Childhood Ear Infections

Ear infection, or otitis media, is the most common medical problem for children in the United States, and it is the most common reason for prescribing antibiotics for infants and children. Not only do 9 out of 10 children develop at least one ear infection each year, but almost one-third of these children develop chronic congestion with fluid in the middle ear that can lead to hearing loss and make the child a candidate for myringotomy, or tube placement by a specialist.

Babies who drink from a bottle while lying on their backs may get milk and juice into their eustachian tubes, which increases the occurrence of ear infections. Children who are breast-fed for at least a yer have been shown to have much fewer infections than those weaned earlier.

Studies also point to the fact that most ear infections early in life are viral, not bacterial. The vast majority of ear infections resolve nicely on their own, whether bacterial or viral, without an antibiotic. It is common practice in this country to treat all ear infections with an antibiotic. Whether bacterial or not, our children get a routine prescription for an antibiotic at every minor illness. This cycle often is repeated many times, which may beget other medical problems in adulthood.

… Generally speaking, the use of antibiotics should be reserved for serious or life-threatening infections, not conditions that the body is well-equipped to resolve on its own.

… Another international study following over 3,000 children treated by general practitioners in nine countries showed that antibiotics did not improve the rate of recovery from ear infections. Nearly 98% of U.S. physicians in the survey prescribed antimicrobials routinely, the highest percentage of all countries surveyed. The variable showing the strongest relationship with protection from ear infections was breast-feeding.

… The vicious cycle of poor nutrition and the overuse of antibiotics works to place a tremendous disease burden on the future health of our children…

… The typical doctor does not take care to avoid the use of these dangerous drugs; he does not champion nutritional excellence to prevent future infections. The weak immune system from nutritional negligence leads to more frequent and more serious illness that is more difficult to recover from; then antibiotics complicate the issue and weaken the immune system further.

… As a result of accumulating evidence documenting the dangers of antibiotics and their overuse, new guidelines for treating ear infections in children were just released from a joint effort of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics. These guidelines represent a major shift in policy and thinking by physician leadership. The guidelines encourage doctors to initially manage the pain and not prescribe antibiotics for children who present with ear infections and to defer antibiotic use for the sicker children who are not improving two or three days later. I hope doctors will heed this message.

– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; pages 52 – 55

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The information contained throughout this blog / website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician / physician.