ear infection/breastmilk question

[emilymr]

Hi, all -- Micah's got his first ear infection, and several people have
suggested squirting breastmilk in his ear to help clear it out.
However, his ped said one of the reasons kids get ear infections in the
first place is because their inner ear doesn't drain effectively, and
liquids (inc. breastmilk) pool up in there when they drink/nurse lying
down. I know lots of people view breastmilk as the miracle liquid, but
wouldn't squirting milk into the ear facilitate further bacteria
breeding and make the infection even worse?

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04

[Morag in Oxford]

I thought the ear drum was a membrane that protects the inner ear from
fluid? So by pouring milk into the ear you're not actually going to get to
where the infection is. But I'm not a doctor.
I've used breastmilk on cord stumps and sticky eyes, but have never heard of
anyone using it on ears.
morag

"emilymr" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi, all -- Micah's got his first ear infection, and several people have
> suggested squirting breastmilk in his ear to help clear it out.
> However, his ped said one of the reasons kids get ear infections in the
> first place is because their inner ear doesn't drain effectively, and
> liquids (inc. breastmilk) pool up in there when they drink/nurse lying
> down. I know lots of people view breastmilk as the miracle liquid, but
> wouldn't squirting milk into the ear facilitate further bacteria
> breeding and make the infection even worse?
>
> Em
> mama to Micah, 11/14/04
>

[Mum of Two]

"Morag in Oxford" > wrote in message
...
>I thought the ear drum was a membrane that protects the inner ear from
>fluid? So by pouring milk into the ear you're not actually going to get to
>where the infection is.

That's what I was thinking. Unless the ear drum has ruptured, nothing can
get inside it from the outer ear anyway. The paediatrician sounds confused,
as fluids that contribute to ear infections don't travel into the inner ear
from the outer ear! It's usually a problem while bottle-feeding (regardless
of what is in the bottle) as bottles tend to leak milk even when they are
not being sucked on, and the sucking action used is quite different. I think
some children are just prone to ear infections regardless, and that could
well be the case with Micah.

But I'm not a doctor.
> I've used breastmilk on cord stumps and sticky eyes, but have never heard
> of anyone using it on ears.

I have, though I have no clue if it's effective or not. Putting anything
into an ear where the drum could have ruptured seems undesirable though.


--
Amy
Mum to Carlos born sleeping 20/11/02,
& Ana born screaming 30/06/04
http://www.freewebs.com/carlos2002/
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/ana%5Fj%5F2004/
My blog: http://spaces.msn.com/members/querer-hijo-querer-hija/

[[email protected]]

I'll third that. (Someone has already seconded)

Larry

Morag in Oxford > writes:
: I thought the ear drum was a membrane that protects the inner ear from
: fluid? So by pouring milk into the ear you're not actually going to get to
: where the infection is. But I'm not a doctor.
: I've used breastmilk on cord stumps and sticky eyes, but have never heard of
: anyone using it on ears.
: morag

: "emilymr" > wrote in message
: ups.com...
:> Hi, all -- Micah's got his first ear infection, and several people have
:> suggested squirting breastmilk in his ear to help clear it out.
:> However, his ped said one of the reasons kids get ear infections in the
:> first place is because their inner ear doesn't drain effectively, and
:> liquids (inc. breastmilk) pool up in there when they drink/nurse lying
:> down. I know lots of people view breastmilk as the miracle liquid, but
:> wouldn't squirting milk into the ear facilitate further bacteria
:> breeding and make the infection even worse?
:>
:> Em
:> mama to Micah, 11/14/04
:>

[emilymr]

Hmm, I *think* what he was saying was that the fluids could build up in
the *throat* and get into the inner ear when the baby was eating in a
prone position, not that they were coming in via the outer ear (like if
he were laying in a pool of leaked milk). I didn't get a chance to get
a good look at the nifty diagram he was drawing on the examining table
paper, though; I'll have to double check with DH.

In any case, it sounds like squirting milk in would be ineffectual at
best?

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04

[JennP]

"emilymr" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi, all -- Micah's got his first ear infection, and several people have
> suggested squirting breastmilk in his ear to help clear it out.
> However, his ped said one of the reasons kids get ear infections in the
> first place is because their inner ear doesn't drain effectively, and
> liquids (inc. breastmilk) pool up in there when they drink/nurse lying
> down. I know lots of people view breastmilk as the miracle liquid, but
> wouldn't squirting milk into the ear facilitate further bacteria
> breeding and make the infection even worse?

