Over 2 million American children experience fluid in the middle ear each year. So, chances are plausible, your child will be one of them, at some point.
You know the ear ache scream don’t you? It’s awful. You think that for sure they must be dying.
Well, for starters, when you hear a “for sure they must be dying” scream, I’m not about to tell you not to take your child to the doctor. Ear aches of any kind run the risk of being a very, very, very big deal. (I know writers shouldn’t use very, but I wanted that to sound out of place so you realize how very serious they could be.) However, if you have a child, you could already have ON HAND, the Hyland’s Homeopathic Remedy Chest.
Short of a life threatening accident, most things can wait forty five seconds for you to grab your Hyland’s Remedy Chest as you walk out the door to urgent care or while you wait on the phone to reach your pediatrician. And homeopathy can work in less than ten minutes on self-limiting conditions. So, while you wait for the doctors to do their thing, you can be doing yours. None of the potencies in the Remedy Chest are at a level that would be the least bit dangerous. Worse case scenario, they just won’t work because you tried the wrong remedy. But, since you’re headed to the doctor already anyway, you’ve lost no time at all, but for the forty five seconds it took you to grab the remedy.
And if you’re sitting in the waiting room when the homeopathy kicks in, you can let your pediatrician know that it was worse, you gave some Hyland’s, the child is better, but you were trying to be responsible by getting her checked out. At this point they’ll deduct you were making a big deal out of nothing… but once you’ve got homeopathy, you’re going to have to get used to that.
What the AAP Says…
The AAP estimates $4 billion are spent in the U.S. for diagnosing and treating fluid in the ear each year. That is the most common cause of an ear ache in a child. Antihistamines and antibiotics have little effect on the condition. These are not my words, they are according to the general consensus of American Pediatricians. They actually now say that the only treatment that middle ear fluid warrants is watchful waiting. So, chances are, for most earaches, they won’t want to give you an antibiotic anyway. Your own personal doctor may have a different strategy, but the OFFICIAL opinion of the AAP is watch and wait.
That doesn’t mean YOU should watch and wait though. Let them watch and wait. Make sure you have a check up, but then after that, you can get to work on helping your child heal herself.
The use of antibiotics in ear aches seems to create a self-perpetuating cycle. I’m not a crazed hippie. It’s the truth. I talk about it way more in this previous blog. So, we seriously want to stop using them for every last thing. We want to not use antibiotics if at all possible. We want to look at antibiotics as a valuable commodity… a nonrenewable resource. Everybody, hippies and doctors alike know that we’re really pushing the envelop with our antibiotic usage and we have to be more responsible. That may be the main reason for the AAP’s new consensus regarding ear aches.
All the remedies in the Hyland’s Remedy Chest can be used with any medicine your doctor may prescribe. In the potency that is in the kit, they state that they are 100% safe and have no negative side effects on adults, children, babies or even pets.
Here are some of the common remedies to consider for children with ear infections. I’ve listed the remedies and then the symptoms that you would look for pertaining to an ear ache when choosing the right remedy. Choose the remedy that seems to match the symptoms best, but remember, Hyland’s is not menat to take the place of a doctor.
Chamomilla. You can hear the child who needs Chamomilla from a block away. They are uncomfortable and irritable, and they want you to know it. They are the ones I wrote this blog for in the first place. Their yelling is awful and it makes you uncomfortable. The child is demanding. You can’t get anything done and the child’s mood ends up ruining your mood too. It almost seems as if they want you to be miserable too!
Pulsatilla. The cry is usually wimpier, and it’s the kind of cry where you feel compelled to just hold them and soothe them. The child clearly wants sympathy and to be held. Discharges are usually yellow or green. They generally feel better from the open air. Children who respond best to this typically have little thirst or appetite.
Belladonna. We think of Belladonna for illnesses with sudden, violent onset. The child is typically feverish. The pupils are often dilated and the child s very sensitive to light. Their head is usually hot but their arms and legs are usually cold. The child will jerk around in her sleep or twitch and are generally restless.
