
Most young children suffer now and then from an ear ache. Most of us take them off to the doctor who prescribes an antibiotic. But are these mainly infections really?
Dr Lawrence B. Palevsky, MD suggests that we think more carefully about this snap diagnosis:
Inflammation occurs in the body as characterized by the following five observations–
redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function. When a young child has an ear ache, on
exam the ear drum is usually red (redness) with clear fluid or mucus buildup in the middle
ear (swelling) causing pain, often accompanied by fever (heat) and occasionally
accompanied by an acute loss of hearing; clearly a description of inflammation. Even if
there were an infection, most studies confirm that viruses are the main organisms
responsible for causing the development of these symptoms, not bacteria. When a
bacterium is isolated from the middle ear via tympanocentesis, we conclude that it must be
an infectious agent. It is possible, however, that the bacteria are merely colonizers in the
middle ear. Neither a viral infection, nor an inflammation in the ears improves when treated
with antibiotics. Only bacterial infections respond to antibiotic treatment. Therefore, in the
majority of cases, antibiotics do not help. And, in many cases, antibiotics, when used
inappropriately, may contribute to problems with intestinal and immune system health.
Palevsky points us in the direction of most ear ache being rooted in inflammation
Conventional pediatric practice focuses on prescribing treatment interventions once a
child’s symptoms have already appeared. Non-conventional medical approaches
concentrate on preventing the development of inflammation and infection and attempt to
evaluate the causes that contribute to their presentation. In addition, non-conventional
approaches use remedies and interventions that facilitate the body’s natural healing abilities
in a nourishing way in an attempt to avoid suppressing the inherent healing mechanisms
that are present in the body. Often, elimination of the factors that are known to contribute
to the development of the underlying symptoms is sufficient to treat the problem(s) without
introducing additional remedies. This is especially true when it comes to ear pain and ear
inflammation.
Here is the full text of a very helpful article on this topic
Click to access Alt_to_Ear_Pain.pdf
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