Correlation between milk and ear infections?

s-a-r-a-h

This is s/o related to joyco's post below about asthma. I'm not trying to start a debate but something carlinlp said about cow's milk contributing to ear infections made me wonder...

H was breastfed until she was a little over a year old. She also started daycare around that time. Shortly after starting daycare, she was diagnosed with her first ear infection. It's been non-stop ear infections, coughs and runny noses since then. She's going back to the ENT at the end of the month and if her ears haven't cleared up, I'm afraid we're going the tubes route. We're not opposed to tubes if they'll make her feel better but we're also not opposed to other treatments. I'm wondering if we should try cutting dairy out of her diet to see if it makes any difference? How long would it take for the dairy to leave her system? And for the mamas who cut milk out of their DC's diets, how do you ensure they get enough calcium?

Chandley

I have my own opinions on things, but to not start a debate on what I think vs other people I will just stick to this because I do know that it can take two weeks up to a month for dairy to leave your (and her) system. We went through this when we were going through M's problems with dairy from my breastmilk.

 

Taytee

s-a-r-a-h:

And for the mamas who cut milk out of their DC's diets, how do you ensure they get enough calcium?

Honestly, I've never really thought about it.   In the beginning, I was mostly concerned that she was getting enough fat and protein but she does great on that now so we've switched from Goats Milk to Coconut.

I did some quick fridge and google research 8oz of milk is 300mg of calcium. I looked up a few sources and I feel like Emily is probably just fine based on her diet. On a regular (almost daily) basis she eats a fair amount of broccoli, oranges, edamame and probably most importantly Coconut Yogurt which has 250mg of calcium. She drinks Coconut milk in variable amounts and it's 450mg per serving. Toddlers need about 500mg per online sources.

As for the EI, I have never heard of a dairy link. Just that being in centralized daycare leads to chronic congestion from runny noses etc and that leads to frequent EI.

mrs.wildman

Is H still drinking out of a bottle? We had D's 1 year well check and the Pedi commented that bottles aren't as good for babies' ears. Not sure if that's true or she was just saying that to get me to move to the sippy, but might be something to consider.

We've had non-stop ear infections since last September and got tubes last month. All of D's EI's have stemmed from viral colds. DD had yet another ear infection last week  (since getting tubes) but now we can use drops for 3 days as opposed to the 10-day torture that was antibiotics. FWIW, DD was BF'd till 11 months when I switched to milk. She had 6 EI's while BFing and 2 since March while on cow's milk. I've done a ton of reading on EI's and haven't come across a link to milk, but I do find the thought curious and am interested in knowing more. 

fjaril

not a doctor and not a a milk allergy household,but here are my thoughts.

ear infections aren't contagious but runny noses and school goo is.

for us, we got ear infection b/c the allergies H had (outside seasonal) led to runny noses and they didn't drain down the throat, but ended up in the ear b/c the bits and bobs that usually direct the fluid down and out weren't fully formed yet (like lots of babies/little ones)

we could have banned milk from our house and it wouldn't have made a difference.

brideonjuly8

Yeah, I've never hear of a corelation between the two.  DS has only ever had one ear infection (just last December I think), and it was the result of back to back colds, most likely from preschool.  I don't think his ears had enough time to dry up and clear before the next cold set in.

angelaggie

I know when I drink more cows milk I end up with sinus infections more than often. I've had both an allergist and acupuncturist tell me that if you suffer from allergies don't drink cows milk. Not even lactose free. Something about the protein in milk helping to produce histamines. My allergies are so much better when not drinking milk. They're still there, but more manageable

brideonjuly8

angelaggie:

I know when I drink more cows milk I end up with sinus infections more than often. I've had both an allergist and acupuncturist tell me that if you suffer from allergies don't drink cows milk. Not even lactose free. Something about the protein in milk helping to produce histamines. My allergies are so much better when not drinking milk. They're still there, but more manageable

Along these lines, I HAVE heard that milk can thicken your secretions.  Maybe that's the link?

carlinlp

It might be caused by milk, it might not be.  The issue is that your child has inflammation and I would encourage you to really ask yourself why.  Milk is an easy place to start for most parents and there are many, many moms out there that have had success with it.  It can't hurt to eliminate it and see if it helps.  There are also many foods that contribute to inflammation as well as foods that help decrease it.  Food is powerful.  If you'd like to research milk and ear infections just ask Dr. Google and you'll find all kinds of info

mcgee

I had severe food allergies as a small child. There were literally about a half dozen foods I could eat, and that was it. Milk was not among those foods. I was dairy free and ear infections up the wazoo and eventually had tubes in my ears. My two children, on the other hand, are both big dairy fans, and we've not had a lot of ear problems with either one of them.

FWIW, I think some children are just more susceptible to ear infections than others. That your daughter is in daycare does mean that she's exposed to a lot of colds, and if she has allergies on top of that, she's likely dealing with a lot of drainage, sinus issues and other yuckiness that may be traveling to her ears. 

You could try removing dairy from her diet and seeing if she improves, but you might also ask her doctor about the possibility that she may have environmental allergies and what you can do to possibly prevent symptoms. I also had/have a lot of environmental allergies, and when I was little, my mom encouraged me to play on the furniture or on a blanket rather than sitting on the carpet. She vacuumed frequently to reduce the amount of dust, dog hair, etc. on the floors. She made everyone remove their shoes before they came in to avoid tracking pollen, dust, etc. into the house. I had a special cover on my mattress and pillow to reduce the amount of allergens that I breathed in while sleeping.  IDK if doing anything like that would help your daughter's symptoms, but it can't hurt.

molliedb

i agree that for some children cutting out dairy will not help ear infection/tube issues, but for some it does- so if i were faced with surgery/tubes for my child i would certainly give it a shot.  every time my kiddos are full of snot at the doctor the first thing she says is 'cut out dairy until the mucus is under control'

my kids do have some dairy in yogurt, but they drink almond milk and love it.  i don't worry about calcium because there is plenty in almond milk and other foods they consume. 

my opinion is probably biased as a vegetarian who stays away from most animal products, but dairy can do some nasty stuff to our bodies, imo.  i have never felt better in my life than when i was vegan but in the long run being 100% vegan was just not compatible with our lifestyle at the time (eating out/socializing was tough.  now that i think about it, i could probably swing it a lot easier these days).

 good luck!

cia

angelaggie:

I've had both an allergist and acupuncturist tell me that if you suffer from allergies don't drink cows milk.

I was going to say something similar, but the reason I was given was that since cows eat grass and clover, if you have a grass allergy, you may be exacerbating it by drinking milk.

I gave up milk during allergy season last year, and I honestly cannot tell you whether or not it made a difference.  But my primary allergy symptom was stuffed up ears and dizziness, so maybe there is a correlation.