Besides the common cold, the #1 ailment among preschool children is the ear infection, technically called Otitis Media. Quick anatomy lesson - Otitis media means an infection of the middle ear. In the diagram above the middle ear is a mostly empty chamber on the other side of the ear drum whose purpose is to house the three tiny bones, called the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. They are part of the hearing mechanism. Very importantly, connecting this chamber to the back of the throat is a small drain line, called the Eustachian Tube. Two more important points - First, the lining of the middle ear chamber is mucus membrane, and it continually makes a liquid called mucus. Second, bacteria are everywhere in and on the human body, including the middle ear. I know it’s gross that we are a walking bacteria factory, but that’s the way it is.
So what exactly is an ear infection? Here’s the sequence of events:
1) The Eustachian tube gets blocked or shut off sealing up the middle ear chamber. Now it’s closed up and nothing is getting in or out.
2) The mucus membranes continue to make the liquid mucus which builds up in the chamber. This sounds painful.
3) The bacteria love the warm wet environment and replicate like crazy. This sounds very painful!
The logical question is what is the original cause of the ear infection? Is it the bacteria? Or is it the mucus? Or is it the closed off Eustachian tube? Quite obviously it’s the closed off Eustachian tube.
And how does medicine treat the ear infection? Do they treat the cause, the closed off Eustachian tube, or do they treat the effect, the bacterial growth? We all know they treat the effect, the bacteria, with a poison called antibiotics. And this leads to a couple of fun facts.
The University of Pittsburgh published a study that showed that the use of antibiotics for the treatment of otitis media is no better than placebo. And more to the point, the use of antibiotics can increase the chance of re-infection by 2.9 times. What this means is that statistically, when you give a child an antibiotic for an ear infection, not only would he have gotten better at the same rate as if you had never given him the drug, he is now nearly 3 times more likely to develop a second ear infection. Why, because we never let his body cure itself of the cause of the infection. But, you say, my baby is crying and in pain right now. What do I do if I don’t treat the symptom?
A retrospective study by Dr. Joan Fallon reviewing 116 otitis media case-files showed that chiropractic adjustments resolved 112 of them within 5 days, 2 took 7 days, and only 2 needed medical attention. As it turns out the proper adjustment by a trained/experienced chiropractor can resolve the cause, the blocked Eustachian tube, 98% of the time. No drugs. No side effects. No kidding. And sometimes, literally overnight.
So what exactly is an ear infection? Here’s the sequence of events:
1) The Eustachian tube gets blocked or shut off sealing up the middle ear chamber. Now it’s closed up and nothing is getting in or out.
2) The mucus membranes continue to make the liquid mucus which builds up in the chamber. This sounds painful.
3) The bacteria love the warm wet environment and replicate like crazy. This sounds very painful!
The logical question is what is the original cause of the ear infection? Is it the bacteria? Or is it the mucus? Or is it the closed off Eustachian tube? Quite obviously it’s the closed off Eustachian tube.
And how does medicine treat the ear infection? Do they treat the cause, the closed off Eustachian tube, or do they treat the effect, the bacterial growth? We all know they treat the effect, the bacteria, with a poison called antibiotics. And this leads to a couple of fun facts.
The University of Pittsburgh published a study that showed that the use of antibiotics for the treatment of otitis media is no better than placebo. And more to the point, the use of antibiotics can increase the chance of re-infection by 2.9 times. What this means is that statistically, when you give a child an antibiotic for an ear infection, not only would he have gotten better at the same rate as if you had never given him the drug, he is now nearly 3 times more likely to develop a second ear infection. Why, because we never let his body cure itself of the cause of the infection. But, you say, my baby is crying and in pain right now. What do I do if I don’t treat the symptom?
A retrospective study by Dr. Joan Fallon reviewing 116 otitis media case-files showed that chiropractic adjustments resolved 112 of them within 5 days, 2 took 7 days, and only 2 needed medical attention. As it turns out the proper adjustment by a trained/experienced chiropractor can resolve the cause, the blocked Eustachian tube, 98% of the time. No drugs. No side effects. No kidding. And sometimes, literally overnight.