Ferrum Phos. The homeopathic materia medica says, “violent earache, acute otitis media when Belladonna fails.” That means it seems like Belladonna would help, but after a couple doses, Belladonna didn’t help. Ferrum Phos is much like Belladonna except less intense.
Hepar Sulph. Think of thick yellow discharge. This is what Hepar Sulph works best for. The pain often feels like splinters.
As the mother of a 7 month-old going on his second surgery for severe ear issues, I think it bares mentioning that “watch and wait” isn’t always the best course of action.
I we had “watched and waited”, 5 ear infections in 2 months would have gone undiagnosed. Because I was proactive with my son’s health, I advocated for aggressive treatment, and after my pediatrician couldn’t resolve our chronic issue, I pushed for an ENT referral, even when the doctor suggested my son needed a “few more” infections before that was warranted. I called an ENT, and he had us in his office in less than a week. At his appointment, it was determined that my son have 95% hearing loss from the fluid build up and infection.
Infancy is such a critical age for physical and cognitive development, that if we had waited much longer to intervene, he would have faced pretty significant speech delay and delay in balance (crawling, walking, etc).
So, I guess what I am trying to get across is, Know Thy Kid. Don’t let the APP or even your pediatrician tell you something that doesn’t seem to sit well with you and your child. Understand what is normal for your child, and what isn’t. An ear ache here and there from a cold is common, so sure, slap a little Hyland’s on the kid to help ease her discomfort, but if it is a occurring issue, seek medical help, and be persistent! Your child cannot advocate for himself, that is up to you and your partner.
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Often “a little Hyland’s” will prevent an ear ache from every happening again… even ones that would normally require much medical intervention. Ahhh… the beauty of homeopathy.
That said, they would prefer to give it three months to observe and then they will refer you… “If the fluid persists longer than three months, the physician will recommend your child be tested for hearing and speech development. If the fluid lasts for more than four months and signs of persistent hearing loss are evident, the physician may recommend your child have tubes implanted into the ear to promote drainage. The AAP indicates that some children may need evaluation of hearing, speech, and language development sooner than others. These include children already at risk for developmental delays or difficulties because of an unrelated condition, such as autism. With these children earlier intervention may be appropriate.” (Harvard Medical School)
The thing parents often don’t think about when pushing for tubes to be put in is that it OFTEN and USUALLY resolves itself on its own. In the meantime, getting tubes put into a child’s ear runs the risk of complications including infection and at this point, because bacterial infections are considered a very serious and real complication within hospitals these days.
“We used national hospitalization and resistance data to estimate the annual number of hospitalizations and deaths associated with S. aureus and MRSA from 1999 through 2005. During this period, the estimated number of S. aureus–related hospitalizations increased 62%, from 294,570 to 477,927, and the estimated number of MRSA-related hospitalizations more than doubled, from 127,036 to 278,203. Our findings suggest that S. aureus and MRSA should be considered a national priority for disease control.” (CDC Website, EID Journal)
Responsible doctors are trying desperately to limit both exposure to bacteria from non-life threatening procedures as well as needing to prescribe antibiotics for non-life threatening issues.
While a child may benefit from getting tubes in their ears, what they are saying is that in most cases, it is simply not worth the risks of exposure and the resulting antibiotics given at the time of and following the procedure.
Healthcare-associated infections are estimated to occur in 5% of all hospitalizations in the United States.
Hope that helps demonstrate the other side.
Also, I’m not all about trips to the doctor or anything, but with any earache, calling the doctor should be a priority, even when Homeopathy helps.
I can attest to these remedies working! Thank you for the information Dawn!! You are helping many!
Thank you!
How do you feel about treating ear infections with Mullein Garlic ear drops? A friend recommended them after my little one started coming down with an infection a couple days ago. I quickly went to Whole Foods and got them. I gave her 2 doses and by the next day she was a lot better, minus the runny nose she also started getting. Then somebody from a facebook forum recommended your blog which I find absolutely enlightening. Her symptoms fell under Belladonna, not sure about the sensitivity to light tho, she seamed fine when we went on a walk the day she was feeling super crappy.