Archive for children’s earaches
Chiropractic Care Can Reduce Your Child’s Earaches and Ear Infections
Posted by: | CommentsEarache is the most widespread purpose for office visits to pediatricians. More than 70 percent of children will have had at least one earache by the age of three, and almost one-third will have had three or more earache episodes. It may be surprising, however, that earache is also the most widespread basis for children under the age of five years to be escorted by parents to the chiropractor’s office.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help Earache and Ear Infections
When a child who has an earache is diagnosed with middle ear infection by the pediatrician, the usual treatment involves a course of antibiotics. Advanced analysis, however, has concluded that this type of treatment is often imprudent. The reason for the child’s middle ear infection may not be due to bacteria, and because antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, frequently there will be no positive result. The reason for this is that numerous cases of middle ear infection can be generated by a virus, and viruses do not respond to antibiotics. This may explain why children develop chronic ear infections.
One of the many evaluations that a Honolulu chiropractor can make is whether the earache or ear infection is produced by irritation of the small nerves in the spine, called free nerve endings.
When these nerve endings are irritated, an undue tension is produced in the small muscles of the neck. This muscle tension can put pressure on the lymphatic drainage ducts resulting in inadequate drainage from inside the ear, thus preventing the body from its ability to naturally fix the problem. Furthermore, balance can also be affected.
Inadequate drainage of lymphatic ducts can be discovered by a chiropractor if there is elevated tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles on the side with the earache. In addition, the chiropractor will check to see which spinal vertebrae are either moderately out of alignment or not moving within their normal range. This affliction may have been the result of any one of the many bangs, jolts and falls that the majority of children encounter in the early years of their life. Often, a short course of spinal adjustments and manipulation of the neck muscles will assist in restoring normal lymph drainage. If your child is experiencing the pain of an earache or an ear infection, contact your Honolulu chiropractor as soon as possible.
Advanced Research and Guidelines
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ear infection, the most frequent childhood sickness after the common cold, accounts for nearly 30 million doctor visits each year. Furthermore, at least 6 million courses of antibiotics are unnecessarily prescribed for the condition.Not too long ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines for treating pediatric ear inflammation, and expressly recommended a period of “watchful waiting” since, in many cases, infections clear up on their own, without medication.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) applauds the AAP on the guidelines and emphasizes that chiropractic management is a “good first option” for treating ear infection conservatively. “Doctors of chiropractic have been treating children for decades with great success – helping them to avoid painful ear infections, antibiotic overuse and resistance, and ear tube surgery,” said ACA President Donald Krippendorf, DC. “Particularly when dealing with young children, drugs and surgery should be an absolute last resort.”