Treating
Childhood Earaches Naturally
Parents
and children alike cringe at the word earache. Quickly reminded
of the sleepless nights or the holiday weekend that was ruined
because their child was overcome with pain. Earaches are commonly
seen between the ages of 3 months to seven years old but can
occur in some children until 13 years of age. There are three
main types or earaches: serous, infective, and external. Both
infective and serous earaches often arrive following an upper
respiratory tract infection and are accompanied by symptoms
of fever, throbbing, tugging at the ear and pain.
Risk
factors for an infective or serous earache include, daycare,
exposure to second hand smoke, craniofacial abnormalities,
and not having been breast-fed. An external earache is caused
due to an infection in the external ear canal usually from
repeated wetting of the canal allowing for bacterial and fungal
growth.
Otherwise
known as swimmers ear it is usually accompanied by pain, itching,
and foul smelling discharge. A 1:1 mixture of rubbing alcohol
and vinegar used in drop doses into the ear canal can help
ward off swimmers ear. It is a good idea to have a doctor
examine the ear to rule out an eardrum rupture before putting
anything into it.
Twenty-four million anti-bacterial prescriptions are written
annually in the U.S. for pediatric ear infections. Studies
show that 80% of pediatric ear infections will resolve on
their own in 2-7 days and that 30% were shown to have no bacterial
component. In an attempt to reduce the amount of antibiotics
prescribed and decrease the chances of bacterial resistance,
a recent study in Pediatrics reported pain management with
acetaminophen and ibuprofen to be effective by 78% of parents
for the management of ear infections.
Despite
the evidence indicating the lack of efficacy of antibiotic
treatment it still remains the standard treatment for ear
infections in the United States. A strong association between
chronic earaches and food allergies has been made, specifically
to cows milk, and wheat. If your child is a candidate for
earaches consider removing these common allergens from his
or her diet temporarily.
Remember
moms; pasta is made from wheat along with most breads, crackers,
and cookies. These foods create mucus. With the tonsils enlarged,
this increases the chances of small particles and bacteria
becoming trapped in the lower part of the eustacean tube(s)
increasing the chances of infection. Whether your child has
an acute infection or is plagued by chronic infections I suggest
using Homeopathy for effective natural treatment. Homeopathy
is safe for all ages of children including newborns. In my
experience, the proper homeopathic remedy works within hours
to restore children to health. Aside from stimulating your
child's healing response, I think the best part about homeopathy
is that children never object to the slightly sweet taste.
The practice
of homeopathy is based on the law of similars, which means
that what a substance can cause it can also cure. A good example
is coffee. Homeopathic coffee can be used to treat insomnia
associated with agitation and over-stimulation of the nervous
system, where as drinking too much coffee can cause those
same symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are prepared through a
series of dilutions and it is the smallness of the dose, which
assures the non-toxicity of this medicine. A recent case I
had involved a 6mo old girl who had an acute ear infection
and would wake in the middle of the night screaming from the
pain.
During
the day she was not her usual self. Anything she was presented
with she pushed away, she was very irritable, wanted to be
carried and could not be consoled. For this presentation I
prescribed homeopathic Chamomilla 6c four times a day. After
the first dose the child became less irritable. The third
dose was taken just before bed and she slept through the night.
By the next day the fever had broken and she was feeling much
better. Many conditions can be treated effectively in the
home with homeopathy. For more complex conditions it is necessary
to see someone who is well trained.
I suggest that parents get a homeopathy kit of 30C potency
for the home that has 30-50 of the most common single remedies
for acute prescribing along with a homeopathic book to reference.
Kits and books can be mail ordered from the following companies:
Dolisos
(kits only)- 1800-365-4767 www.DolisosAmerica.com
Natural
Health Supply (kits and books) - 1888-689-1608 www.A2ZHomeopathy.com
Book:
Kruzel, Thomas, The Homeopathic Emergency Guide,
ISBN# 155643-123-6
Book:
Ullman, Dana, Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants,
ISBN# 087477-692-9
Infentions
in Medicine 2003: 20 (5): 224-229
Pediatrics 2003: 112:527-531
JAMA 2003: 290:1608-1616