Dr. keeps prescribing antibiotics

PitaKat

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2 months ago, the Dr. decided my LO's left eardrum looked "just a little red" and prescribed him some antibiotics. I didn't give them to him. He's exclusively BF and I don't want to kill off the good bacteria in his body. He hasn't been acting like he's in pain or grabbing at his ear or anything.

Yesterday he had another Dr. appointment and again she said his ear was a little red. She again prescribed antibiotics, "I want to knock it out before it becomes anything."

My mom told me that I had frequent recurring ear infections as a child, switched me from one antibiotic to the next, till she became frustrated and started putting garlic oil in my ears, which apparently worked better than the prescriptions. I relayed this to the Dr. who said that wouldn't work, as this redness was behind the eardrum.

I'm looking for some other options, besides antibiotics. Thanks for any help :flower:
 
Good on you for not giving your LO antibiotics :flower: I would firstly definitely recommend putting a couple of drops of breastmilk in his ear. You would not believe the medicinal benefits of breastmilk and how it fights off infections (assuming this is an actual ear infection) :) Your mom is also right about the garlic oil. I actually gave some to my LO to ingest when he had a bit of a cold as garlic is awesome for fighting infections!

Here's a couple links on other natural remedies you could try . . good luck!

https://healthychild.org/blog/comments/five_natural_remedies_for_ear_infections_acute_otitis_media/

https://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/19/14-natural-remedies-for-earaches/
 
I'd see a new doctor, breastmilk can help with a million things, so if ur breastfeeding put a couple drops in the ear, it would be none different than ear drops, and way safer than antibotics.

Person if your kids not pulling at their ears, or showing any other signs of an issue, i wouldn;t worry about it.
 
My LO's is 3 and just come off antibiotics for an ear infection. We had to take him to a&e as he was in so much pain he was throwing up!.... One dose of antibi's and he was his normal self again! :) What is the problem with antbi's?
 
My LO's is 3 and just come off antibiotics for an ear infection. We had to take him to a&e as he was in so much pain he was throwing up!.... One dose of antibi's and he was his normal self again! :) What is the problem with antbi's?

Not sure about the OP but I wouldn't give antibiotics unless they were necessary because overuse of them can lead to resistance (meaning they don't work when you do need them) and they also upset the body's natural balance of bacteria. They can wipe out all the good bacteria in the gut, for example. I wouldn't do that unless we actually needed them. It's different if LO is actually in pain/has an infection. I think the OP is saying there isn't a problem but the doctor has prescribed them just in case, which is silly.
 
Thank you Ladies for the replies. Yes, Rachel described the issue correctly, my baby isn't in pain, hasn't been pulling at his ears or anything like that, but the Dr. prescribed antibiotics anyway. I don't want to kill off the good bacteria my LO has in his system. I am seriously considering switching Drs.
 
Aah!... Thanks for the info, I think I will do a bit more reading up on the subject :)

Good luck to you in finding an alternative x
 
You could try steam inhalations, this was recommended for me when I had recurrent ear infections as a child. if there is gunk behind the eardrum then steam opens up the passages, loosens the gunk and helps it clear. Take LO into the bathroom when you ave a shower, close the window, turn the fan up and have a lovely hot shower knowing you're also helping your LO!
 
I work in a kids a and e and we rarely give antibiotics for ear infections as they r usually viral and clear up on their own, I wouldn't give them if ur LO isn't in pain or pulling at their ear x
 
Our daughter has been plagued with serious ear infections since she was 7 months old. She was getting them once every 4 weeks in both ears. They were so bad, she would vomit A LOT, her temperature would reach over 40 degrees, and she would have febrile convulsions. I wasn't keen on antibiotics, but after 9 days of calpol / nurofen every 4 hours, she was still in pain, tugging on her ears and generally grumpy. We took her back, and were told her ears were just as bad, so antibiotics were presecribed. These got her back to normal for two weeks, before the next infection hit :( It was only after 8 rounds of antibiotics, 10 months of endless infections and a lot of pressure from ourselves, that she was referred for grommets. After the operation, we had a wonderful 7 months where our daughter was infection free! However, they fell out recently, and she's had two serious infections in 3 weeks, with antibiotics and penicillin providing her only relief :'( The first resulted in her being admitted to hospital, as her temperature was 41 degrees.
Also, she's 2 years old, and was breast fed for the first 7 months of her life xx
 
Overuse and over-prescription of antibiotics is a real problem in America (not sure if it's the same in the UK and other part of the world). There is absolutely no need to prescribe them ''just in case''. Antibio won't prevent an infection. They have to be used in last resort, when it's really really necessary like if your LO has been in pain and crying non-stop for 72 hours. Otherwise, you develop a resistance and next time you really need them, they won't work.
Also, most ear infections resolves themselves in a few days. There are also some infections due to a virus and antibios only work on bacterias.

My cousin's baby has recurring ear infection and her doctor keeps prescribing antibios. Baby is 1 and had over 15 cycles of antibios. Last month, he took 5 cycles of antibios. That's just ridiculous. I try to make my cousin understand that it's doing more harm than good, but she seems to keep trusting her doctor because she doesn't know what else to do. :dohh:
 
I have re-occurring outer ear infections, and i use Olive oil drops daily to help to keep them at bay. I'm not sure it would work for inner ear infections though? Everytime i've been to the doctors, they've given me some different variety of anti-biotic/steroid drops, and i'm fed up with using them and then just getting another infection a week later! So, i don't bother with the doctors for it anymore! on the couple of occasions the children have had ear infections, they've immediately been prescribed anti-biotics with the statement "if this doesn't help, then its probably viral". :dohh:
 
I get ear trouble invariably once we start swimming during summer... I have found something called Vosol which is like a vinegar (acetic acid) mix that acts as a preventive thing, and used daily creates a clear waxy build up to create a barrier in the ear that naturally comes out over time. I love it! I also use it if I get water in my ears when washing my hair.

Wont help with a bacterial infection unless its in the outer ear, but if it helps prevent further infection might be worth a try.

Luckily my kids haven't had much ear trouble yet, but dd has started swimming lessons now so might be have those days ahead!
 
Sorry, this post isn't much of a help to you. But on a related topic, my LOs doctor just prescribed oral thrush medication for what looked like 'perhaps a tiny bit of oral thrush...maybe'. I'm sorry, but that's not good enough! Especially when I'm about 98% sure that she doesn't have thrush.

I'm sure doctors just hand out drugs to willy-nilly to cover their own backs, just to show that they're actively doing something to try solve the problem.
 

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