A Natural Approach to Ear Infections

July 27, 2010 – 6:05 pm

Children, including infants, are generally more susceptible to viruses and germs that cause various kinds of infections. An ear infection, or otitis media, is an infection of the middle ear caused by a virus or bacteria. Ear infections typically follow colds or allergy symptoms like a stuffy nose since these conditions make fluid more likely to collect and get trapped in the ear. Most children will have at least one ear infection by the age of 2 or 3, and children under 3 are more susceptible to ear infections than older kids or adults because their immune systems are still developing and they are, therefore, prone to getting sick more often. The new guidelines set by The American Academy of Pediatrics note that of about 7 to 20 children treated with antibiotics, only 1 child actually benefits from the treatment. By day seven of an ear infection, approximately 75 percent of children will have resolved the symptoms through either placebo or antibiotics. Therefore, the new guidelines recommend an observation option for acute otitis media, deferring antibiotics for 48 to 72 hours and limiting management to symptomatic relief.

How to Spot an Ear Infection

The most telltale sign for babies and toddlers is more fussiness, crying or irritability than usual. The pain builds as the pressure in the ear builds, from a dull ache to a sharp stabbing pain, and is usually worse at night making it difficult for the child to sleep.

Benefits of Homeopathic Measures

Homeopathy is a system of medicine that stimulates self-healing. Remedies used by a homeopath come from natural sources and are prepared to be free of all chemical toxicity. Homeopathic remedies are chosen to match your child’s exact symptoms, so, when correctly given, most parents notice a rapid improvement in their child’s condition. Professional homeopathic treatment can help to strengthen a child’s natural defenses and immunity to fight an ear infection; this can, in turn, sharply decrease the need for antibiotics and can help prevent recurrent bouts of the illness.

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200 years of effective utilization in the clinic

November 18, 2009 – 9:21 am

Homeopathy has stood the test of time with literally millions of satisfied patients world-wide. More research will surely further confirm its efficacy.

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Meta-analyses

November 11, 2009 – 9:20 am

A meta-analyses combining results from the two diarrhea studies above and a third pilot project found highly significant results (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 2003). The Lancet (1997) published a comprehensive review of 89 double-blind and placebo-controlled studies on homeopathy. On average, those patients who were given a homeopathic medicine were 2.45 times more likely to experience a therapeutically beneficial result that those patients given a placebo. The British Medical Journal (1991) published a meta-analysis of 107 clinical trials of homeopathy; of the 22 best-quality studies, 15 showed positive results in conditions such as hay fever, influenza, migraine headache, trauma, and duration of delivery.

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Miscellaneous studies

November 4, 2009 – 9:16 am

More recently, a study of homeopathy for acute otitis media in children found a significant decrease in symptoms within the first 24 hours of treatment. (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, February 2001).

There have also been several studies showing no difference between homeopathy and placebo in the treatment of dental pain), muscle soreness in long-distance runners (Clinical Journal of Pain, 1998), and rheumatoid arthritis (Rheumatology, 2001).

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Head injury studies

October 28, 2009 – 9:19 am

A study in an AMA publications, Archives of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (August 1998), found that a homeopathic medicine produced a reduction in symptoms that was equivalent to conventional medicine in the treatment of patients with vertigo. The national Institute of Health Office of Alternative Medicine funded a double-blind, placebo controlled study on the homeopathic treatment of mild traumatic brain injury which found a significant improvement in some of the measures used. (Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, December 1999).

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Diarrhea

October 21, 2009 – 9:58 am

The May 1994 issue of Pediatrics published a randomized double-blind clinical trial showing homeopathy effective in the treatment of acute childhood diarrhea. This was the first study of homeopathy published in a mainstream peer reviewed American medical journal. Since that time, the authors have published a second study confirming these results in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (March 2000).

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Influenza and fibrositis

October 14, 2009 – 9:57 am

Homeopathy has also been found effective for the treatment of influenza (British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1989) and fibrositis (British Medical Journal, 1989).

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Hay fever and allergic asthma

October 7, 2009 – 9:57 am

Results from a group of researchers in Scotland have shown homeopathic preparations effective in the treatment of allergic asthma and hay fever (Lancet, 1986 and 1994). Their most recent study in the British Medical Journal (2000) showed that hay fever sufferers given a homeopathic preparation had a 28% improvement in nasal airflow compared to placebo.

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Allergies

September 30, 2009 – 9:56 am

A survey of 147 patients suffering from respiratory allergies showed that 87.6% improved. Out of 42 patients suffering from pulmonary allergies, only two aggravated and three were unchanged. (Colin P. Homeopathy and respiratory allergies: a series of 147 cases. Homeopathy (2006) 95, 68-72)

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ADHD Study

September 23, 2009 – 9:56 am

The study, conducted in Switzerland, followed 62 children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). All children were carefully diagnosed with a number of screening instruments to verity the diagnosis of ADHD, excluding other diagnoses. The study involved three phases. First the children were treated with a constitutional homeopathic medicine individualized to their case. Only the children who improved by at least 50 percent on an ADHD rating scale were included in the second phase of the study, a crossover trial with a placebo group. Following that crossover phase, the children were then treated again with their homeopathic medicine in an open label phase. Results showed that children did not improve while taking placebo, but continued to improve while taking the homeopathic medicine during the blinded phase of the trial and in the post-crossover phase. The median Conners rating for ADHD symptoms dropped from 19 at the start of treatment to median of 8 within 6 weeks after the crossover phase of the trial. During the blinded trial, the children receiving placebo had a high CGI rating of 12 compared to the homeopathic group with a rating of 9. After all children were returned to their homeopathic medicine, both groups returned to the low symptom level they had achieved before the crossover phase (median of 8). The authors formed a definitive conclusion from this study. The results of this trial point to the effectiveness of homeopathy in the treatment of ADHD. (Published July 27, 2005 online edition of the European Journal of Pediatrics).

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