Ear infection - acute
Alternate Names : Otitis media - acute, Infection - inner ear, Middle ear infection - acute
Prevention
You can reduce your child's risk of ear infections with the following practices: - Wash hands and toys frequently. Also, day care with 6 or fewer children can lessen your child's chances of getting a cold or similar infection. This leads to fewer ear infections.
- Avoid pacifiers, especially at day care.
- Breastfeed -- this makes a child much less prone to ear infections. But, if bottle feeding, hold your infant in an upright, seated position.
- Don't expose your child to secondhand smoke.
- The pneumococcal vaccine prevents infections from the organism that most commonly causes acute ear infections and many respiratory infections.
- Some evidence suggests that xylitol, a natural sweetener, may reduce ear infections.
- Avoid overusing antibiotics.
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