Can milk intolerance cause ear problems?

[skatty]

Leorah had severe MSPI as a baby through my BM but by 12 months was able to tolerate yoghurt and a small amount of cheese. At 16 months she started on cows milk without any of the old gastro problems she used to have, however we have had non stop problems with fluid in the ear, bad hearing and infections in the last year and only now am I starting to wonder if it could be caused by dairy  It is wierd as up until a year her hearing was very good and she was talking and understanding well (as in I could say what do you say to a dog/bee/snake or whatever from her favourite book and she would make their sound and had words like mumma/dadda/ (ba)nana) and then suddenly she wouldn't answer questions and stopped talking which was scary time but we put down to her being mobile so concentrating on other things. Has anyone had a LO with an imtolarnce that effected the ears? We have switched her to rice milk again as milk is mucous forming anyway but could it actually be the cause and if so is there any way to find out?

Thanks, Katt.

[skatty]

Oh No look what I found 

Do you ever wonder why some kids get lots of ear infections, often resulting in multiple doses of antibiotics and eventually tubes in their ears? Why don't the antibiotics ever completely solve the problem?

Ears require drainage by the eustachian tube, which opens into the back of the throat. In young children this tube is not fully developed and is very susceptible to being blocked by inflammation. Anything that causes inflammation can block the eustachian tube, resulting in a warm moist breeding ground for bacteria in the inner ear.

Antibiotics kill the bacteria, temporarily, but they don't change the inflammation of the eustachian tube or the breeding ground. This is when placing a tube through the tympanic membrane is recommended. These don't solve the inflammatory problem either, but they do get the drainage going.

The real cause of the problem is the inflammation of the eustachian tube. Usually this inflammation is caused by a food allergy, most often dairy. Children generally drink and eat a lot of dairy. Invariably it's the very first food introduced into the diet.

A milk allergy is by far the most common cause of ear infections. Removing dairy from the diet will usually result in complete resolution of this problem. However, occasionally further food allergy testing is required to determine the source of the inflammation.

Good job we are seeing an ENT on Thursday, this could be written about L, she has the tubes and still gets infections 

[rinajack]

I was just coming on to say that recurrent ear infections can be a sign of dairy intolerance....good luck with the Dr

[skatty]

Thanks, I have been searching the net and we are definitely stopping the cows milk but it should be ok for her to have the odd sprinkle of cheese, yoghurt or milk as an ingredient. I really hope this can stop her ear problem once and for all, she had 3 back to back lots of penicillin and the last infection still didn't clear until she had ear drops 

[Mydreamcametrue]

Poor thing.  Let us know what the ENT says.  Also if you are not doing probiotics, I would because of the amount of antibiotics she has been on.

Hugs Wendy

[skatty]

Thanks Wendy, I have just started the probiotics up again yesterday. I wonder how long we will have to wait to see if stopping the milk works  We have the doc tomorrow so I hope he is as good as everyone says.

[em_here]

Oh hugs to you and Leorah, hope the ENT appointment goes well xxxxx

[skatty]

Thanks Emma 

[Mom to M&M]

Just saw this and YES, definitely sounds like milk intolerance. MSPI can often change forms - causing something like gastro issues as an infant but something different (in this case, ear infections) as a toddler and even behavioral problems as well. Let us know what the doctor says but I'd definitely cut out the cow's milk and severely limit even yogurt, cheese, etc (or switch to soy yogurt and the like). Good luck!

[15milner]

thanks for that - that's really interesting to know.  Andrew's had 4 double perforated eardrums since May and 5 (or is it 6 lots of antibiotics) and 3 lots of eardrops.  touch wood, we've been clear for the past 5 weeks.

Our GP prescribed me infant otrivine nasal drops.  Andrew's ear perforations always followed a couple of weeks of snotty nose and a cough and early wakings.  He asked what I was doing to treat the nasal congestion, since the nasal congestion sort of sits in the tubes and there that becomes the breedign ground for infection and then causes the perforated eardrums as that the only way the gunk gets out.

so, a couple of weeks ago, he got a snotty nose for a couple of days... gave the drops for a couple of days to help dry out the nose and ..... no ear problems yet.  Had to start again with the drops today.

Question then... if it could be an allergy - is there any way I could work out if it was dairy or another cold?  could an allergy cause a slight flemgy cough do you think.

sorry to hijack, but trying to find answers myself.

Alex

[Mom to M&M]

Alex - a milk allergy/intolerance can definitely cause congestion which then leads to ear problems too. Best way to truly tell is to eliminate ALL dairy for at least 2 weeks and see if the symptoms clear up.

[15milner]

Karen

sorry to further hijack this post .... Andrew has only been 'like this' since he turned 1, he's been having normal cows milk since he was 8months on cereal etc and is still bf.

Would a reaction only come at age 12 months would you think and if I try cutting out dairy in his diet, should I do mine too since I bf him still 2-3times a day?  Would there be anything else that might indicate dairy intolerance?

alex

[Mom to M&M]

It could be a delayed reaction or just because he's probably now having so much more milk than before (drinking cow's milk is a lot more than used in cereal, etc). Or it could be unrelated to the milk. If it were me, I'd start by cutting dairy out of his diet only at first. You can probably keep it in your diet since he's been BF and you've been having dairy all along - maybe it's just that he can't tolerate large amounts of dairy directly. Other symptoms of dairy intolerance include constipation, rashes, sleeping problems, gas, etc but often LOs will only have one symptom unless they have a severe intolerance or allergy.

[skatty]

Oh wow so interesting, thanks for all the info, I just wished I'd realised long ago 

Alex has Andrew got tubes in his ears and still got a burst ear drum? I wrry about Leorah as the mucus in her ears is so thick it takes a long time to drain and causes a lot of pressure on her ears.

I am pretty sure dairy has something to do with this because she doesn't fit the typical child prone to ear infections, she was breastfed until 11 months and doesn't go to daycare and she had great hearing before she turned 1 and was talking early and the suddenly nothing!! I can't wait to see what the ENT says on Thursday.

[Mom to M&M]

Unfortunately, many ENTs aren't up on allergies/intolerances so don't be too disappointed if he doesn't help much on that front - you can always do an elimination yourself and see how it goes!