By the age of three years, more than 70 percent of children will have had at least one episode of earache and about a third will have had more than three episodes. Some children can have up to 20 infections in their first year. Every year, over 10 million children in the United States are treated for ear infections.
A common cause earache is plugged "Eustachian' tubes" (the tube that comes from the back of your throat and connects to your middle ear). If your Eustachian tube becomes blocked, fluid will gather resulting in a painful earache, and the possibility of bacteria buildup or infection.
Most ear infections appear after an upper respiratory or sinus infection. The fluid build up from these types of infections is often very thick and easily blocks the Eustachian tube. Young children are more likely than others to develop middle ear infections because in infants, the Eustachian tube is oriented more horizontally than vertically; making drainage more difficult than it is in older children. Fluids can collect and become blocked, creating an ideal environment for bacterial growth. As a child grows, the Eustachian tube begins to curve downward, allowing fluids to drain more easily.
Causes of earaches are infection of the middle ear, colds, allergies, sinus infections, teeth problems, changes in air pressure on an airplane and more.
While antibiotics are a common treatment for ear infections, parents should be aware that a study done in the Netherlands compared children with ear infections who were treated with antibiotics to a control group who were given a placebo. Although the antibiotic group improved somewhat faster, it is interesting to note that there was little difference between the two groups in long-term outcome.
Alan Greene, MD FAAP, the Chief Medical Officer of A.D.A.M., the Founder & CEO of DrGreene.com, and the Pediatric Expert for AmericanBaby.com wrote in his article: "Contrary to common practice, most children with ear infections should not be treated with antibiotics, according to powerful, evidence-based guidelines released in March 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Each time a child takes a course of antibiotics, future infections become harder to treat. A typical healthy child carries a pound or two of rapidly evolving microscopic bacteria in his or her body. Antibiotics cause the selective breeding of the more resistant strains, which leads to the use of newer, harsher, more expensive antibiotics, with more side effects. For decades, this cycle has been getting worse. But with these new guidelines, it's all about to change. Whenever it's appropriate to treat with pain relief rather than antibiotics, the choice is clear: No contest."
Many children have repeated doses of antibiotics to treat ear infections. These repeated doses can inhibit the body's normal healthy immune response and cause generation of resistant bacteria and dysbiosis- condition, when "good" bacteria was killed by antibiotics and "bad" bacteria take over causing many additional chronic health problems.
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