1. Breastfeed to Increase Immunity
Boosting your child's immune system can help prevent ear infections. Increasing immunity can begin right from birth with breastfeeding. If it's possible for you to breastfeed for the first year, it can pass on immunities and reduce the number of ear infections right up through the early toddler years. Don't worry if you can't breastfeed for that long, as even a couple of weeks can help pass on immunity and prevent illnesses. If your child is healthier overall, he's less likely to fall prone to the bacteria and viruses that can lead to ear infections.
2. Vaccinate to Prevent Opportunistic Infections
Getting the flu shot and the pneumococcal vaccine can reduce your child's chances of getting ear infections too. Though influenza doesn't cause ear infections, it can lessen immunity. Have your child get a flu shot in early October or November, before flu season begins, to decrease his chances of contracting the respiratory illness. The pneumococcus bacterium can cause ear infections in addition to pneumonia and other illnesses. The pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar is given in four doses over the first two years of your child's life. If your child was born before 2000, when the vaccine was introduced, talk to your pediatrician about it anyway. A one-time vaccination for older children can also provide immunity to the bacterium.
3. Make Changes in Your Child's Environment
Allergies, cigarette smoke and exposure to other children are all causes of ear infections. While it's likely you can't avoid having your child around other children, you can reduce her exposure to sick< children. Check with her daycare or school about sick-child policies to make sure that ill children aren't exposing your child to their germs.
Other environmental changes are more within your power to manage. Control known allergens by dusting and vacuuming regularly. Avoid giving your child foods to which he seems sensitive, especially if they cause a runny nose, as clogged nasal passages can easily progress to clogged eustachian tubes and ear infections. Most importantly, help to prevent ear infections by reducing your child's exposure to cigarette smoke. Designate an outdoor smoking area and avoid smoking in your car since children regularly exposed to smoke are twice as likely to have chronic ear infections as their smoke-free peers.
4. Investigate Medical Intervention
Some children, despite the best preventative efforts, are just prone to chronic ear infections. If your child is one of these children, talking to her doctor about ways to break the cycle may be the only way to prevent ongoing infections. Consider using a course of prophylactic antibiotics--either a low daily dose through the winter months or a full course given at the first sign of a cold. Choosing to use antibiotics when cold symptoms appear may be a safer choice because, though effective, taking antibiotics on a long-term basis increases the chance of antibiotic resistance.
Investigate the need for ear tubes if your child's hearing and speech are being affected by chronic ear infections. The small tubes are inserted in the eardrum to help drain the fluid that muffles hearing, causes pain and is a breeding ground for bacteria. The tubes stay in place for six to 12 months and tend to fall out on their own.
