How the Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic can help with chronic ear infections.
By the age of three years, more than 70 percent of children will have had at least one episode of earache and about a third will have had more than three episodes. Some children can have up to 20 infections in their first year. Every year, over 10 million children in the United States are treated for ear infections.
A common cause earache is plugged “Eustachian’ tubes” (the tube that comes from the back of your throat and connects to your middle ear). If your Eustachian tube becomes blocked, fluid will gather resulting in a painful earache, and the possibility of bacteria buildup or infection.
Most ear infections appear after an upper respiratory or sinus infection. The fluid build up from these types of infections is often very thick and easily blocks the Eustachian tube. Young children are more likely than others to develop middle ear infections because in infants, the Eustachian tube is oriented more horizontally than vertically; making drainage more difficult than it is in older children. Fluids can collect and become blocked, creating an ideal environment for bacterial growth. As a child grows, the Eustachian tube begins to curve downward, allowing fluids to drain more easily.
Causes of earaches are infection of the middle ear, colds, allergies, sinus infections, teeth problems, changes in air pressure on an airplane and more.
While antibiotics are a common treatment for ear infections, parents should be aware that a study done in the Netherlands compared children with ear infections who were treated with antibiotics to a control group who were given a placebo. Although the antibiotic group improved somewhat faster, it is interesting to note that there was little difference between the two groups in long-term outcome.
Alan Greene, MD FAAP, the Chief Medical Officer of A.D.A.M., the Founder & CEO of DrGreene.com, and the Pediatric Expert for AmericanBaby.com wrote in his article: “Contrary to common practice, most children with ear infections should not be treated with antibiotics, according to powerful, evidence-based guidelines released in March 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Each time a child takes a course of antibiotics, future infections become harder to treat. A typical healthy child carries a pound or two of rapidly evolving microscopic bacteria in his or her body. Antibiotics cause the selective breeding of the more resistant strains, which leads to the use of newer, harsher, more expensive antibiotics, with more side effects. For decades, this cycle has been getting worse. But with these new guidelines, it’s all about to change. Whenever it’s appropriate to treat with pain relief rather than antibiotics, the choice is clear: No contest.”
Many children have repeated doses of antibiotics to treat ear infections. These repeated doses can inhibit the body’s normal healthy immune response and cause generation of resistant bacteria and dysbiosis- condition, when “good” bacteria was killed by antibiotics and “bad” bacteria take over causing many additional chronic health problems.
We at Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic focus on prevention of future attacks of ear infections, pain relief, restoration of friendly intestinal flora after courses of antibiotics and strengthening of the immune system.
Healing Food Consultation can help your child to eliminate the foods which thicken and increase mucus, making it more difficult for an infected ear to drain. We’ll give you ideas how to eliminate food allergies and Nutrition Supplementation can make your child stronger and healthier to resist chronic infections.
Herbal Medicine has antimicrobial properties and may be used to reduce swelling and inflammation whether topically or internally.
Acupuncture, non needle approach can reduce pain after the first treatment, however, continued treatments are necessary to make a long lasting effect.
Parents are usually weary of bringing in their child to get acupuncture because of its association with needles. Children usually do not have a problem with needles. Regardless of the fear or not, not all treatments require needles. We at Biotherapy Clinic use a form of pediatric acupuncture which does not require needles to be inserted into the body. Instead, we use a variety of the acupuncture point’s stimulation by fingers, magnets, vibration, plasters and other methods. Acupuncture has the great advantage of being safe and non-invasive compared to surgery and other techniques. It is free from the side-effects of drugs. Acupuncture also mobilizes your child’s immune system to fight back and overcome the infection.
Manual therapy and Tui-Na massage improve microcirculation, alleviate muscles spasms and open the blocked Eustachian tube (the tube between the middle ear and the back of the throat) of your sick child, keep the fluids draining from the ear so bacteria and viruses are less likely to be able to grow. Massage can improve a whole range of problems, including pain, mood, activity level, sleep problems, lung, skin conditions and more.
Suction cups at Biotherapy Clinic
Suction cups. Cupping is the application of cups containing a partial vacuum to the acupuncture site to increase local blood flow and is used in treating back pain, sprains, soft tissue injury, spasms, relieving lung congestion and for the healing of various different ailments.
To begin undergoing services at the Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic for children, please select one of the following options:
- Telephone consultation (415) 409-3939 (San Francisco) or (Redwood City)
- Office consultation
About us: Peter Melamed, Lic.Ac., RN, Ph.D., father of 3 healthy children and 7 healthy grandchildren and one great grandchild, was trained as a medical doctor in Russia. Subsequently he took specialized training in anesthesiology, intensive care, and internal medicine. In 1969, Peter Melamed, MD was awarded a Ph.D. in medical science. He took further training in acupuncture, herbal medicine, and internal detoxification at universities in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Perm, and Odessa. He was granted a license to practice acupuncture in Russia in 1978, and from that time he combined conventional Western medical treatment with herbs, acupuncture, and other non-drug healing therapies. After immigrating to the USA in 1991, he obtained licenses to practice acupuncture in the state of California and in New York. He has also been certified by the National Board of Acupuncture. Peter Melamed has written numerous articles published around the world, and frequently lectures on various holistic topics around the Bay Area.
