Post by Auset on Mar 21, 2004 13:59:13 GMT -5
Experts Say Stop Antibiotics For Ear Infections
Parents of irritable children with ear infections should heed warning that antibiotics may no longer be prescribed for common ear infections. This initiative contradicts many years of pediatric advice and is expected to disappoint the sleep-deprived parents of whimpering toddlers with painful ear infections.
Health officials are hoping to slow down the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs created by overuse of the drugs used to treat ear infections. The medical board must formally approve these guidelines before they are published to doctors.
For a number of years, health officials have been emphasizing that the drugs should not be used for viruses such as colds because they don’t help. Experts feel the power of the antibiotics should be reserved for significant illnesses, where 80 percent don’t get better in a matter of days and can actually die.
The currently proposed guidelines state that doctors would only be able to prescribe antibiotics for children with serious middle ear infections, such as acute otitis media, and simply use observation for milder cases.
Approximately 10 million prescriptions are written for the 5 to 6 million children under age five suffering from ear infections each year. Studies have shown that antibiotics do very little for a child’s ear infection pain and common painkillers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen work just as well as prescribed antibiotics.
Yahoo! News March 2, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
It's about time! About 10 million prescriptions each year are written for ear infections in children of all ages and now, finally, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practice are getting ready to formally approve a recommendation that doctors stop treating most ear infections in children with antibiotics. The bulk of studies have found the antibiotics do very little for a child's ear infection pain and that most infections clear up without antibiotics.
The treatment of ear infections in this country is a huge problem and I found a large number of chronically ill children I have seen were prescribed antibiotics for recurrent ear infections. The tragic part of this problem is that almost all were preventable by making simple changes in the child’s diet. Keep in mind that even with the best diet the child may get an infection, however this doesn’t mean the child needs to be put on antibiotics.
Avoiding pasteurized milk is one of the best proactive solutions to prevent ear infections to begin with. It will be quite awhile before the "experts" figure this one out though. If a child does develop an ear infection a simple solution is to put a few drops of breast milk in the ear canal every few hours. This usually works to clear up the infection within 24 to 48 hours and is far safer, less expensive and a better solution than putting the child on antibiotics.
If the mother is not breastfeeding, it is likely she knows someone who is. All that is required for the treatment is about one-half ounce of breast milk, so obtaining that from a friend will work just as well. If you know someone who has a child who has an ear infection, PLEASE forward them this article by using the " E-mail to a Friend" link in the upper right corner of this page. You will find that it will have a tremendous impact on the future health of the child.
Related Articles:
Most Ear Infections Clear Up Without Antibiotics
Ear Infection Antibiotics Overprescribed
Doctors Overuse Antibiotics in Children
Antibiotics Not Always Necessary In Ear Infections
Viruses May Contribute to Ear Infection
Finally, Fewer Antibiotics for Children
Parents of irritable children with ear infections should heed warning that antibiotics may no longer be prescribed for common ear infections. This initiative contradicts many years of pediatric advice and is expected to disappoint the sleep-deprived parents of whimpering toddlers with painful ear infections.
Health officials are hoping to slow down the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs created by overuse of the drugs used to treat ear infections. The medical board must formally approve these guidelines before they are published to doctors.
For a number of years, health officials have been emphasizing that the drugs should not be used for viruses such as colds because they don’t help. Experts feel the power of the antibiotics should be reserved for significant illnesses, where 80 percent don’t get better in a matter of days and can actually die.
The currently proposed guidelines state that doctors would only be able to prescribe antibiotics for children with serious middle ear infections, such as acute otitis media, and simply use observation for milder cases.
Approximately 10 million prescriptions are written for the 5 to 6 million children under age five suffering from ear infections each year. Studies have shown that antibiotics do very little for a child’s ear infection pain and common painkillers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen work just as well as prescribed antibiotics.
Yahoo! News March 2, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
It's about time! About 10 million prescriptions each year are written for ear infections in children of all ages and now, finally, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practice are getting ready to formally approve a recommendation that doctors stop treating most ear infections in children with antibiotics. The bulk of studies have found the antibiotics do very little for a child's ear infection pain and that most infections clear up without antibiotics.
The treatment of ear infections in this country is a huge problem and I found a large number of chronically ill children I have seen were prescribed antibiotics for recurrent ear infections. The tragic part of this problem is that almost all were preventable by making simple changes in the child’s diet. Keep in mind that even with the best diet the child may get an infection, however this doesn’t mean the child needs to be put on antibiotics.
Avoiding pasteurized milk is one of the best proactive solutions to prevent ear infections to begin with. It will be quite awhile before the "experts" figure this one out though. If a child does develop an ear infection a simple solution is to put a few drops of breast milk in the ear canal every few hours. This usually works to clear up the infection within 24 to 48 hours and is far safer, less expensive and a better solution than putting the child on antibiotics.
If the mother is not breastfeeding, it is likely she knows someone who is. All that is required for the treatment is about one-half ounce of breast milk, so obtaining that from a friend will work just as well. If you know someone who has a child who has an ear infection, PLEASE forward them this article by using the " E-mail to a Friend" link in the upper right corner of this page. You will find that it will have a tremendous impact on the future health of the child.
Related Articles:
Most Ear Infections Clear Up Without Antibiotics
Ear Infection Antibiotics Overprescribed
Doctors Overuse Antibiotics in Children
Antibiotics Not Always Necessary In Ear Infections
Viruses May Contribute to Ear Infection
Finally, Fewer Antibiotics for Children
