American Fitness Professionals & Associates

By Dr. Joshua Aaron Gilbert

One of the most common parental concerns today is ear infection. This subject is never discussed alone but in conjunction with antibiotics. The purpose of this review is to find the truth in an abundance of information and see what is being said and done to remedy this problem First we must look at what causes ear infections and what can be done to effectively treat and then prevent them in the future.

In infants, redness of and fluid behind the ear drum can arise for a variety of reasons: teething, crying, swollen tonsils or adenoids, and food allergies. I think it is easy to see how teething and crying can cause these effects but many times swollen tonsils and adenoids are blamed when they are really just effects of some other problem. Both the adenoids and the tonsils are lymphatic organs. That means that they hold blood cells that attack and help ward off infection.

When these organs swell that means that they are fighting off an infection; just doing their job. But when this happens they obstruct the ear canal leaving the ear susceptible to fluid build up and then infection. Just like in a stagnant pool, it doesn’t take long for bacteria to grow and take over in a blocked ear drum. When this all unfolds it is common for the bacteria, tonsils, or adenoids to be blamed rather than finding out what caused the underlying infection and why the body was unable to fight it off.

Most children with recurrent ear infections gain little benefit from surgery to remove their tonsils or adenoids, report US researchers.(1) From this we need to begin viewing bacteria as an effect of a problem instead of a cause. On a daily basis we are surrounded by bacteria, only when the body becomes susceptible do we get sick.

The analogy I make for my patients is this: if you leave a full garbage can sitting outside for a couple of days flies will come. To get rid of the flies you have two options.

1. You can kill off the flies, or
2. You can get rid of the garbage.

Inside the body the flies represent the bacteria.
Antibiotics can kill bacteria but can not make the body healthier or correct the underlying cause of the infection.
In fact, many times, antibiotics leave your child more susceptible to future sickness and infections. Let’s see what the medical doctors have been finding out in their research:

Newborns treated with the antibiotic erythromycin to prevent whooping cough may have a higher risk of developing a stomach disorder that requires surgery, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters Health) An antibiotic often used to treat serious E. coli infections may do more harm than good, say Japanese researchers.

The investigators showed that exposing the bacteria to norfloxacin triggered multiplication of viral genes, which in turn boosted the bacteria’s production of a toxin called vero toxin by as much as 1000-fold, making the infection more serious. NEW YORK, Apr 09 (Reuters Health)

Recently, doctors — and patients — were provided with still more evidence that antibiotics are being grossly overused, and often for the wrong reasons. A report in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology again gave evidence that the use of antibiotics as a “cure” or treatment for the common cold is completely ineffective.

Colds are almost always sparked by viruses, and antibiotics have absolutely no positive affect on them. The drugs can only impact bacteria, which seldom play a part in colds. Researchers admitted that the study didn’t discover anything new, but rather served to reinforce information which has been available, although ignored, for years. Only seven out of 200 people studied during the research project actually had signs of bacterial infection.(2) In an effort to reduce the growing numbers of drug-resistant bacteria, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are urging physicians to stop prescribing antibiotics where the drugs are not necessary. “We are facing a crisis because doctors are pressured to prescribe antibiotics for the common cold and inner ear infection, yet we know that it is not prudent to do so,” Besser said.

WASHINGTON, May 09 (Reuters Health) So the idea that bacteria and viruses are the problem can be reinforced with this question, “if doctors spend their whole day around sick and diseased people why aren’t they sick all the time.” Now it is our job to find out what determines the human body’s resistance to sickness and Disease. What makes the body susceptible to infection? In the next part we will examine what health is and how we can find it once its lost and keep it once we’ve found it.

References:

1. The Journal of the American Medical Association 1999;282:945-953, 987-989.
2. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 4, 1998;36:539-542. Dr. Gilbert is a 98′ graduate of Logan College of Chiropractic. He and his wife operate a Chiropractic office in Salem. They have a family practice that focuses on kids, knowing that if a child has a balanced spine they are much more likely to grow up healthier. He also is a SW regional board member for the Virginia Society of Chiropractic and is involved with C.A.P.E (Chiropractic Awareness and Public Education) a group of Roanoke Area doctors bring Chiropractic to the Public. (To contact Dr. Gilbert you can call 375-3990)