Ear Infections in Children - Otitis Media(OM).

OM is extremely common in pediatric patients; in fact, it is the most common reason for pediatric (up to 15 years of age) primary care visits. This is largely due to the anatomy of the pediatric eustachian tube. Studies have found no bacterial etiology in aproximately 60% of OM cases. However, the remaining of OM patients exhibit bacterial pathogens (haemophilus influenza, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Brahnamella catarrhalis)

If Bacterial OM--monitor closely for signs of complication. Please note these are very rare!! T.M. rupture, meningitis, cranial nerve palsies, abscess, lateral sinus thrombosis.

1. Dietary measures

*diet high in bioflavonoids helps decrease allergic and inflammatory responses (like mucous buildup and subsequent plugging of normal anatomic drainage).

allergy rotation or elimination diets are important in managing chronic OM presentations. The most common food allergies include wheat, cow's milk, soy, corn, and strawberries.

*recommended diet: high in fresh vegetables, beans, lean meats, and fish. Avoid mucous forming sources, such as wheat, dairy, and orange juice.

*Probiotics modulate immune function and decrease allergic response. Probiotics given within the first year of life are preventive and can significantly decrease the number of ear infections during childhood.

2. Lifestyle changes

*parental or caregiver smoking is strongly associated with increased risk of upper respiratory conditions and OM in children

*pacifier use and thumb sucking is associated with increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections and OM

3. Botanical medicine 

*Matricaria chamomila/recutita: a safe and effective antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and vulnerary that is used extensively in the treatment of OM. Strong infusions are considered excellent first-line approaches for acute or chronic OM. Chamomile is contraindicated for patients who are allergic to asters and chrysanthemums.

*Echinacea angustifolia/purpurea: well-studied botanical remedies for the prevention and treatment of colds and flue. Also safe and effective in the treatment of both acute and serous OM. Glycerinates are available for infants. Echinacea is contraindicated for patients with autimmune disease.

*Zingiber officinalis: also indicated in OM accompanying a cold with clear and watery mucous. Ginger is best combined with other botanicals in tea or syrup

4.Homeopathy

The following homeopathic remedies are most commonly chosen for acute otitis media:

*Ferrum Phosphoricum: the most commonly used remedy for early OM. Indication include gradual onset of symptoms, flushed face, dislike of noise or stimulation, and desire to lie still.

*Belladona: recommended in right ear OM, flushed face, fever, restlessness, scant thirst, and sensitivity to noise or light.

*Chamomilia: indicated for Om in irritable and cranky children who cannot be appeased for a long time; one cheek is red while other is pale; and aggravation by heat

*Kali muriaticum: recommended when patients experience fullness and congestion in the ear, impaired hearing, and popping or crackiling sounds on swallowing. This remedy is commonly used to clear the eustachian tubes when serous fluid persists after acute OM.

*Pulsatilla: usually used for earaches that are accompanied with white nasal discharge, thirstlessness, and throbbing pain in the ear that is aggravated by heat. Also indicated in the treatment of OM when the child exhibits changing moods (clingy, weepy, fidgety) with a need to be consoled.

5. Applied Kinesiology to treat birth injuries and Chiropractic for very gentle re-alignment of the upper cervicals.

6. Pain Relief

*Ear oil is a traditional and effective method of providing comfort for the pediatric OM patient (and their parents) and in many cases will be enough of an intervention to alleviate the condition altogether. Seek traditional or proprietary ear oil brands contaiing Olive oil with Mullenin (Verbascum thapsus), St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), Calendula (Calendula officinalis), Garlic (Allium sativa) extracts. Hyperosmotic glycerol "glycerine USP" ear drops, will draw fluid through the semi-permeable tympanic membrane (ear drum) and provide almost instant pain relief. 

7. Clinical Nutrition

• Omega 3-6-9, selenium, Vitamin C complex, Echinacea, Zinc

As always,it is very important to remember that your child is unique and I will treat him/her as a whole being and the therapies are taylor made for him.

In the past I’ve had excellent results in treating these children, especially if the ear infection is chronic and does not clear up with antibiotics.

Sports Nutrition Part One: A Holistic Diet For Optimum Health And Performance

                                               

This diet is for all serious sports people whether at club level, national or international level.

Over a  32 year career I've worked with a number of sports men and women from all levels; club, national and international and over a number of sporting disciplines; Rugby, Football, Road Cycling, Golf, Squash, Judo, Karate, Athletics and Tennis.

My approach to the field of sports nutrition, sports diet, sporting performance and sports injuries is that first and foremost you are an unique individual human being living in the 21st century with all the commitments and responsebilities that goes with that. Then, of course, we focus in on your particular sporting endeavor and the unique circumstances around that.

This sports diet will give you all you need to promote quick recovery from an intensive 'session'/competition and also go a long way to enhance your sporting potential.

In other words it will ensure that vital proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and micro nutrients are readily available to the body.

As a sportsperson, your diet needs to give you that bit 'extra' to meet the extremes you push the body to. It also needs to help you maximise your sporting potential, increase your performance and promote a healthy recovery.

Food For Sports People

Here is a list of super foods that are a 'must' in every sports persons household:

All your food must be organic and fresh which does mean more home cooking - this is a great hobby to help relax the mind after the stress of a hard training session or competition (as is growning your own vegs in your own garden/allotment).

A must is to purchase a juicer and a recipe book to make a variety of fruit juices/veggy juices and a mixture of both. Have a glass per day. A good time to have your homemade juice is one hour before breakfast.

