear infections...jonas worse than esther. one other thing true in our family is they never got them the first year while they were breastfeeding and once they weaned they started getting sick.
a friend of mine recommended us getting our own otiscope...we got ours on amazon for $25. our doctor will show us what to look for with it so you aren't constantly taking them for ear infections and rechecks. it's come in handy also since we've taken our kids out of the country a couple times for mission trips. we do choose to use antibiotics sparingly and with acidophilus. my sister and i both had several experiences of ear infections getting worse and had ruptured eardrums...very painful! but if you do consider the natural route i have some friends who have had great experience with chiropractic treatment for ear infections.
either way it's hard to see them in pain and especially when they can't tell you.
My doctor says the same thing re: ear infections! He likes to re-check the kiddo in 24 hours though, just to make sure. I second Karen's recommendation for garlic oil. Stinky, but very effective.
I hate antibiotics too - so much! The whole family had to do Zithromiacin when we had been exposed to a confirmed case of whooping cough and were starting to exhibit the early signs. I would rather do one antibiotic and not get pertussis, for sure. That was both kids' first and only antibiotic. Praise God for good health!! I hope you guys can avoid any more sickness this season!
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