Alternative Treatment for Sinus/Ear Infection?

[hennaLisa]

My toddler had a cold that turned into a cough about a week ago. The cough has gotten worse in the last few days and he was playing with his ears a lot today. He has not run a fever, although he felt a tiny bit warm last night. He's generally in good spirits, no trouble nursing, etc. Over last summer this happened and I brought him into the doctor - he had a chest infection, throat infection, and ear infection! I was surprised because he had no fever and was happy and playful despite the cough. The doc prescribed antibiotics, which I gave him. I could take him in for more antibiotics again, but I would love to find out if there is another solution. Any suggestions? I'm very new to alternative medicine and know almost nothing, so any advice would be appreciated!

[hennaLisa]

Should have added...

My son is 22 months old and when I say he is in good spirits, I mean that he is running around and playful. He might be a tiny bit more fussy or tired than usual, but still has a lot of energy and is generally pretty happy and talkative.

[lindsayjean]

My DS just had a double ear infection- we didn't do antibiotics, but we did do garlic/muelin drops and I squirted some breastmilk in his ears. I also got a homeopathic remedy from my chiro that I dropped on his tongue. I also did some massage of his sinuses and down the back of his neck to drain the lymph a bit.... I used melted coconut oil with a little lavender oil. I would start giving him probiotics now, antibiotics kill of the bad AND the good bacteria, so your LO will need to build back up all his good bacteria- which will also help him avoid more issues

Also, lots of this stuff clears up on it's own. Doctors overprescribe antibiotics, especially for ear infections. Just watch him closely. My Chiro showed me ways of pulling on his ears and such to see if it's REALLY bothering him- she said if they are bad enough to almost burst the child will NOT let you near their ears at all. If it's in good spirits and happy, it will probably clear up on it's own.

[hennaLisa]

Thanks for the tip!

He's still in great spirits today. His ears aren't really bothering him much at all, so I'm going to guess that it's not that bad. His cough sounds wet, but he isn't coughing all the time, just once in a while. I had him say "aaaaaa" and looked inside his mouth. The back of his mouth (where his tonsils are) looked a little pink and swollen so I couldn't see the back of his throat. I'm not sure what to make of that. Any other suggestions for homeopathic remedies and/or other natural remedies to try would be great!

[hennaLisa]

Update

My son took a 3 hour nap this afternoon, which is a little longer than usual. When he woke up, he was very lethargic and could barely keep his eyes open in my arms for about an hour. He still doesn't have a fever, although his temperature may be a little elevated (usually it's 97.7 and it is reading 98.1). He is having very wet coughs and I can hear some wetness when he breathes. He nursed fine, but he is a little fussy and wants to be held. He also complained some about his eyes and rubbed them. His eyes look fine to me, so I'm not sure what to make of that.

[subtlycrunchy]

We go to the chiropractor. My 3-year old has had several ear infections -- after an adjustment, the ears can drain. The chiro also prescribes Congaplex by Standard Process to support the immune system.

[SquishyKitty]

If he is lethargic, I would take him in. He probably has sinus pressure and pain if he's complaining about his eyes, and that would tie in to his ears bothering him. The wet cough would concern me as well.

[hennaLisa]

Update:

Last night I put some garlic olive oil in his ears which bothered him. He woke a few times at night to use the potty (stood up to go to the potty himself) and went back to sleep easily. He ran a fever up to 100.5 during the night but it was gone by morning. This morning, he woke up full of energy and in a great mood. He's talking, running around, hopping, playing with toys, helping Daddy with projects around the house, etc. He still has a wet cough and he hasn't eaten any breakfast. He did nurse during the night and this morning as well. He hasn't been fussing about his ears at all, which makes me wonder if the garlic oil helped.

Last night I was thinking I would definitely be bringing him in Monday morning if we could make it through Sunday without a trip to the urgent care place. However, now I'm wondering if there is a chance he'll recover on his own. How would you all decide whether to bring him in or not?

[WuWei]

This is a copy of a recent post of mine regarding ear infections and immune system.