Also, get used to making vegetable soups with chicken stock... any kind of soup, variety is the spice of life. Soups are neutral and go with either a protien meal or carb meal (an important thing to be aware of when following the 'Hay Diet'/food combining - the next step towards ideal sports nutrition which i will come to shortly).

A Note About Fat

Your training/sports diet must allow for some body fat to be distibuted around the tummy so that when you are training hard your body will convert that fat store to energy (this is why I strongly recommend eggs). Fat is a far better source of energy than carbs and is far less demanding on the body than the high carb diet most athletes have.

Fats are also a very important component of the immune system (how many athletes get colds/flu/glandular fever/chills/run down?!). In my experience endurance athletes are lacking in fat stores to convert into energy while competing. So, ensure you have sufficient heathy fats/oils in your diet in the form of oily fish (plus omega 3 supplement {not omega 6}), avocado, nuts, olive oil and some saturated fat from good quality meat and goats cheese.

The Hay Diet/Food Combining For Sports People

Food Combining is a must for sports people to optimise their health and performance potential.

Here's why.

When you eat a piece of chicken (protein) the tongue 'scans' this and sends a neurological and chemical message telling the brain that this is a protein. The brain then produces a massive acid response in the stomach to aid the protein digestion and keep the meat in the stomach for 3 hours.

When you eat bowl of porridge (carb) a chemical message and neurological message goes to the brain to say 'this is a carb'. The brian then switches off acid production (the exact opposite to protein digestion!) You can imagine how confused the brain gets when you eat a chicken sandwich or beef curry or fish and chips or Sunday roast with potatoes!!

It doesn't make sense to mix carbs and proteins at the same meal. These are food groups that 'fight' each other.

To maximise the breakdown of the protiens in fish/chicken/meat into long and short chain amino acids so the body can re-use them to regenerate muscle/ligament tissue the meat/fish/chicken must be eaten apart from carbs!!!  this is so important in the sports athlete. When you use your musculo-skeletal system to excess, the tired/damaged muscle needs to be replaced as efficiently and effectively as possible which means proteins must be digested in the stomach without the presence of carbs.

Keep PROTEINS and CARBS apart!

The Nuts And Bolts Of Food Combining

Beyond the basic premise of keeping high protein and high carbohydrate foods apart in your diet there are greater complexities to 'food combining' (although just adhering to this one simple rule will make a huge difference to your well being!). The charts below outline the fundamentals and are ideal for printing off and sticking to the fridge door.

Non starchy vegetables go well with both protien and carbs. For example, roast chicken with a pile of roast veggies is fine but no roast potatoes.

Wholegrain rice with a vegetable curry is excellent but you cannot have a beef/chicken curry.

This part of the sports diet is VITAL!!! I cannot impress upon you sports folks enough how important it is to keep proteins and carbs apart. After a vigorous work out your body is desperate for long/short chain amino acids to make every enzyme in the body and to repair the musculo-skeletal system.

Here's another chart.... don't be put off by this, it gets easier...

There is a great deal of information out there on this subject and you may wish to do your own further research. Like any new approach, it can take a while to get your head around but before long it will be second nature.

As every human being is unique the same goes for the athlete and their individual approach to their discipline. This diet is HEALTHY, it is an optimium diet to maximise your recovery and give you the maximum opportunity to compete at your highest level.

Good luck in your endevours and every success.


* Part two of this series of posts for sports people includes a step by step guide to nutrition for optimum performance during and recovery after a high intensity training session or competition.

Airborne Allergies and Hay Fever

We all know of the classic hayfever symptoms to dust/pollen/dust mite/air borne particles such as a blocked/runny nose, sneezing, itchy skin and watery itchy eyes.

If I was to take anyone in full robust health and place them in a field of wheat/lavender/rapeseed, they would likely develop some of these symptoms, as even an immune system that is well would become overloaded in this situation. 

However, most people who react badly to a high pollen count have an immune system that is already compromised, they are therefore over sensitised to airborne allergens and have more extreme symptoms.

Treating Airborne Allergies With Nutrition

The main organ associated with hay fever is the spleen which will be very deficient in vitamin B12. At this level it sounds very simple, supplement with B12 and you’ll feel an improvement. Not so. Vitamin B12 is notoriously difficult to get into the body as it gets broken down very easily during the digestive process.

Allopathic medicine (medicine as we know it) came up with vitB12 injections. However, holistic healthcare came up with something more effective - sublingual (under the tongue) vitamin B12 in the form of a spray or lozenge. I use four different types of B12 preparation tailored to your specific needs.

Chronic hayfever sufferers are also ‘ill’, in other words their whole being is unwell. This is because to fight the chronic pollen/dust/dust mite allergy the body steals vital nutrition from other body systems. So, it is also necessary to treat the longstanding affects on other major systems of the body by replenishing lost nutrients.

I also give a digestive product called HCL-Betaine to acidify the lymphatic fluid which has become too alkali. If you can imagine a room full of balloons to represent the cells in your body (eg: the upper respiratory tract), then the spaces in between are filled with a fluid -lymphatic fluid. This fluid helps lubricate your body cells - if it is too alkali then the cells become too ‘sticky’ and this limits their ability to function. Patients with any and all allergies have this problem.

Please don’t just ‘put up with‘ your symptoms. They are treatable using a more holistic and natural approach and remember that as a chronic sufferer your immune system is unhealthily compromised.

Please feel free to contact me for further advice.