Articles

August 12, 2009

Beware of the HPV Vaccine

Filed under: Dangers of Medications — Tags: , , — admin @ 7:00 am

(from www.mercola.com)

The HPV Vaccine: Preventive Care or Human Sacrifice?

Reports of adverse reactions to the new HPV vaccine Gardasil are escalating. One particularly heart-wrenching example is the story of 12-year-old Brittany who lost all feeling in her leg and collapsed two weeks after receiving the Gardasil vaccine.

Adding insult to injury, people who are injured by the vaccine cannot even sue Merck, the maker of the Gardasil vaccine, because it is part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund.

While the FDA claims adverse reactions to Gardasil are rare, a review of the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) data shows that several thousands of adverse reactions have been reported in the United States alone. And hundreds of Australian girls have experienced side effects like paralysis, dizzy spells and seizures, but Australia‘s Department of Health and Ageing refuses to release any details.

Further, The European Medicines Agency reported that two women died not long after they received the vaccine, one in Austria and one in Germany. The Financial Times also reported that there have been 11 deaths and a wide array of other adverse reactions, including:

  • Bells Palsy
  • Guillan-Barre syndrome
  • Seizures
  • Blood clotting and heart problems
  • Miscarriages and fetal abnormalities amongst pregnant women who received the vaccine

Sources:    Natural News April 22, 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Thanks to Merck’s aggressive advertising campaign for Gardasil — the one that features young girls chanting “I want to be one less” — mothers and daughters across the United States are lining up to be vaccinated.

Yet, once you know the facts about this vaccine and HPV, the virus it supposedly prevents, it becomes very clear just how useless — and dangerous — this vaccine really is.

Getting the Facts About HPV

There are more than 100 types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). Of them, only 10-30 can cause cervical cancer. The rest can lead to skin infections that cause genital warts or common warts on your hands and feet.

These are very common viruses, and an estimated 25 million Americans have HPV infections. However, this is NOT cause for alarm because, as even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states: “In 90% of cases, your body’s immune system clears the HPV infection naturally within two years.”

This is true whether the infection is the type that can cause warts or cancer.

Meanwhile, Merck’s Gardasil vaccine contains just four types of HPV. If you contract one of the 96+ types that aren’t included, you’re out of luck. And, if you’ve already been exposed to one of the four types of virus in the vaccine, it doesn’t work against those either.

Some Scary Facts About Gardasil

The long-term effects of using this vaccine on young girls is unknown, and in the short-term, many girls have already begun to suffer. Common side effects include:

  • Pain, swelling, itching and redness at the injection site
  • Fever
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Vomiting
  • Fainting
  • Severe allergic reactions, including difficulty breathing, have also been reported, as has:
  • Swollen glands
  • Guillain-Barre syndrome
  • Headaches
  • Joint pain
  • Aching muscles
  • Unusual tiredness and weakness

As of last October, 3,461 complaints about Gardasil had been filed with the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Report System, and 11 women died after exposure to the vaccine.

Meanwhile, aside from being injected with four types of HPV proteins, girls and women who receive this vaccine should know what else is in the shot:

  1. Aluminum adjuvants, which have been linked to neurological damage including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
  2. Polysorbate 80, which has been linked to infertility in mice.
  3. Sodium borate, a main ingredient in roach killer.

Be “One Less” To Get Gardasil

I think this would be a more appropriate message to send out to young women. There is absolutely no reason to risk the serious side effects of this vaccine to prevent an infection that goes away on its own 90 percent of the time. And there’s no guarantee that you’ll be protected anyway, since you can still get HPV once you’ve had the vaccine. It’s really a no-win situation for those who receive it.

Of course, you can radically reduce your risk of getting HPV in the first place if you follow safe-sex practices, or wait to have sex until you’re in a committed relationship. Then, keep your immune system in tip-top shape, and it will be more than able to shake any HPV virus that comes its way.

Why Chiropractic is so Important for Children

Filed under: Pediatrics and Pregnancy — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 6:37 am

Chiropractic for Children

Parents will do just about anything to protect their child’s health. They serve nutritionally balanced meals, encourage daily exercise, and insist on regular dental and eye examinations. Yet many neglect the most important part of the child’s health care program: regular spinal checkups.