When Is a Antibiotic needed For Sinus?

Help with 10mo old ear infection please!

How can I get rid of ear infection w/o antibiotics?


I'd do homeopathics and stop ALL dairy and add whole food probiotics.

Most ear infections are viral, which means they won't respond to antibiotics. Despite this fact and statistics that prove ear infections (85% of cases) are viral, antibiotics are STILL prescribed by many, many doctors.

"Ear drainage – if you see blood or pus draining out of the ear, then it is probably an infection with a ruptured eardrum. DON'T WORRY! These almost always heal just fine, and once the eardrum ruptures the pain subsides." ~ Dr. Sears

"New research is suggesting that 80% of uncomplicated ear infections will resolve within 4 to 7 days without antibiotics. Parents who choose not to use antibiotics can treat the pain and fever with Auralgan anesthetic ear drops and ibuprofen or acetominophen. " ~ Dr. Sears

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t081600.asp


Pat

[hennaLisa]

Wow - Great Resource!

Update:
His wet cough started last Thursday.
Saturday was when he started pulling at his ears some and developed a low fever for just a few hours.
I put garlic oil in his ears (which he hated)
By Sunday morning, he was up and around and felt fine. He still had the cough, but his ears were not bothering him at all.

By Wednesday, he still had the cough, although it was more dry. I finally brought him into the doctor just to check up because of a week going by. She said he has an ear infection in one ear and she could not see one in the other ear, but seemed to think it was possible. She prescribed an antibiotic. She said his throat was just a little red. I haven't given him the antibiotic yet because she said that if the ear infection was viral, it would probably resolve in 7-10 days. It hasn't been 10 days yet, and he is happy, so I can't quite bring myself to give him an antibiotic. I figure I'll give him a few more days to see if the cough goes away, but I don't know how to tell if the ear infection is gone or not, since he doesn't show any visible signs of having one now. Does anyone know a way to check?

On the downside, I now have a cough... Any suggestions for how I can make a quick recovery for myself as well?

[WuWei]

Have you eliminated all dairy sources and added probiotics?


Pat

[Purple*Lotus]

I agree with the dairy free and chiropratic suggestions. I would also try the breast milk if you are still nursing. I hope that he feels better soon It amazes me how little kids can run around playing and seem fine when they are actually sick.

[coh5108]

Originally Posted by hennaLisa

Update:
His wet cough started last Thursday.
Saturday was when he started pulling at his ears some and developed a low fever for just a few hours.
I put garlic oil in his ears (which he hated)
By Sunday morning, he was up and around and felt fine. He still had the cough, but his ears were not bothering him at all.

By Wednesday, he still had the cough, although it was more dry. I finally brought him into the doctor just to check up because of a week going by. She said he has an ear infection in one ear and she could not see one in the other ear, but seemed to think it was possible. She prescribed an antibiotic. She said his throat was just a little red. I haven't given him the antibiotic yet because she said that if the ear infection was viral, it would probably resolve in 7-10 days. It hasn't been 10 days yet, and he is happy, so I can't quite bring myself to give him an antibiotic. I figure I'll give him a few more days to see if the cough goes away, but I don't know how to tell if the ear infection is gone or not, since he doesn't show any visible signs of having one now. Does anyone know a way to check?

On the downside, I now have a cough... Any suggestions for how I can make a quick recovery for myself as well?

your little guy is clearly improving on his own...isn't it amazing how they heal with no intervention? If you want to know about the ears, let 10 days or so elapse and then take him back in to get his ears looked at. Even if you did that and his ears were still red, but he is not complaining of ear pain, you don't need abx. Ear color should nto be the only indicator of ear infection, yet this is what most allopathic docs base their diagnosis on. My son has had red ears (called an ear infection by our ped, but interestingly enough not by our ND) which took over 2 weeks to resolve on it's own. 7-10 days is a general guide. I would be going more on how he is acting/feeling than if his ears are red or not!
As for you...I would be taking LOTS of Vit C (SA is best), garlic, OLE, and probiotics