My 1 year old son has developed a couple of ear infections this year. At his last checkup, the doctor asked my wife some questions in an attempt to figure out the cause of the infections. The doctor asked if we burned a woodstove, when my wife said yes, the doctor said that the woodstove could be the cause and advised that we stop burning for a couple of months. The doctor's reasoning is that if there is smoke in the air it could cause a respitory infection which could then move to his ears. I burn an Osburn 1600i, which is new this year and lets very little smoke into the house. I'm thinking the doctor is envisioning a dirty smokey fireplace, which the Osburn certainly is not. Has anyone ever hear of a woodstove causing ear problems?
Woodstoves and Ear Infections
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I've been wondering about that, too. A friend's daughter developed severe sinus/respriatory problems after my friend put in a wood furnace. Doctor said she was allergic. They stopped using the furnace and she was fine.
My sinuses bother me some and I've gotten headaches, but only when we're burning cherry.
My sinuses bother me some and I've gotten headaches, but only when we're burning cherry.
Not to seem disrespectful of your pediatrician, but more than 80% of ear infections are viral. Unless your woodstove is emitting viruses, I don't think the tie is there.
What the woodstove does do, though, is to dry out the air in your home. Dry sinuses open folks up to viruses as many viruses enter our body through our noses and what keeps them out is nice, moist sinuses. I would try humidifying the air in your home to a safe level and swabbing his sinuses nightly with some vaseline.
Add yogurt to his diet to keep his internal 'good' bacteria levels up and his body will be better equipped to handle bacterial infections that come his way. Stay away from those containing aspartame or splenda and try to choose those without lots of dyes.
A good thing to keep on hand is garlic drops, those with mullein included are even better. Both can be found at most health food stores, stay away from any grocery store items. Instead of reaching for antibiotics, which won't touch most ear infections since most are viral not bacterial, reach for soem garlic drops. They've been used effectively for many, many years, work quickly and go right to work at the problem while providing relief as well. You can warm the drops slightly before putting them in the ears, but be careful since the ear drum is much more sensitive to heat. Put the drops in and give a gentle massage to the ear area.
Don't expect your pediatrician to be supportive or educated in areas of anything non-medicinal as most are not. If you are lucky, like I am with my 3 kids, you can find a pediatrician who is open and interested in finding alternatives to treating everything under the sun with a prescription.
As your child grows, gets into preschool and school, the first few months can be a roller coaster of ills as they are exposed to new germs from new kids each year. As they grow, their bodies build up resistances and it gets better.
What the woodstove does do, though, is to dry out the air in your home. Dry sinuses open folks up to viruses as many viruses enter our body through our noses and what keeps them out is nice, moist sinuses. I would try humidifying the air in your home to a safe level and swabbing his sinuses nightly with some vaseline.
Add yogurt to his diet to keep his internal 'good' bacteria levels up and his body will be better equipped to handle bacterial infections that come his way. Stay away from those containing aspartame or splenda and try to choose those without lots of dyes.
A good thing to keep on hand is garlic drops, those with mullein included are even better. Both can be found at most health food stores, stay away from any grocery store items. Instead of reaching for antibiotics, which won't touch most ear infections since most are viral not bacterial, reach for soem garlic drops. They've been used effectively for many, many years, work quickly and go right to work at the problem while providing relief as well. You can warm the drops slightly before putting them in the ears, but be careful since the ear drum is much more sensitive to heat. Put the drops in and give a gentle massage to the ear area.
Don't expect your pediatrician to be supportive or educated in areas of anything non-medicinal as most are not. If you are lucky, like I am with my 3 kids, you can find a pediatrician who is open and interested in finding alternatives to treating everything under the sun with a prescription.
As your child grows, gets into preschool and school, the first few months can be a roller coaster of ills as they are exposed to new germs from new kids each year. As they grow, their bodies build up resistances and it gets better.
A web search will kick up about a 1000 articles related to wood stoves and ear infections and they all read pretty much like this:
"The complex mixture found in wood smoke has been linked to increased occurrence of respiratory infection and ear infection, and increased symptoms of respiratory conditions. Fine particles can cause lung-irritation in healthy people. They can also cause respiratory illnesses and worsen asthma condition in at-risk groups such as children, the elderly and those with pre-existing illness." ( (broken link removed to http://www.toronto.ca/health/hphe/wood_burning.htm) )
"Cigarette smoke and smoke from wood-burning stoves irritate the mucous membranes and can make it easier for respiratory infections to travel to the middle ear. Try to quit smoking, but if you are unsuccessful, be sure that your children are not in the same room or car as a smoking adult. Try to avoid using a wood stove to heat your home. If you must use this form of heat, try to keep children away from the smoke." ( (broken link removed) )
Everything I've read assumes the presence of a wood stove automatically = significant smoke exposure to the lungs and like my 5th grade teacher told us, you know what happens when you assume. I can't imagine that an Osburn or any other modern EPA stove as a significant smoke inhalation source, smoke has to actually enter the room to be an issue and in a modern sealed stove the in-room exposure is negligible or less. In fact the aroma of a burning fire is the ONLY thing is miss about our own fireplace, with the new insert the nose doesn't even know it's there. Sandy brings up a great point about room humidity levels but that's easily enough remedied without turning your stove into a big flower box.
Before you let your Osburn go cold I'd recommend doing everything Sandy mentioned, there are some additional cool strategies on this list:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/370
Keep us posted and let us know how you make out.
"The complex mixture found in wood smoke has been linked to increased occurrence of respiratory infection and ear infection, and increased symptoms of respiratory conditions. Fine particles can cause lung-irritation in healthy people. They can also cause respiratory illnesses and worsen asthma condition in at-risk groups such as children, the elderly and those with pre-existing illness." ( (broken link removed to http://www.toronto.ca/health/hphe/wood_burning.htm) )
"Cigarette smoke and smoke from wood-burning stoves irritate the mucous membranes and can make it easier for respiratory infections to travel to the middle ear. Try to quit smoking, but if you are unsuccessful, be sure that your children are not in the same room or car as a smoking adult. Try to avoid using a wood stove to heat your home. If you must use this form of heat, try to keep children away from the smoke." ( (broken link removed) )
Everything I've read assumes the presence of a wood stove automatically = significant smoke exposure to the lungs and like my 5th grade teacher told us, you know what happens when you assume. I can't imagine that an Osburn or any other modern EPA stove as a significant smoke inhalation source, smoke has to actually enter the room to be an issue and in a modern sealed stove the in-room exposure is negligible or less. In fact the aroma of a burning fire is the ONLY thing is miss about our own fireplace, with the new insert the nose doesn't even know it's there. Sandy brings up a great point about room humidity levels but that's easily enough remedied without turning your stove into a big flower box.
Before you let your Osburn go cold I'd recommend doing everything Sandy mentioned, there are some additional cool strategies on this list:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/370
Keep us posted and let us know how you make out.
I’m Sandy said:
Of coure I am not a doctor so I can't speak to actual stats, but son has had a problem with chronic ear infections for several ears. Each of the treated successfully with antibiotics...IE...not viral infection, but bacterial.
benignvanilla said:
Check into ear infections a bit more. Most prescriptions for ear infections are given because the parents want a script to fix it, not because they are necessary. Most, and yes I do admit not all, ear infections are in fact viral and if you let them run their course without a script, you'd have the same effect as you experienced with the script. We live in a society that wants a pill if something is wrong. Ear infections are the largest source of un-necessary prescribed antibiotics in children. A push was started a few years back to try and get docs to stop writing scripts for them unless they go unresolved. Check into it - it's no lie. Your son may in fact have issues that required antibiotics, but most chronic ear infections that do result in necessary antibiotics are caused by problems with the ear tubes.
If your son has a problem with chronic ear infections still, check out the garlic drops, they work without the negative side effects of antibiotics.
Ear infections can be viral or bacterial. Our kids had a few ear infections from about 1-3 yrs old. It's pretty normal at the age when the skull and eustacian tubes are developing. We would wait out the milder ones, but would see the doc for the severe ones. He knew we were adverse to excessive prescriptions, especially antibiotics. But in this case, each time, it was definitely bacterial. The doc prescribed amoxicillin and within a few hours of administering, the pain would subside.
If the infection is bacterial, there is a risk of serious complications developing, so it's good to find a pediatrician that is good at diagnostics and keeps it light on the meds except when required. At that point, don't hesitate.
(broken link removed to http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/otitism.asp)
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=21&action=detail&ref=768
If the infection is bacterial, there is a risk of serious complications developing, so it's good to find a pediatrician that is good at diagnostics and keeps it light on the meds except when required. At that point, don't hesitate.
(broken link removed to http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/otitism.asp)
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=21&action=detail&ref=768
I’m Sandy said:
I had never heard of "garlic drops", so I googled it. It looked like 100% woo woo sites. Is there any science behind their use for ear infections, or are they in the folk remedy/anecdotal regime? Aren't most infections on the other side of the eardrum anyway? I had eardrops for earaches as a kid, but I think they were just anesthetic. (Is that what the garlic is claimed to do?)
I suffered from many ear infections up until I was about 12. To this day I can't swim in the ocean without ear plugs, or I face having an infection. I've tried it all from antibiotics, to olive oil, to garlic drops. What helped me the most was an active ear wash. The doctor takes a bucket that is made to fit against the side of your head and under your ear. Then he/she has a warm sterile irrigation solution and literally rinses out your ear with a large syringe. It removes all the wax and any other nasties in there and you're left with a perfectly clean system.
I think the reason why I had so many infections when I was young simply dealt with being a dirty, rowdy kid who enjoyed outdoor activities.
-Kevin
I think the reason why I had so many infections when I was young simply dealt with being a dirty, rowdy kid who enjoyed outdoor activities.
-Kevin
Friends of mine had the same problem with their son.
They stopped using wood full time and the problem went away.
Smoke, Carcinogens and dust is bad for a developing
child, it may just be that simple...
Some people have higher tolerances, some are predisposed...
Due what's best... shut down the stove while it's warm
and see what happens. You may find you will only be able
to use you're stove for special occasions.
I notice when it's cold out my stove drafts better and there is
less dust in the house.
They stopped using wood full time and the problem went away.
Smoke, Carcinogens and dust is bad for a developing
child, it may just be that simple...
Some people have higher tolerances, some are predisposed...
Due what's best... shut down the stove while it's warm
and see what happens. You may find you will only be able
to use you're stove for special occasions.
I notice when it's cold out my stove drafts better and there is
less dust in the house.
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