Healthy Diet Relieves Ear Infections

"Parents with children who have ear infections shouldn’t be afraid to explore their options . . . there’s lots they can do to prevent illness."
– Gloria Latham

Even as a baby, Tatiana Latham had problems with her ears. Her mother Gloria remembers the difficulty Tatiana had in sleeping through the night. "As soon as she would lie down at night there would be a lot of pressure building up on her ears she would be up every hour on the hour." Since baby Tatiana’s ear canals were shorter and more horizontal than most adult’s ear canals, her ears had trouble draining.
Tatiana’s doctors recommended that she undergo surgery to implant tubes in her ears. Gloria was concerned for Tatiana’s health, but was reluctant to submit the nine-month old to such drastic surgery. She says, "I really questioned whether it was the right thing to do. Although it’s really minor she was only nine months of age.

" Gloria wanted to find a balance for her daughter between conventional medicine and alternative medicine and her goal triggered a visit to naturopath Dr. Tracy Mackinlay.Dr. Mackinlay suspected that Tatiana was suffering from some type of food allergy. She says, "food allergies are a common cause of ear infection. The eustachian tube tends to swell and there’s pressure built up causing pain." Although Gloria appreciated this diagnosis, she decided to see if surgery could alleviate the immediate problem. Unfortunately, instead of solving the problem, Tatiana’s surgery made it worse. Gloria and Tatiana went back to Dr. Mackinlay’s office and discovered that Tatiana’s many antibiotic treatments had taken their toll on the child.

Dr. Mackinlay noticed that Tatiana had a major yeast overgrowth. She says, "the first time she came in she actually had thrush in her mouth and diaper rash with yeast infections because of all the antibiotics." Dr. Mackinlay instructed Gloria to remove commonly allergenic foods from Tatiana’s diet. This meant eliminating dairy, wheat, and eggs. Gloria also filled out a diet diary to ensure that all of Tatiana’s diet needs were being met. Dr. Mackinlay included immune-boosting herbs with her prescription. Tatiana’s ear infections cleared up, and she now fights off childhood colds much more easily. Her mother explains, "parents with children who have ear infections shouldn’t be afraid to explore their options . . . there’s lots they can do to prevent illness."

"As soon as she would lie down at night there would be a lot of pressure building up on her ears."
– Gloria Latham