Ear infections occur so commonly in children under the age of five that some pediatricians consider them almost inevitable.
Otitis media, the medical name for ear infections, make up the second-most common cause for emergency room visits (after fever) in infants less than 12 months old. In children 1-17 years old, ear infections also constituted the second-most common discharge diagnosis, with the first being superficial injuries and contusions (bruises).
For a time, physicians and pediatricians resorted to the typical go-to of modern medicine: antibiotics. Parents would go home with vials of antibiotics only to see an ear infection develop yet again. Eventually, the medical community developed the consensus that antibiotics do nothing to treat ear infections.
Parents facing chronic ear infections have alternatives to this endless cycle of overmedication, and one of the most effective is chiropractic care.
How Chiropractic Care Improves Ear Infections
Otitis media (an ear infection) is a condition characterized by a buildup of fluid in the middle ear. This can cause discomfort since the Eustachian tube that connects the ears to the throat cannot equalize the pressure, possibly resulting in pain, imbalance, temporary hearing impairment, headaches, sleeplessness and other troubling symptoms. Since a young child cannot understand these unpleasant, foreign sensations, they can understandably become quite upset.
Research shows that chiropractic care cannot only address the fluid buildup, but it can sometimes prevent the condition altogether. One study of 46 children aged five and under observed that 93 percent of all patient cases improved. 75 percent saw improvements in 10 days or fewer, and 43 percent of the cohort improved after only one to two treatments.
The results of studies like these show that children have the potential to avoid repeated, ineffective use of antibiotics and improve their condition through chiropractic care. Contact us today to see if Quest for Health Chiropractic can become your Birmingham chiropractor and help with ear infections.
