Ear Infections
Gifts were a big thing when I was a kid. You got them when something special happened. Birthday, Christmas, Easter….these were the standards. Getting a present for any other reason represented a monumental achievement in our house. You must have done something amazing. One exception to this rule was my toy train. It’s my fondest memory of any gift as a child. What made it special is that it came in the middle of summer, no holiday. I did nothing remarkable all I had to do was have my first surgery. That surgery ushered in not being able to swim and bathe without a swim cap or huge gobs of putty jammed into my ear to keep water out unless I wanted to lose my tubes and face mom and dad’s wrath. The bathing was no biggie, I was perpetually searching for reasons not to get a bath. The pool was a tougher thing to go without but my shiny toy train made that bearable.
If you had Ear infections as a child you remember them. If you have a child who deals with them you are frustrated. I had ear infections, lots of them. Mom and Dad did everything. I was on a constant stream of antibiotics for the bacteria and viruses (which we now know antibiotics cannot help) that always seemed to keep me down but never bothered my brother or sister. I had a few surgeries for tubes, we were told my ears had drainage problems. Just my luck. I was always the “husky kid”, wore coke-bottle thick glasses, had bad hair, gnarly teeth…and now this – deformed ear canals! Lucky for me I had personality.
What was at the heart of my chronic infections? Was it a lack of the right antibiotic? Not likely, seems like we tried ‘em all and I was popping them like candy. Maybe we needed a different doctor? Nope, Dr. Grossman, my pediatrician was renowned in his field and a close and trusted friend who we revered and loved – I think my parents bought him his first BMW with all the money they spent trying to help me. My poor parents really got put through the ringer. Sure, I was the one in pain several times a year with ear aches, but can you imagine how they felt? I wanted something different for my kids. It starts with recognizing that ear infections aren’t the result of a drug shortage or deformed eustachian tubes! Our bodies have an incredible capacity to fight infection. When that ability is impaired, it means something else is going on.
NEVER FEEL HOPELESS
It’s a surprise to people when they find out that their brain and spinal cord control every single thing that happens in their bodies. It all happens on purpose and nothing is an accident – that includes your ears. Some of the nerves that control, regulate and monitor the ear begin in the brainstem at the top of the spine and pass between the upper bones of the neck. Changes in the function of the bones of the upper spine can damage nerve signals to and from the brain. Without a doubt this can affect the ability of any organ or tissue, in this case your child’s ear, to “defend itself” from infection.
IMPAIRED DRAINAGE
Nerve compromise is often accompanied by abnormal tension to the muscles that support the spine. Besides “protecting” the spine from further damage, these muscle spasms can exert pressure on nearby lymphatic drainage ducts. This prevents natural drainage, further compounding the problem. The common solution here is tubes in the ear.
What We Do
Our approach is simple. When parents bring their child for us to check, we look specifically for distortions in the upper spine. If nerve tension is detected, we gently reduce it with safe and natural chiropractic adjustments. This helps restore nervous system integrity. For a child or infant, this usually requires little more than a light touch with our fingertip at just the right place and direction.
Contact Gatcha Chiropractic today for a free consultation