The infected fluid is behind the eardrum, it won't work.

JennP. (mom to jessica, 13 months, frequent and persistent ear infections)

[Kmom]

Fourth it:-)

The only way anything is going to get to the infected fluid is through
a perforation in the eardrum and I don't believe breastmilk has any
anesthetic properties so it really is of no use at all in the outer
ear. Even though I use breastmilk in goopy eyes and in snotty noses I
would never put anything besides sterile ear drops in my kids ear (or
my own for that matter), especially if it was perforated-that direct
line to the brain is not something I want to play around with.

The 'nice' thing about a perf is that is allows the infected fluid to
drain and I think that adding addt'l fluid via breastmilk would defeat
that purpose.

Karen

If Micah is uncomfortable even with the abx ask the pediatrician for
some anesthetic ear drops ( brand name:Auralgam-although my ENT gives
me a different brand that I find more effective-don't recall the name).
Between the drops, Motrin and warm packs to the ear all but the most
severe infections are soothed.
Hope the little guy feels better soon

[Lara]

Morag in Oxford > wrote:

> I thought the ear drum was a membrane that protects the inner ear from
> fluid? So by pouring milk into the ear you're not actually going to get to
> where the infection is.

Exactly.
On the other hand, putting milk into the outer ear will give all the
appearances of curing maybe 90-95% of middle ear infections...

Lara

[Anne Rogers]

I've put bm in DSs ears, but he was gunky on the outside with no evidence of
a true ear infection, it seemed to help.

Anne

[Mum of Two]

"Kmom" > wrote in message
oups.com.gnresend...

> The 'nice' thing about a perf is that is allows the infected fluid to
> drain and I think that adding addt'l fluid via breastmilk would defeat
> that purpose.

Yeah, I forgot to add that an ear infection that leads to a perforated
eardrum serves a purpose. Otherwise a perforated eardrum sounds pretty
scary. Those things heal, of course.



--
Amy
Mum to Carlos born sleeping 20/11/02,
& Ana born screaming 30/06/04
http://www.freewebs.com/carlos2002/
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/ana%5Fj%5F2004/
My blog: http://spaces.msn.com/members/querer-hijo-querer-hija/

[Kmom]

yeah, they heal. As a child I used to pray for my eardrum to rupture
because then the pain went away (ear infections have been a problem for
me my whole life-had over 70) I haven't had a perf for a while (I've
had 5-6 in each ear over my lifetime). I had a double perforation in
Jan of 99. Three blessed weeks of sleeping well since I couldn't hear
anything to wake me up. I needed it after the days of excruciating pain
leading up to the perf thanks to an idiot of a GP who told me after
accusing me of lying (when I said I hadn't flown recently) and giving
me Amox "If it doesn't get better you'll have to see someone else
because I can't give you anything stronger because you are pregnant." I
ended up in the ER on New Year's day with two perf'd drums and a BP of
147/90 from the pain. Nurse practitioner gave me a hug, Ceftin and
Tylenol with codeine bless her heart.

[emilymr]

Thanks, everyone! Well, it turns out that maybe he doesn't have an ear
infection after all... He broke out in spots all over his body today
and I thought it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, but our
ped says that he had a *viral* infection instead of a bacterial one
(we'd seen another ped initially), and that his ear looks fine. In any
case, we're to stop the antibiotics. I should have asked him about the
breastmilk in the ear trick, but I forgot! ;)

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04

[Mum of Two]

"Kmom" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> yeah, they heal. As a child I used to pray for my eardrum to rupture
> because then the pain went away (ear infections have been a problem for
> me my whole life-had over 70) I haven't had a perf for a while (I've
> had 5-6 in each ear over my lifetime). I had a double perforation in
> Jan of 99. Three blessed weeks of sleeping well since I couldn't hear
> anything to wake me up. I needed it after the days of excruciating pain
> leading up to the perf thanks to an idiot of a GP who told me after
> accusing me of lying (when I said I hadn't flown recently) and giving
> me Amox "If it doesn't get better you'll have to see someone else
> because I can't give you anything stronger because you are pregnant." I
> ended up in the ER on New Year's day with two perf'd drums and a BP of
> 147/90 from the pain. Nurse practitioner gave me a hug, Ceftin and
> Tylenol with codeine bless her heart.

