constant ear infections...any advice? (long post...sorry)

[tweenie]

My nephew seems to have suffered from almost constant ear infections for the last 11 months (he is 21mths old). He is prone to colds and this triggers terrible ear infection which have to be treated with antibiotics.

About 6 months ago the infections were so constant that the ear specialist took the decision to put gromits in, even though he was very young. Unfortunately this didn't help and his infections continued. 2 months ago they took the gromits out, cleared out all his tubes, passages etc (which were full of 'gunk' the specialist said), took out his adenoids & put in larger gromits. My sister was desperately hoping this would be the end of it but his ear infections have continued.

The specialist is willing to take out the gromits & put in titanium ones (I think) but if that fails he has said there is little more he can do. He stated that my nephew appears to have narrow ear canals and that is why he gets ear infections so often. My sister is desperate to try and sort this out not least because there is some evidence that his hearing has been affected and she does not want it to get worse. She is taking him to a homeopath in an effort to try something different.

Does anyone have any advice or suffered something similar with their DS/DD? My sister lives in Australia and I hate it that I can't do anything to help her or my nephew, so I thought i'd see if anyone on Mumsnet could offer a different perspective. Thanks.

My ds got terrible ear infections with every cold when he was a baby (I think he had 6 treated with antibiotics before he was 12 months). When we were in the usa visiting our paediatrician there, she recommended that the have the pneumococcal meningitis vaccination because it was standard there and a vaccination against the most prevalant form of meningitis in the usa. She mentioned that it also seemed to helped prevent ear infections. After my ds's 2nd shot of the vaccination he never got another ear infection. It may have been coincidence as he was getting older, but since it was a known positive side effect to the vaccination, I tend to think it may have helped. Maybe it's worth suggesting it to your sis.

Hi tweenie, sorry to hear about your nephew. Dd is going through something similar and I sympathise. The UK specialist said grommets were not appropriate in dd's case - she is 15 months and also suggested NOT prescribing antibiotics as what dd has is not so much acute ear infections with fever/pain etc, as constantly oozing eardrums (sorry any lunchers). But the mess on the pillow/in her hair and the constant worry is wearing me right down.
I am going to actively investigate sofiaames' tip about the vaccine (Prevenar in the UK I think) and the other thing your sis could consider is supplementing her ds' diet with xylitol powder. It has been recommended many times on here as a powerful antibacterial supplement and is a natural derivative of silver birch bark. It is pricy, alas, but seems to work. We are getting some for dd. Ds only ever had one ear infection and dosing him with Teetha camomile powders (which also contain xylitol) seemed to work for him. I think dd needs more xylitol than they contain! Tell your dsis that xylitol is sometimes an ingredient in children's toothpaste as it also protects against dental decay. Not all toothpastes have it though so she needs to check the packaging.
I am indebted to Robinw, another Mumsnetter, for putting me on to Xylitol three years ago, by the way.

DS had loads of ear infections last winter and stopped putting on weight (not much appetite when poorly). His tonsils and adenoids are huge and so probably having them out at some stage. We have managed to reduce the frequency and severity through diet. Dairy products are well known to cause excess mucus. We have switched to rice milk (didn't like soya) and soya yoghurts etc. It has helped enormously. Maybe worth a try. HTH

My DD has just been signed off from the hospital at 24 months - she has been attending outpatients because of recurrent ear infections since 4 months. Cranial osteopathy did seem to make a difference to her - this was actually receommended by the consultant as being the only 'alternative' therapy that he believed could be effective. It certainly cut down the infections and now I think her ears have grown enough to make the problems less severe now.
Sympathies to all going through this - it really wears you down I know.

Hi , my ds had constant ear infections, runny nose and mouth breathing at nighttime and grommets were inserted about 1 year ago. For the first four months following insertion he had constant infections as some children effectively reject the grommet as it is seen as a foreign body. His infections did settle donw, and has since changed into a completely different child as his hearing and speech has improved dramatically. I love Strawberrys advice i think diet does play a huge part and I wish I had looked into this more myself xxxxxxx

The only toothpaste I've found that contains xylitol is Boots childrens toothpaste with the crocodile on the tube- the strawberry stuff doesn't have it. Don't worry about the age recommendation on the tube- just use a tiny smear of toothpaste.

Diet really helps - we swapped from cow's milk to goats milk which DD and DS love. There is a nasal spray which helps: Xylitol Xlear Nasal Wash by Vitamin Research Products - it is American but some UK web sites supply it. Toms of Maine toothpaste also contains it. Goodluck!

My 18 month old has had some many ear infections i have lost count - he has now has grommits out in but they just don't seem to have worked! I am very interested in the dairy intolerance information. I am a great believer in you are what you eat and am considering going to get goats milk like now! But what about ensuring that they are getting their calcium intake? Can anyone help - what else can you give these babes instead of milk, cheese and yogurt? PLEASE help i am so sick and my poor little boy must think life isn't worth living.

I would really get this checked out by a homeopath or naturopath e.g. www.gni-international.org. He obviously needs his immune system boosting big time and identifying why he is getting all these ear infections in the first place. Try and track down Xylitol Xlear Nasal Wash by Vitamin Research Product in the meantime.

i have ordered some Xylitol Xlear Nasal Wash thanks for the tip. you say you cjanged your kids onto goat's milk - did someone dvise you to do this or did you just change over?

i have ordered some Xylitol Xlear Nasal Wash thanks for the tip. you say you changed your kids onto goat's milk - did someone advise you to do this or did you just change over?

Goats milk has all the same nutrients as cows milk but produces less mucous hence preventing ear infections - best to try it out first to see if they like it - change slowly over a few days for their palates to get adjusted e.g. 3/4 cow to 1/4 goat, then 1/2 and 1/2 etc - the yoghurt is great as you can mix it with baby puree or sugar free jam.....

My DS had glue ear from very early on until he was about 18months old. It turned out that he was lactose intolerant - as soon as we stopped dairy the glue ear and the endless ear infections stopped. He still has some speech problems though (now 4) - but they are becoming quite minor now.

I would try a total dairy exclusion diet first for 2 weeks and then try goats milk. IIRC it is easier to spot an allergic reaction following exclusion than it is to wonder whether you have seen some improvement from cows milk.

If goats milk isn't tolerated then you cna go bakc to a total dairy exclusion diet. (in my DS's case goats milk led to an improvement but didn't eradicate the prolme completely. We therefore went down a total exclusion route!)

I have jsut discovered tht Smart Fish by Higher Nature (squeezy sachets of orange glavoured fish oil) also contain Xylitol - this is a great solution to preventing ear infections.

Maxi18, my dd had constant ear infections. Someone recommended cranial oesteopathy. Have to say dh and I were sceptical but so concerned about the amount of antibiotics she had had we tried it. It definately worked for us, and I am now an osteopath convert! It was bizarre to watch, you could see her starting to swallow, as her ears started to drain. It took 3 sessions, and it stopped. She is now 6 1/2, and whilst she gets teh odd earache if she has cold, the infections never came back and her hearing improved dramatically, although did not reach 'normal' standards for a couple of years.
Good luck!

thanks for your messages. For the past two weeks we have totally removed any diary from his diet and are now giving him goats milk which he loves but i am still concerned that he isn't getting enough calcium.

Fingers crossed he hasn't had an infection for a week and a half and this is some going as it was constant for about three months. I think we will definately look into the osteopath.

It is so depressing when they are ill all the time! I am just getting worked up now hoping that he won't be ill for Christmas.

Does anyone know where i can go to find out if he is lactose intolerant etc?