We see a lot of infants and toddlers here at Essentials of Life Chiropractic, and we hear a lot of great and amazing questions. And did you know teething and ear infections actually go hand in hand? Teething creates a lot of inflammation in the gums, which can radiate pain up into the ear. So, if your toddler or infant are pulling at the ears, that's okay. It could just mean that they might be teething at that time. And there's a lot of inflammation, which leads to a lot of drooling, which also means that they might get fluid in their ears from all the drooling. That's, again, very normal. It's okay if they have fluid in their ears. That doesn't mean it's an infection, it just means that they have a lot of inflammation, and there's a lot of things you can do for that.
Chiropractic's great at relieving a lot of that stress by making sure that drainage from the ear down into the throat is happening correctly, and we're effectively using the nervous system for that. And did you also know that ear infections are usually 80 to 90% viral? They're not even bacterial, so most of the time they don't need an antibiotic. So, we always go for the watch-and-wait approach. Yes, there's a point where you might need that, but in most cases it'll just go away on its own, usually between three to five days. If you need any other tips or tricks regarding ear infections or teething, contact our office or talk to us at your next visit.
Be Well
Dr. Lisa