Subluxation on Delivery

Misalignments in spinal bones which interfere with the normal flow of nerve energy are known as subluxations. Many people still associate them with major trauma. They think the spine can be affected only after lifting heavy objects or being in an automobile accident. They don’t realize that the daily activities of young children can easily result in subluxations.

In fact, many babies receive their first subluxations during pregnancy and the birthing process. Modern medical procedures such as the Cesarean section, the use of forceps, and induced deliveries put unnatural strains on the infant’s delicate body. Frequently, doctors still hold the baby upside down from the feet. Throughout the ordeal, the tiny spine is twisted, tugged and stretched. The frequent result: subluxations.

People who understand the importance of spinal checkups and care bring their children into the chiropractor’s office when they are tiny infants.

Kids Will Be Kids

Of course, the strain on the spine doesn’t stop in the delivery room. Children are, by nature, active and energetic. They run, jump, tumble and fall. Since their bodies are extremely flexible and resilient, they often will show nothing more than a bruise or scrape after life’s minor accidents.

But that’s on the outside. On the inside, the body has been jarred with considerable force. The small bones forming the spinal column — which protects the central nervous system’s spinal cord — can be forced out of their proper positions.

Some will return to the correct position on their own, guided by the child’s own Innate Intelligence. Others will remain “stuck” in incorrect positions.

Childhood Dis-ease

Subluxations in children can cause dis-ease in the body, just as they do in adults. When the nerve flow is interrupted, some part of the body will send or receive distorted messages to or from the brain. With such interference, the body cannot function at 100% of its potential. It cannot reach its optimum level of health.

If parents are lucky, their child’s body will provide visible physical signs that something is wrong inside. Symptoms such as fever, stomach ache, sore throat, bed wetting, poor posture, hyperactivity, and frequent colds or flu may be evidence of subluxations.

(Unfortunately, some people forget that symptoms are warning signals. They think the symptoms are the real problems and treat them without going to the possible root cause — the subluxations.)

Parents aren’t always so fortunate, however, for sometimes there are no outward signs signaling the presence of internal physical changes. In fact, unless children receive regular chiropractic check-ups, no one may know subluxations exist until the damage is so serious it cannot be hidden any longer.

Obviously, we all want what’s best for our children. We want them to be happy and intelligent and popular. Most of all, we want them to be healthy. That means making chiropractic checkups a regular part of their health care routine.

ADHD Drug Warning

Filed under: Dangers of Medications — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:09 am

New Warnings on ADHD Drugs

An article from the Associated Press on February 9, 2006 reports that experts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel have recommended that Ritalin and other stimulant drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should carry the strongest warning that they may be linked to an increased risk of death and injury. The story, reported by Andrew Bridges, noted that the FDA advisory panel voted in favor of a “black box” warning. This came after the panel heard about the deaths of 25 people, including 19 children, who had taken the drugs.

Dr. Curt Furberg, a professor of public health sciences at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and one of the FDA panelists said it would be “inappropriate, unethical behavior” not to disclose that there was uncertainty about the safety of the drugs. The AP article did note that the FDA is not required to follow the recommendations of the panel.

Dr. Robert Temple, director of the FDA’s Office of Medical Policy, told reporters, “The committee plainly wanted to tell us certain things ought to be in labeling in a more forceful way.” The article also reported that doctors prescribe these drugs to about 2 million children and 1 million adults a month.

Dr. David Graham, a medical officer at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research summed up his concerns by saying, “There’s smoke. Does that mean there’s fire? We wouldn’t be going through this exercise if we didn’t think there was a real possibility of increased risk.”

These drugs are big business. The article noted that in the year 2000, sales of these drugs was at $759 million. That number rose to $3.1 billion by 2004. Additionally it was noted that about 2.5 million children between age 4 and 17 take ADHD drugs including 9.3 percent of 12-year-old boys and 3.7 percent of 11-year-old girls.