Ye Gods, that's awful! I have nearly everything under the sun that runs in
my family, but thankfully not ear infections. Never had one, never want one!


--
Amy
Mum to Carlos born sleeping 20/11/02,
& Ana born screaming 30/06/04
http://www.freewebs.com/carlos2002/
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/ana%5Fj%5F2004/
My blog: http://spaces.msn.com/members/querer-hijo-querer-hija/

[Kmom]

You are right to be thankful :-) They are miserable. Thankfully, I only
have one child who got my ears (out of six so far) and he is my
youngest. He had tubes placed at 8 months (first set of ear infections
at 3 weeks (exclusively breastfed non smoking household) and 5 more
before he had the tubes placed). He is 27 months, has had one infection
since the tubes. One tube has fallen out and he is still infection
free. My 4yo is a little prone but not too bad she gets about 2
infections a year.
None of my kids will be as bad as I was, I've learned from my
experiences.

[JennP]

"Mum of Two" > wrote in message
...

> Yeah, I forgot to add that an ear infection that leads to a perforated
> eardrum serves a purpose. Otherwise a perforated eardrum sounds pretty
> scary. Those things heal, of course.

They heal very quickly actually. DD has had a few. The gunk that came
out...major squick factor. She's got some ear issues. :(

JennP.

[JennP]

"Kmom" > wrote in message
oups.com...
He had tubes placed at 8 months (first set of ear infections
> at 3 weeks (exclusively breastfed non smoking household) and 5 more
> before he had the tubes placed). He is 27 months, has had one infection
> since the tubes. One tube has fallen out and he is still infection
> free. My 4yo is a little prone but not too bad she gets about 2
> infections a year.
> None of my kids will be as bad as I was, I've learned from my
> experiences.
>

I think we are headed for tubes with dd (13 months). She's had I think 8
infections since April. The last one took three antibiotics to finally get
it to clear. She was clear for three weeks, caught another cold and I'm 99%
sure she's got another infection now. We have an appt. tomorrow am to
confirm. From there, it's the ent.

Like you, I had loads of ear infection problems. Had tubes when I was four,
didn't have many infections until I got married and I usually get one
whopper a year. It's not fun.

JennP.

[Kmom]

Tubes weren't 'in vogue' when I was a kid. I had 4-5 infections a year
until 15 when they finally yanked my tonsils which were so bad they
were talking cancer. I was infection free (and my hearing went to
normal for the first time in my life) until I was 23. I get 1-2
infections a year now. I'm still recovering from a nasty in March. I
have a mild case of chronic mastoiditis and it takes a long time for my
ears to recover now. My typmanogram is still totally flat. I LOVE my
ENT here. It's two guys in Monroe and they are just the best. The one
if very low-tech, I know if he says meds or surgery it is necessary. I
hope I can find someone I like in Texas. It's stressful enough looking
for an ob or midwife and pediatrician.
Tubes were the best thing I ever did for Ben. Procedure itself was
smooth-I held him while they gassed him, no IV as they never put him
totally out-just gas, he was out of the OR and in recovery in 10
minutes and I was there when he woke up, nursed him and we were gone
within the hour.
One infection after tubes, which cleared up beautifully with nothing
but Ciprodex ear drops-no systemic abx which I thought was GREAT! Tube
fell out of one side, hole closed up immediately.

[Kmom]

Tubes weren't 'in vogue' when I was a kid. I had 4-5 infections a year
until 15 when they finally yanked my tonsils which were so bad they
were talking cancer. I was infection free (and my hearing went to
normal for the first time in my life) until I was 23. I get 1-2
infections a year now. I'm still recovering from a nasty in March. I
have a mild case of chronic mastoiditis and it takes a long time for my
ears to recover now. My typmanogram is still totally flat. I LOVE my
ENT here. It's two guys in Monroe and they are just the best. The one
if very low-tech, I know if he says meds or surgery it is necessary. I
hope I can find someone I like in Texas. It's stressful enough looking
for an ob or midwife and pediatrician.
Tubes were the best thing I ever did for Ben. Procedure itself was
smooth-I held him while they gassed him, no IV as they never put him
totally out-just gas, he was out of the OR and in recovery in 10
minutes and I was there when he woke up, nursed him and we were gone
within the hour.
One infection after tubes, which cleared up beautifully with nothing
but Ciprodex ear drops-no systemic abx which I thought was GREAT! Tube
fell out of one side, hole closed up immediately.

