Who hates it when their little one is in pain? I know we do! Often, as a parent, you’d rather take on the pain than watch your kiddo hurt. When your child hurts, it feels like you’re both in pain. And an ear infection is a classic example of mutual suffering.
When your child has an uncomfortable or painful ear infection—you feel the pain too. Many parents assume an ear infection is just part of life for a kiddo and there’s nothing you can do about it. But that’s not true. There are some great, natural solutions to provide recovery and relief to both of you.
WHAT IS AN EAR INFECTION?
An ear infection (acute otitis media) is an infection of the middle ear, the space filled with air behind the eardrum that contains the tiny vibrating bones of the ear.
When your child has an ear infection, the narrow tubes that run from the middle ear to high up in the back of the throat (eustachian tubes) are swollen and blocked. This can lead to mucus build-up in the middle ear. And this mucus can become infected and cause painful symptoms.
Ear infections can be bacterial or viral. And, as you probably know, ear infections affect children more often than adults.
Essentially with an ear infection, your little one’s ears are unable to pump and drain the fluid, so the fluid becomes stagnant in there and the virus or bacteria begins to grow and infection arises.
Did you know there are 10 million cases of ear infections each year? In fact, five out of six children will have at least one by the time they turn three years old. That’s a lot of miserable little ones.
SYMPTOMS AND HARMFUL RESULTS OF AN EAR INFECTION
The most common symptoms of an ear infection are pain, fever, and irritability. You may even notice them tugging on an ear or increased fussiness when lying down on an ear. Some children may appear to have poor balance or seem dizzy. A baby with an ear infection may even push the breast or bottle away because the pressure in their ears makes swallowing painful.
If ignored, ear infections have the potential to cause permanent hearing damage and speech and developmental problems.
REACTIONS TO EAR INFECTIONS
They used to throw antibiotics at it. But more and more we understand the short-term and long-term effects of antibiotics. The more we use them the less effective they become. And often otitis media can be viral in nature which we know means an antibiotic is worthless and causes more harm than good.
Right behind antibiotic prescription, but way up on the “scary scale,” is the suggestion of surgery to insert tubes. This surgery requires anesthetic which is never a minor thing in a small child. Ear tubes (myringotomy or tympanostomy) may relieve some pressure, but that surgery is known for its need to have repeat surgery. 25-30% of all cases need another surgery.
Surgery is an extreme approach, and it is NOT the only way to relieve that pressure.
WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD, NATURALLY
A good at-home starting place is to apply a warm washcloth to the outside of the ear. The warmth may soothe the pain.
While medicines can kill bacteria, they do not address the underlying cause of the ear infection, which is pressure and blockage of the Eustachian tubes.
A natural way to help your child with an ear infection is to visit a pediatric chiropractor. A gentle adjustment has frequently been used to correct the underlying problem and prevent chronic and recurring ear infections.
Routine pediatric chiropractic care offers babies and children with ear infections a safe, non-invasive alternative to prescription drugs or over-the-counter pain medications.
Gentle and specific chiropractic adjustments help address the stress in the upper spine, which can help these muscles function correctly, ultimately leading to proper drainage of the ear.
With gentle chiropractic adjustments to the Atlas and Occiput vertebrae, the fluid in the middle ear drains naturally. Yay!
IMPROVED IMMUNE SYSTEM
And this adjustment also enhances the body’s immune response. An improved immune system increases the body’s defense mechanisms to promote faster recovery and helps fight off any future ear infections.
Chiropractic does not treat ear infections. As chiropractors we focus on optimizing the spine and nervous system so the body can heal itself naturally without the use of drugs or surgery. When the body’s natural pathway needs help to work properly, chiropractors gently do that with great success.
Several studies show that chiropractic adjustments can produce almost magic-like results for ear infections in children. In one paper published in 2012, researchers reviewed case reports involving 167 subjects. The majority of the patients reported reduced symptoms of an ear infection after regular chiropractic adjustments.
This shows the immense power of the nervous system on other parts of the body. By applying gentle adjustments to the upper cervical region, chiropractic care can help the surrounding muscles relax, allowing the ears to drain naturally.
And with an improved immune system, your child will be more able to fight off any future attacks.
ANATOMY OF THE EAR
Children have the same anatomy as you and I with a few significant differences at the start of life.
A primary one is the weight of a baby’s head. A baby’s head accounts for about 30% of their total weight up to the age of about 1 year old. That would be like a 180-pound person with a 50-pound head!
You’ve witnessed this with a baby’s inability to fully support or control their heads. Secondly, and more importantly for this topic, in children the Eustachian tubes are short and have no descending angle toward the throat. This angle doesn’t happen until the child is about 10 years old.
The eustachian tubes are the pressure-equalizers between your ears and your throat. If you’ve ever gone up in a plane and felt your ears “pop” when ascending or descending in flight, or if you’ve ever felt the need to yawn or chew gum to equalize ear pressure, what you’re trying to do is to manually open the tube and allow your middle ear’s pressure to equalize to your surrounding atmospheric pressure through your throat.
YOUR CHILD’S EAR ANATOMY AND EAR INFECTIONS
Ear infections in children are more frequent because of the anatomical factors mentioned above. Bacteria from the throat have an easier path traveling up the horizontal eustachian tubes than it does in adults who have angled ones. Couple that with the anatomically shorter path to travel and, boom, your little one gets a painful ear infection.
Eustachian tubes also help keep the middle ear drained. It’s the function of these tubes that’s seen as the fault in cases of chronic ear infections, and also where chiropractic care addresses this need.
NATURAL SOLUTIONS
Your child will grow out of this stage, but that doesn’t help you on a Wednesday night when they’re in total pain. You need solutions to relieve that pain and pediatric chiropractic is a great natural solution. Plus, the gentle adjustments at our fun, child-friendly, family-welcoming office improve their immune system. Who doesn’t want that for their kiddo?
We welcome you to call or come in and ask us any and all questions. We love working with the tiny ones and the big ones too. We’re here for you and we want a strong, healthy, happy future for you and your kiddo.