August 6, 2009

Chiropractic and Infertility – A Case Study

Filed under: Top Chiropractic Research Articles — Tags: , , , — admin @ 12:52 pm

Female Infertility, Subluxation & Chiropractic Care: A Case Series and Selective Review of the Literature

Author(s): Joel Alcantara, DC1; | Gregg Stern, DC2; | Rosemary E. Oman, DC, MSc, FASBE

Abstract

Objective: To report on three infertile females with vertebral subluxation that responded to the introduction of chiropractic care and review the literature on the topic.

Clinical Features: Three females presenting with a chief complaint of infertility and vertebral subluxation.

Interventions and Outcomes: Chiropractic care included diversified spinal adjusting, dietary modification and nutritional supplements. All three women conceived following the introduction of chiropractic management.

Conclusion: We described three patients with infertility who were able to conceive following chiropractic care. Continued research in this area is strongly encouraged.

Chiropractic Improves Health of Newborns and Infants

Filed under: Pediatrics and Pregnancy, Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 7:48 am

Chiropractic for Newborns and Infants

By Dr. Ben Lerner
Birth is a normal, natural process that’s been around since almost the beginning of humanity. As with any other task the body was created to perform, when you support normal functioning, you have your best chance at success.
The road down the birth canal and out into the world can be a trying one, particularly in the case of medical intervention and high-tech births. (You may recall a JAMA study showing the United States ranked last in neonatal mortality, infant mortality and for the health of newborns.) As a result, there has been an ever-increasing occurrence of traumatic birth syndrome.
Traumatic birth syndrome describes the presence of trauma-induced skull and spinal damage and spinal misalignment as a result of the birth process. As tough as birth is, going through it with the woman lying on her back, working against gravity, on medications to increase the intensity of labor, numb to the delivery muscles, and often accompanied by surgical interventions, makes it exponentially more traumatic.
When you think about this, it’s no surprise vertebral subluxation in infants is so common.
How the Birthing Process Injures Spines
During the pushing stage of labor, the spine may be injured as the fetus is compressed and pushed down the birth canal. The most frequent cause of subluxation in infants is the pulling, twisting and compression of the infant’s spine during birth. If something alters normal birth, you will frequently have subluxations occur at the point of greatest stress (upper and lower cervical vertebrae).
While in severe cases, this can result in more obvious, clinical nerve damage such as paralysis, more frequently, subluxations remain unnoticed by physicians and parents with health issues rising at a later time. Among them:
• Colic
• Sleep disorders
• Symptoms of lowered immunity
• Poor development
Pediatric expert Dr. Maxine McMullen states, “Subluxations should be analyzed and corrected as soon as possible after birth to prevent these associated conditions.” (1)
Moreover, these subluxations have been found to be severe enough to lead to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) due to the pressure they cause upward toward the lower brain (2) as well as creating numerous other disorders common to newborns, infants and young children.
Reports show chiropractic care can be helpful in such diverse disorders as cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, ear infections, the prevention of SIDS, and others. (3)
While chiropractic care is not a treatment for anything, the benefits of adjusting subluxation to remove interference has been particularly telling in the case of small children.
In fact, young people need chiropractic care as much as or more than anyone to maximize proper development and minimize the advent of common infant symptoms and disease.
The Infant Adjustment
One of the most interesting studies, based on examination and adjustment of 1,000 infants, was done by Dr. Gutmann, a German medical doctor. (4,5) He concluded blocked nerve impulses at the level of the first vertebrae can be the cause of central motor impairment and lower resistance to infections, especially those of the ear, nose, and throat. (6)
Dr. Gutmann’s research showed the children treated had success — almost without exception — for a variety of ailments by spinal adjustments at the atlas (top vertebra in the neck). Among the symptoms that responded favorably:
• Congenital torticollis
• “Growing pains”
• Infantile scoliosis
• Bronchitis tonsillitis
• Restless sleep
• Disturbed motor responses with repetitive falls
• An inability to thrive
“If the indications are correctly observed,” states Dr. Gutmann, “chiropractic can often bring about amazingly successful results, because the therapy is a causal one. With developmental disturbances of every kind, the atlanto-occipital joints should be examined and in each case be treated manually in a qualified manner. The success of this treatment eclipses every other attempt at treatment, including especially the use of medications.” (7)
Most people would not consider Chiropractic care for infants and children. However, the fact of the matter is, children are very, very prone to misalignments of the spine. Their vertebra are not fully formed, nor are their ligaments and tendons fully strengthened. This, along with the fact that a child falls enough times in a day to hospitalize an adult, makes it clear children should be evaluated by a chiropractor for spinal abnormalities.
And, don’t question the safety rating for Chiropractic treating children. The process is strictly AAA and cannot even be compared to the safety of medicine.
Nevertheless, countless children suffer from the side effects of modern medication each week, causing malpractice insurance for pediatrics and obstetrics to be astronomical — reaching into the tens of thousands. Chiropractors, on the other hand, pay as little as $300-$500 annually for malpractice coverage.
Chiropractic makes good scientific, factual and common sense for your child. I urge you not to wait until they hurt or get hurt. Get them checked now!

