So why all the antibiotics? You want to knock out that infection. But as it turns out, 96% of antibiotic use for ear infections is ineffective.(1) And worse than that, using antibiotics actually increases the chances of another ear infection by 2 to 6 times.(1) They don't just not make it better, they actually make it worse.
But one of the more common concerns about an ear infection is that it could spread. It could cause scary and bad problems like mastoiditis or meningitis. And antibiotics are used with the prevention of these things in mind. It's a good question. Some scientists looked into it. One study followed 4860 kids with ear infections that were not treated with antibiotics. There were two uncomplicated, quickly resolved cases of mastoiditis, and NO cases of meningitis.(2) Furthermore Bacterial meningitis is completely unrelated to ear infections.(3) And it turns out that mastoiditis and meningitis are not prevented by antibiotic treatment of ear infections anyway.(4)
If a child has repeated, or chronic, ear infections it could affect their hearing. Which in turn could affect hearing related development. Inserting tubes into the eardrum, a tympanostomy, it's utilized with an objective to perhaps improve hearing and improve child development outcomes related to hearing. But tube insertion does not improve developmental outcomes.(5) And over 90% of tube insertion surgery is unnecessary.(1)
Rather than drugs and surgery, perhaps a little more understanding of what's happening on the inside will help. Behind the ear drum is a small, usually air filled area called the middle ear. There's a natural tube that runs from the middle ear to the back of the throat called the eustacian tube. This is the tube that lets fluid drain out if it builds up in the middle ear. It's also the tube that lets air in to pop the ear and equalize pressure.
If the tube doesn't open that's what causes the pressure to build and pain in a child's ear during the ear infection.
Ear infections are more common in children and it's typically thought to be because their eustachian tubes are narrower, and more horizontal than in adults, making the movement of air and fluid difficult.
I don't agree.
Not about the anatomy. Just about the assumption. The assumption that there is a design flaw to a child's body and it's all just a bunch of inanimate tubes. That there is no life animating the process.
 |
| See the circled area |
Normally the tube is collapsed. But there is a tiny muscle (tensor veli palatini) that opens it. And that muscle is controlled by an even smaller nerve (medial pterygoid nerve).(6,12) This is what makes the muscle and thus the eustacian tube 'come alive' and do their job. The control center of that nerve and the origin of signals it carries come from the brainstem, the spinal cord at the top of the neck, and a bundle of a few more nerves at the top of the neck just outside of the spinal bones.(7-11) If the bones at the top of the neck are improperly positioned or moving poorly that can cause the tiny nerve's control centers to malfunction.(18-23) And lost input from that tiny nerve to the tiny muscle will prevent it from opening the tube.(12)
As a Chiropractor it's my job to correct the position and the motion of the spinal bones and allow for full normal function of those nerve control centers.(33) Specifically chiropractic care will help prevent ear infections and help a child recover faster.(13-17) More importantly though, chiropractic will greatly enhance the response and strength of the immune system.(24-28) And Primarily improve the function and life expression in the whole person.(29-32)
I've never been one to accept that my health or the health of my family was up to chance. I go about my life with the assertion that health is an outcome of how we live not a shake of the dice. The question comes down to how to be proactive in the effective kind of way.
Return to Post
References
Return to Post
References
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment