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Choosing To Live A Healthier Life


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Choosing To Live A Healthier Life

A few years ago, I realized that I needed to get healthy for my kids. I weighed around three hundred pounds, and it was really difficult for me to get around comfortably. I was even having problems with things like sleeping and driving, which is why I shifted my focus to a healthier lifestyle. I started eating right and exercising daily, and I quickly realized that my life was improving day after day. One day, after losing about a hundred pounds, I realized that I could run faster than I had ever been able to before. This blog is all about choosing to live a healthier life and doing it with style.

Utilizing Ear Tubes for Chronic Ear Infections

If your child has a chronic ear infection issue, then antibiotic treatment may not be enough to control the problem. Also, it may not be wise for your child to continue to take antibiotics over a long period of time. Specifically, infections can form that are resistant to antibiotics. Ear infection treatment will vary, and there are options besides medicine. This is one reason why the placement of tubes is suggested to reduce the prevalence of the infections. Keep reading to learn a little bit about ear tubes.

What Are Ear Tubes?

Ear tubes are small and hollow devices that are placed within the ears. The cylindrical tubes are made from either plastic or metal and they look a lot like spools of thread without the thread. The tubes are temporary devices that are placed at the very inside of the ear canal where the canal meets the middle ear. The tubes are extremely small and about the size of the tip of a pencil, and they fall out on their own as your child ages.

The tubes are meant to open up the ear canal so that fluid is able to drain from the ear effectively. This fluid drains down the back of the throat, and the tubes assist with drainage by allowing air to move through the Eustachian tubes. Basically, this is called pressure equalization. Without the air and the equalization, the fluid becomes stuck. Since the fluid helps to rinse away microorganisms that enter the ear canal, bacteria can remain inside the ear with the fluid. As the bacteria thrive and multiply, they cause an ear infection to develop. 

Are There Any Complications?

While ear tube placement is a non-invasive procedure, it does require careful insertion. This means that your child will need to be placed under general anesthesia before the operation begins. There are some risks associated with anesthesia, but the operation is extremely quick and you can expect to go home within an hour or two of the procedure.

Your child will likely be able to hear better as fluid drains properly. However, the presence of the tube can cause the eardrum to harden or thicken. This can affect hearing long-term. Also, sometimes pus will drain through the tube and out the ear canal. Tubes may clog over time and need to be replaced and sometimes scar tissue will develop behind the eardrum. However, millions of tubes are placed each and every year and the vast majority are quite successful.

If you want to know more about ear tubes and their effectiveness, then speak with your child's pediatrician.