Boost Your Immune System With Chiropractic Adjustments

Filed under: Chiropractic - General Info and Benefits — Tags: , , , — admin @ 7:07 am

Boosting the Immune System with Chiropractic Adjustments

In a study of 107 people who had long term chiropractic care, all were generally normal. Their immune systems had no reason to produce resistance to disease. The chiropractic patient also had 200% greater immune-competency than people who had not received chiropractic care and 400% more than those with cancer or other serious diseases. The immune-competence did not decline with age; it was uniform for the entire group.
M.N.M. **Study by Dr. Ronald Pero, Ph.D 1975. New York Preventative Medicine Institute and Environmental Health at NYU. (David Singer, 1993)
Nobel Prize winner for brain research, Dr. Roger Sperry discovered that the more misalignments in the spine, the less energy was available for thinking, healing and metabolizing.
The Effects of Specific Upper Cervical Adjustments on the CD4 counts of HIV Positive Patients:
A 48% increase in the CD4 cells was demonstrated over six month duration of the study for the adjusted group. Chiropractic Research Journal : Volume 3. (1) 1994.
Chiropractic Wellness Care:
• Should begin at birth.
• Encourages early detection and correction of spinal problems before they become chronic.
• Establishes a strong, straight, stable spine that is CLEAR of nerve interference!
• Removes interference to your central nervous system.
• Corrects vertebral subluxations.
• Helps restore the body’s in-born, built in ability to heal itself.
Who do you care about that would like to be healthier?

August 5, 2009

A Nation of Drugged Children

Filed under: Dangers of Medications — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 1:46 pm

Dear Patients and Friends,
The article to follow details the alarming rate at which children continue to be given prescription medications and the serious side effects that go with it. This scenario is not only true of children but adults as well. It’s important to understand that these medications are meant to treat symptoms and NOT to cure disease. That means that whenever the medications are ceased the problem (and whatever new problems are created) will remain. In other words problems are not being solved but merely covered up.
The reality is that everything we do comes as a result of our nervous system, the health of which is dictated by 3 main factors – what we do to our bodies, what we put into our bodies and how we operate mentally. Good choices in these 3 areas create great health by keeping the natural recuperative powers of the body strong, poor choices eventually create disease, it’s that simple.
If you read the article below and it makes you think of a co-worker, friend, relative or loved one please share it with them. Help someone you care for avoid the potentially endless cycle of medications by encouraging them to see a chiropractor, a person qualified to help them dramatically improve their health by strengthening their nervous system through proper alignment and health of the spine, nutrition and thought process.

In Health,

Dr. Kenney
Dr. Bogannam

Creating a Generation of Drugged Children

Last November, the journal Pediatrics published research that found medication use among children across the United States is dramatically increasing as more kids are being treated for diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using a database of prescription claims from children with private health insurance, they were able to find prescriptions for almost 4 million children.

The researchers found that over four years, prescriptions for children aged 5 to 19 increased significantly. Among two drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, the use doubled. In addition, the use of drugs to treat asthma rose by 46.5 percent, and the use of drugs to treat ADHD grew by 40.4 percent. The number of prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering drugs rose by 15 percent, the researchers found. They also noted increases in the use of blood pressure drugs and antidepressants (1.8 percent).

According to one of the co-authors of the study, Emily Cox, as the number of obese children increases, the number of children with chronic diseases is also increasing. “That they are being treated is a good thing,” she said. “The concern is, are doctors more likely to use drug therapy over diet and exercise?”

Antidepressants are the second largest group of drugs prescribed for children under 18 years of age, second only to Ritalin and similar ADD/ADHD drugs. An earlier generation was given tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil and Toframil. These drugs had some serious, and occasionally fatal, side effects. The newer ones, including those called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), are more easily tolerated, but have not been widely tested on children.

SSRIs include Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Luvox. They help regulate levels of serotonin, a chemical in the body that is believed to affect mood. Serotonin levels drop off during early adolescence, and therefore may be related to depression in this age group. Low serotonin levels have also been linked to substance abuse problems in teens.

But why give young people such heavy-handed drugs, with their host of potentially dangerous side effects, when inexpensive, natural, and healthy alternatives are available? Low or imbalanced levels of fatty acids are now linked to autoimmune disorders, mood and behavioral disorders, and heart disease, among other health concerns, prompting even allopathic doctors to recommend fish oil to treat ADHD. Researchers at the University of South Australia tested a combination of omega-3 fish oil and evening primrose oil (an omega-6 oil) on 132 children with ADHD, ranging in age from seven to 12. After the 30-week study ended, almost half the parents reported that their children’s symptoms were improved.

Many of the other conditions for which children are being overmedicated can be treated naturally as well. For example, vitamin D deficiency has been implicated as a major factor in the pathology of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.

Children don’t need cholesterol-lowering drugs. They need proper nutrition and exercise, with judicious supplementation. But they also need physicians and practitioners who can properly diagnose and treat their conditions with healthy, natural methods.

Warning Signs of an Unhealthy Spine

Filed under: Chiropractic - General Info and Benefits — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 1:18 pm

Dear Patients and Friends,
The following is an article which lists some simple ways to warn you that your spine is not functioning optimally. When the spine is not functioning properly there may be subluxations present. Subluxations occur when 1 vertebra becomes misaligned with an adjacent vertebra. This causes a reduction in nerve energy transmitted from the nerve roots which exit between the vertebrae. This is significant because this nerve energy supplies muscles, organs and glands and a decrease will cause impaired function. During a chiropractic examination we as chiropractors will thoroughly evaluate your structure, posture and nervous system to determine if subluxations are present. If you have any of the following warning signs then it’s time to make an appointment and either begin or continue chiropractic care.

Yours in Health,
Dr. Nicholas S. Bogannam
Dr. Matthew C. Kenney

How To Tell If My Spine is Healthy
by Tedd Koren, D.C.

15 Warning Signs of an Unhealthy Spine

1. YOUR HEELS WEAR OUT UNEVENLY. This can be due to uneven leg length or stress along the length of the spine.

2. YOU CAN’T TAKE A SATISFYING DEEP BREATH. Breath, health, spinal health and energy are interrelated.

3. YOUR JAW “CLICKS”. This can be caused by neck or hip subluxations.

4. YOU HAVE TO “CRACK” YOUR NECK, BACK, OR OTHER JOINTS A LOT. This can be caused by areas of your spine that are locked or jammed.

5. YOU CAN’T TWIST OR TURN YOUR HEAD OR HIPS TO EITHER SIDE EASILY AND EQUALLY. Reduced range of motion.

6. YOU ARE OFTEN TIRED. An unbalanced spine drains your energy.

7. YOU HAVE POOR CONCENTRATION. Subluxations affect brain health.

8. YOU HAVE LOW RESISTANCE TO DISEASE. Subluxations affect your neuroendocrine system which plays an important role in your resistance to disease and your ability to fight infection.

9. YOUR FOOT FLARES OUT WHEN WALKING. This test is easy as long as you don’t cheat. Merely look at your feet as you walk. Do they both point forward, or does one foot appear to flare outward or inward? Do both? Foot flare may be a sign of a problem in the lower spine or hips, or meningeal stress in the upper neck or base of the brain.

