By: Eleni Roumeliotou
(GreenMedinfo)Acute otitis media (ear infection) is very common in children and usually accompanied by ear pain, fever and irritability. Although it is believed that 80% of the otitis cases resolve spontaneously without any treatment, the standard medical approach relies on the prescription of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.
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An independent review by the Cochrane Collaboration reports that antibiotic treatment for acute otitis is prescribed in 98% of cases in USA and Australia but only 38% in Netherlands. According to the latest guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the first line antibiotic treatment is based on moderate or broad spectrum drugs, such as amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin, while NSAIDs and paracetamol (Tylenol) are recommended for pain management. However, there is scientific evidence challenging not only the use of antibiotics, but the very necessity to use synthetic drugs to treat infection and ear pain.
A study published in the journal Microbiology, Immunology and Infection in 2012 investigated the effectiveness of a herbal remedy consisting of essential oils from cloves, lavender and geranium in the alleviation of acute otitis symptoms and compared its effects to those of the commonly used 0.3% ciprofloxacin antibiotic drops.
