Friday, January 16, 2009

Chiropractic and Ear Infections II

Ear infections aren't caused by a lack of anti-biotics. Ear infections are rarely caused by bacteria (viruses don't respond to anti-biotics). I have an 18 month old who has NEVER had an ear infection, but has had chiropractic care since he was 6 hours old. I have a 4 year old who has had one ear infection, at 11 months old, before I knew about chiropractic. It's not just in the articles, it's a real testiment that breastfeeding, nutrition and chiropractic is the BEST way to prevent, and treat ear infections.
Marci Blog Owner


Chiropractic for Chronic Ear Infections
By Jane Sheppard

More and more parents are beginning to look to chiropractors to complement their children’s health care. Chiropractic care involves diagnosing spinal misalignments and correcting them by adjusting the spine. A slight pressure is most commonly used with children rather than the more forceful manipulation sometimes used with adults.

Chiropractors attempt to get to the root cause of a health problem rather than just treat the symptoms. Misalignments of the spine (also called subluxations) can occur during childbirth, from tumbles or falls, or from any other normal activity. Misalignments left untreated can irritate the nerves and eventually disrupt the body’s ability to function properly. The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to help to restore the normal functioning of the nervous system so the body can heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.

Ear Infections and Chiropractic
Ear pain is the number one reason for child visits to chiropractors. Many chiropractors believe that there is a strong link between the birthing process and recurrent ear infection, also known as otitis media. During the birthing process, cervical (neck) vertebrae can become misaligned, disrupting nerve function, which can affect the eustachian tube. This may lead to fluid buildup in the middle ear and cause otitis media.

Ear infection or otitis media accounts for over 35% of all pediatrician visits in the United States. Antibiotics, the usual treatment, are not always effective and may even lead to a recurrence of ear infections. Many children are dealing with a continuing cycle of repeat ear infections, which lands them back at the pediatrician for more antibiotics. For nearly 100 years, the chiropractic profession has claimed that ear and other upper respiratory infections respond favorably to chiropractic adjustments.

A promising study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics indicates that there is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. 332 children with chronic ear infections participated in the study. Each child, ranging in age from 27 days to 5 years, was given a series of chiropractic adjustments. The results show that close to 80% of the children did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits. The six-month period included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks. Joan M. Fallon, D.C., the author of the study and the chiropractor who treated the children in the study, states that this pilot study can serve as a starting point from which the chiropractic profession can begin to examine its role in the treatment of children with chronic ear infections. She asserts that large-scale clinical trials need to be undertaken in the field.

Side Effects of Chiropractic
Even though this study is not definitive and more scientific research needs to be done in this area, chiropractic treatment is a conservative, drugless approach to consider trying if your child has a history of chronic ear infections. Under normal circumstances, chiropractic adjustments are painless and wi ll not hurt your child. There are no invasive procedures and chiropractors do not use drugs that can have harmful side effects.

Serious side effects from spinal adjustments appear to be rare. A recent article in Integrative Medicine reported the low risk of serious complications from neck and low back adjustments. According to the literature review, the estimated risk for serious complications from neck adjustments is 6.39 per 10 million adjustments. For low back adjustments, it is 1 per 100 million adjustments.

Pediatric Chiropractic Care
The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) provides ongoing pediatric courses and seminars for chiropractors, plus an online searchable directory of pediatric chiropractors. The Holistic Pediatric Association also provides an online directory of pediatric health professionals, including chiropractors.

Article on the Web

Ear Infections in Kids
planetc1.com-news
By Dr. Ryan French
I feel compelled to share this story with you. I am as angry as I have been for a long time. Last week a young boy (we'll call him Jack), age 6, was brought by his parents into our office to get checked for the first time. The little boy literally had pus oozing out of both ears associated with terrible ear infections. Here's his story...

Jack has suffered with ongoing ear infections for about 4 years (more than half his life), has had 12 surgeries where they put tubes in his ears, had his tonsils removed (I guess they thought he was born with too many parts), and was prescribed... get this... HUNDREDS of rounds of antibiotics. And what does he have to show for all this high quality medical care... well he keeps getting more and more ear infections, is almost deaf because of all of the damage that the surgeries have caused in his ears, has the immune system of an AIDS patient because he has never been given the opportunity to fight off infections naturally since being on antibiotics so much, is delayed in his speech because he can't hear our voices, and has suffered with tons of pain.

Here's the part that I can't believe... after showing the parents the scientific research that states that the use of antibiotics for ear infections leaves the child 2 to 6 times MORE LIKELY to get the infection again and that removing tonsils does NOT change the occurrence of ear infections enough to warrant this traumatic surgery, and that this surgery should therefore not be performed; the parents were NOT upset. They couldn't see why I was so angry that Jack has suffered needlessly. They said that he was starting another round of antibiotics on the day that I saw him, and that it usually took him just under two weeks for the ears to clear out when on the drugs. So I had a little less than 2 weeks to show them the power of the human body.

After one adjustment (just one) Jack showed up two days (not 2 weeks) later with a smile on his face and ears that were COMPLETELY CLEAR. He also enjoyed two nights of deep sleep that he hadn't enjoyed for months. Now I do not take credit for healing him (that was his innate intelligence) but I know that the subluxation in his neck was causing him to be unable to heal from the inside out. But here is the unbelievable part... even though his infection cleared up in two days instead of the usual two weeks, the parents are so blinded by medical advertising and the "gospel" which is the word of medicine, that they actually said "wow, they must have given him some new and improved antibiotics this time." I hope I am not the only one who sees something wrong here?

This young boy is growing up having absolutely zero faith in his body and has suffered needlessly for years. What's even worse, if I can't help the parents understand the truth, he'll likely be under the knife again and enjoy a life of complete deafness and sickness.

We need your help. I am only one person and one voice. Please tell others about the power of the human body so that kids like Jack are not the norm, but rather few and far between.
article on the web

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