10. ONE LEG APPEARS SHORTER THAN THE OTHER. Keep your shoes on, and lie down. Have someone stand behind you, look down at your feet, and gently push your heels toward your head. Compare where the heels meet the shoes. One foot may appear anywhere from 1/8″ to 1″ shorter than the other.

11. YOU HAVE POOR POSTURE. Stand on two bathroom scales. The weight distribution should be about the same over each foot. If it is not, that’s a good sign that your spine, hips or head are off-center.

12. YOU HAVE HEADACHES, BACK ACHES, SORE OR TENDER SPOTS IN MUSCLES OR JOINTS. Common signs of subluxation.

13. YOU HAVE A CONSTANT, STRESSFUL FEELING AND TENSION ESPECIALLY IN MUSCLES AND JOINTS. Muscles are affected by subluxations.

14. YOU FEEL STIFFNESS IN YOUR BACK AND NECK. Stiffness may be a sign of subluxation damage.

15. YOU JUST DON’T FEEL RIGHT; YOU ARE IN GENERAL POOR HEALTH. Subluxations can affect your overall health.

Information taken from Tedd Koren, D.C.: “Chiropractic: Bringing Out The Best In You!”, 4th Edition

Poor Nutrition Causes Pain and Inflammation

Filed under: Nutrition and Exercise — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 1:15 pm

Nutrition and Inflammation

Inflammation is most often thought of as the redness, warmth, swelling, and pain that occur with an injury. The body responds this way whether it’s a surgical incision or a spider bite. Inflammation is also present in an infection like a strep throat or the achy, hot finger joints of rheumatoid arthritis. Wound healing and fighting infection are just some of the ways inflammation is activated. Inflammation is happening all the time in more or less obvious ways in your body.  Medical science has begun to understand the connection between inflammation and most of the chronic degenerative diseases. Some of these diseases – like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes – develop quietly for many years before causing problems. We aren’t even aware they are present. Pain isn’t always a part of these diseases. People can be pain free even when a lot of tissue damage has occurred. Others conditions, like osteoarthritis, gall bladder disease, or degenerative disc disease, make their presence known. Pain with these conditions can range from mild to unbearable.

These conditions all have one thing in common. The tissues of the body parts involved are inflamed. The process of inflammation depends on a number of different chemical elements. These are called inflammatory mediators. Chemical mediators are released from certain kinds of white blood cells. These white blood cells are part of our immune system. First they travel to a target area. Then they cause a series of reactions that create the tissue changes we refer to as inflammation. At first this process is actually a repair response to some sort of injury or insult to the tissue. Later, the inflammatory process can become chronic and the cause of further injury.
Inflammation and Back Pain

Healthy repair depends on good nutrition. Poor nutrition can lead to damaging inflammation in the joints of your spine. Inflammation causes the loss of the cellular framework that holds bone and connective tissues together. Studies show that some people with osteoarthritis have more rapid damage to their joints. This is because they have more inflammatory chemistry in their bodies.

Back pain may or may not be present in people with bone or cartilage changes in their spine. For instance many people have x-ray images that show they have flat and bulging discs. Or they may have brittle bones. Yet they have no pain. It is inflammation that causes the tissue changes that create the sensation of pain.

Inflammation stimulates the growth of new blood vessels in joint tissues. This growth process also causes new nerves to grow in areas around joint cartilage. Doctors think this new nerve growth may be why back pain goes along with inflammation. The increased tissue activity and the swelling that comes with inflammation can make the new nerves very sensitive. All of the steps in this inflammatory process (new blood vessel growth, new nerve growth) keep each other going in a never-ending cycle. Stopping inflammation will relieve pain and slow down joint damage.

Abdominal fat is made of the type of cells most active at making the kind of chemistry that causes damaging inflammation to all of your joints. The more belly fat you have, the more inflammatory chemistry you are making. Some lean people are also at risk.

