Due to request.....Ear Infections

Acute middle ear Infection
• earache or irritability
• recent upper repertory infection or allergy
• red, opaque, bulging eardrum
• fever chills

Infection or inflammation of the external ear canal.

• Itchy
• discharge
• burning pain

If your child has had some of these or all of these symptoms you already know how uncomfortable it is for the child. Ear infections are becoming more common than ever before. Acute ear infections affect 2/3rds of American children by the age of 2 and Chronic ear infections also affect 2/3rds American children by the age of 6. This counts for about 50% for Doctors appointments for pediatrics every year.

We do not want our children in pain, and knowing that this illness can cause hearing loss makes us want to do the thing to help them get better and keep them from having this again. The routine in care and healing is antibiotics, which does help to kill bacteria and infection, but in that process the antibiotics kill the good bacteria as well. The bacteria that is actually working to recognize this invader, and kill it, our B and T cells. When our immune system goes to fight these invaders they remember the process and strength used to kill and heal the body. When we use antibiotics, not only are we hindering their immune system, but letting the body think they are killing the invader infection. So next time the immune system goes to fight off this type of infection they do not work as hard, because the antibiotic did all the work, they think they only have to do so much. So it sometimes becomes a viscous cycle of getting sick again, and taking even longer to get better.

Causes of ear infections can range from environmental, chemical, nutritional, prenatal, and allergens. In most cases the illness occurs with a food allergy, whether the type of milk, formula or cows, and/or solid foods. There are chemicals, pesticides, and preservatives if the food is not organically produced. The toxins or allergens are trying to be eliminated by the body. It usually begins with a runny nose and the tubes and canals get irritated and then infected.

What can you do?

First try eating a cleaner diet and reduce the amount of toxins and chemicals found in foods. Also, boost the immune system with beneficial fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C and B are very important. Make sure your children are on a good multivitamin. We use a liquid form (MonaVie).

One thing that is very important is to know that the body is healing itself everyday. It is an amazing peace of work creating new cells, cleaning out old ones, and fighting off disease. If you give the body what it needs to help it heal it self, it will.

A list of things you can do at onset.

• Increase fluids, water and juices. We do fresh juiced fruits and vegetables.

• At first sign of a cold, running nose, you could take homeopathic Aconite. We use this and it will usually allow the body to heal with a short episode of cold symptoms. Once pain is in ears you can use Hepar sulpharis it helps relieve ear canal and diminish the discomforts. For more information and different homeopathic solutions see "Homeopathic Medicine at Home" by Panos and Heimlich.

• For painful earaches. Take a small sauce pan and add about 2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan and just heat until warm, remove from heat. And 1 clove of chopped or minced garlic to the warm oil and allow to cool enough that it does not burn, but still warm (Test against you wrist). I then place a cotton ball in the oil and saturate it. Then place the oiled ball in the ear. I will make balls and place in a plastic baggy for the kids to take to school. It provides a great deal of comfort and healing power from the garlic oil.

• Getting adequate rest is also extremely important. You want them to rest throughout the day and night as much as possible, allowing the body's energy to heal and cleanup the allergens and toxins that are causing these problems.

My son was the only one to ever have ear infections and when he did have them, they would reoccur. They were so painful for him. You may have to use antibiotics; I am not saying that you should not use them. I want you to see the affects of using them and you make the decision. There are times when they are needed but usually we do not think to try alternative ways of healing. By allowing the body to heal itself, you prepare it for the next fight it has with this illness, and usually do not even see the signs of the illness in the future. Once I started letting the kids bodies heal on their own they did not show signs of ear infections any more. We have not had an ear infection in our house since 2002. Michael was not even a year old and had 3 ear infections in 6 months. He was the only one to have ever taken the antibiotics. Focus on looking at what is in their diet that set this off. It could be that they ate too much, or too frequently, amounts of sugar and processed foods, which lowers the immune system and creates a cold. Try to keep their heads raised on pillows and try to keep mucus from draining into the ears. This is hard at times I know. Also, increasing fluids helps to flush out the allergen that initiated this. The sooner it's flushed out of the body it reduces the time for an infection to set into the ears. Also, getting the body back to an alkaline level, helps increasing the nutrients needed to fight and kill invading organisms. You increase the alkaline level by eating more raw fruits and vegetables.

I hope this information will help you next time you are faced with illness for your child. For any additional information or questions feel free to email me.

Have a Blessed and Healthy Day