[Kmom]

Tubes weren't 'in vogue' when I was a kid. I had 4-5 infections a year
until 15 when they finally yanked my tonsils which were so bad they
were talking cancer. I was infection free (and my hearing went to
normal for the first time in my life) until I was 23. I get 1-2
infections a year now. I'm still recovering from a nasty in March. I
have a mild case of chronic mastoiditis and it takes a long time for my
ears to recover now. My typmanogram is still totally flat. I LOVE my
ENT here. It's two guys in Monroe and they are just the best. The one
if very low-tech, I know if he says meds or surgery it is necessary. I
hope I can find someone I like in Texas. It's stressful enough looking
for an ob or midwife and pediatrician.
Tubes were the best thing I ever did for Ben. Procedure itself was
smooth-I held him while they gassed him, no IV as they never put him
totally out-just gas, he was out of the OR and in recovery in 10
minutes and I was there when he woke up, nursed him and we were gone
within the hour.
One infection after tubes, which cleared up beautifully with nothing
but Ciprodex ear drops-no systemic abx which I thought was GREAT! Tube
fell out of one side, hole closed up immediately.

[Melania]

emilymr wrote:
> Thanks, everyone! Well, it turns out that maybe he doesn't have an ear
> infection after all... He broke out in spots all over his body today
> and I thought it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, but our
> ped says that he had a *viral* infection instead of a bacterial one
> (we'd seen another ped initially), and that his ear looks fine. In any
> case, we're to stop the antibiotics. I should have asked him about the
> breastmilk in the ear trick, but I forgot! ;)
>
> Em
> mama to Micah, 11/14/04

Awwww, poor guy. I'm glad his ear looks fine, and you can stop the
antibiotics.

Well, I'm feeling very sorry for my little DS#2, just barely 7mo,
because he apparently has viral bronchiolitis AND an ear infection -
the eardrum is perforated and the drainage is taking me back to my own
childhood ear infection days :(

So he's on antibiotics (just like the yummy strawberry milkshake
amoxicillin I used to get as a kid) and we're staggering Motrin and
Tylenol on the dr's advice to keep his pain under control :(

Apparently, since the eardrum already perforated, it shouldn't be a
problem when we *fly* tomorrow (sigh). All three of us sickies are
going to be medicated for that flight . . . I pity our fellow
travellers.

Melania

[Melania]

Kmom wrote:
> Tubes weren't 'in vogue' when I was a kid. I had 4-5 infections a year
> until 15 when they finally yanked my tonsils which were so bad they
> were talking cancer. I was infection free (and my hearing went to
> normal for the first time in my life) until I was 23. I get 1-2
> infections a year now. I'm still recovering from a nasty in March. I
> have a mild case of chronic mastoiditis and it takes a long time for my
> ears to recover now. My typmanogram is still totally flat. I LOVE my
> ENT here. It's two guys in Monroe and they are just the best. The one
> if very low-tech, I know if he says meds or surgery it is necessary. I
> hope I can find someone I like in Texas. It's stressful enough looking
> for an ob or midwife and pediatrician.
> Tubes were the best thing I ever did for Ben. Procedure itself was
> smooth-I held him while they gassed him, no IV as they never put him
> totally out-just gas, he was out of the OR and in recovery in 10
> minutes and I was there when he woke up, nursed him and we were gone
> within the hour.
> One infection after tubes, which cleared up beautifully with nothing
> but Ciprodex ear drops-no systemic abx which I thought was GREAT! Tube
> fell out of one side, hole closed up immediately.

I had tubes put in at age 6. One of my strongest early childhood
memories is lying with my head on a hot water bottle on the couch and
moaning. My tubes didn't fall out till I was 12, and I had only one
major infection - when an ENT mistakenly told us they had fallen out
when he couldn't see them, and I went swimming in the lake . . . I had
ear infections throughout high school, too, and was on antibiotics 3x
for ear infections in the 12th grade. It's a lot better since I left my
teens, but I still get the odd one. My eldest hasn't had a single ear
infection yet, in spite of having microtia, but it looks like the baby
is following in my footsteps :(

I think I'm getting an ear infection now. This'll be our third sick
Xmas in a row :(

Melania