(This information can be found at www.eorthopod.com)

Chiropractic Approach to Ear Infections

Filed under: Pediatrics and Pregnancy, Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 1:06 pm

Chiropractic Approach to Ear Infections

Ear problems can be excruciatingly painful, especially in children. With 10 million new cases every year, ear infections (otitis media) are the most common illness affecting babies and young children and the number one reason for visits to the pediatrician—accounting for more than 35 percent of all pediatric visits.

Almost half of all children will have at least one middle ear infection before they’re a year old, and two-thirds of them will have had at least one such infection by age 3. The symptoms can include ear pain, fever, and irritability. Otitis media can be either bacterial or viral in origin, and frequently results from another illness such as a cold. For many children, it can become a chronic problem, requiring treatment year after year, and putting the child at risk of permanent hearing damage and associated speech and developmental problems.

Standard treatment for most cases of otitis media is with antibiotics, which can be effective if the culprit is bacterial (antibiotics, of course, do nothing to fight off viruses). But, according to many research studies, antibiotics are often not much more effective than the body’s own immune system. And repeated doses of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant bacteria that scoff at the drugs, while leaving the child screaming in pain.

Frequent ear infections are also the second most common reason for surgery in children under 2 (with circumcision being the first). In severe cases—for example, when fluids from an ear infection haven’t cleared from the ear after several months, and hearing is affected—specialists sometimes prescribe myringotomy and tympanostomy, more commonly known as “ear tubes.” During the surgical procedure, a small opening is made in the eardrum to place a tube inside. The tube relieves pressure in the ear and prevents repeated fluid buildup with the continuous venting of fresh air. In most cases, the membrane pushes the tube out after a couple of months and the hole in the eardrum closes. Although the treatment is effective, it has to be repeated in some 20 to 30 percent of cases. And this kind of surgery requires general anesthesia, never a minor thing in a small child. If the infection persists even after tube placement and removal, children sometimes undergo adenoidectomy (surgical removal of the adenoids)—an option that is effective mostly through the first year after surgery.

Before yet another round of “maybe-they’ll-work-and-maybe-they-won’t” antibiotics or the drastic step of surgery, more parents are considering chiropractic to help children with chronic ear infections. Dr. Joan Fallon, a chiropractor who practices in Yonkers, New York, has published research showing that, after receiving a series of chiropractic adjustments, nearly 80 percent of the children treated were free of ear infections for at least the six-month period following their initial visits (a period that also included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks).

“Chiropractic mobilizes drainage of the ear in children, and if they can continue to drain without a buildup of fluid and subsequent infection, they build up their own antibodies and recover more quickly,” explains Dr. Fallon. She’d like to see her pilot study used as a basis for larger-scale trials of chiropractic as a therapeutic modality for otitis media.

Dr. Fallon uses primarily upper-cervical manipulation on children with otitis media, focusing particularly on the occiput, or back of the skull, and atlas, or the first vertebra in the neck. “Adjusting the occiput, in particular, will get the middle ear to drain. Depending on how chronic it’s been and on where they are in their cycle of antibiotics, children generally need to get through one bout of fluid and fight it off themselves.” That means, for the average child, between six and eight treatments. If a child’s case is acute, Dr. Fallon will check the ear every day, using a tympanogram to measure the ear and track the movement of the eardrum to make sure that it’s draining. “I’ll do adjustments every day or every other day for a couple of days if they’re acute, and then decrease frequency over time.”

Dr. Fallon, whose research garnered her the acclaim of childrearing magazines like Parenting and Baby Talk, often sees great success when she treats a child for otitis media. “Once they fight it themselves, my kids tend to do very well and stay away from ear infections completely. Unless there are environmental factors like smoking in the house, an abnormally shaped Eustachian tube, or something like that, they do very well,” she says.

“I have two large pediatric groups that refer to me on a regular basis. In the winter, when otitis is most prevalent, I see five or six new children each week from each group,” says Dr. Fallon. “It’s safe and effective and something that parents should try, certainly before inserting tubes in their children’s ears.”

Chiropractic Care Can Help…
Talk to your doctor of chiropractic about your child’s ear infections. Doctors of chiropractic are licensed and trained to diagnose and treat patients of all ages and will use a gentler type of treatment for children.

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