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63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, September 17, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 4, 2004 Listen up: Ear-infection treatments set to change From staff and wire reports Two leading medical groups are expected to recommend this spring that doctors stop treating most ear infections in children with antibiotics. The guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians must be formally approved by the medical bodies before they are published for doctors, but the proposal made public Tuesday comes as no surprise to local pediatricians. Drs. Alan Frierson and Greg Conway are board-certified pediatricians in Medford. Both say the changes are timely, but require patient (or parent) education. "I’m ready for the change," says Frierson. "We all know we need to use less antibiotics." In fact, Frierson says the United States is lagging behind some countries who made the switch from prescribing to watching awhile ago. Advertisement "The British made this change six years ago," he said. "And they’re doing just fine." Conway agrees, saying seven out of 10 ear infections will get better without antibiotics. However, Conway says follow-up visits are important to rule out a very small risk of meningitis or other serious illness. "I’ve never seen that (happen) myself," he said, "but if I don’t treat, I see them back in 48 to 72 hours. I want to make sure nothing is getting worse and that they are actually getting better." As the guidelines are currently proposed, doctors would only prescribe antibiotics for children with serious middle ear infections, known as acute otitis media. Symptoms include a minimum fever of 102.6 degrees or severe ear pain. Milder cases would simply be observed. Between 5 million and 6 million children under age 5 suffer ear infections each year. And about 10 million prescriptions each year are written for ear infections in children of all ages, health officials say. The move contradicts years of pediatric practice and is expected to disappoint weary parents of whimpering, infected toddlers. But local mothers seem to be taking the news in stride. Liisa Ivary, 46, says her 2-year-old son, Christopher, has only had antibiotics once — and that was for an ear infection. Ivary says she prefers to raise her son using the least amount of medical intervention possible — including antibiotics. "I believe antibiotics weakens the immune system, and I only use them as a last resort," she says. However, when her son had a fever and was grabbing his red, inflamed ear, her pediatrician prescribed an antibiotic. After the antibiotic, Christopher’s fever went down and there was a decrease in his pain, Ivary said. Some children simply seem more inclined toward ear infections. Heidi McKendree’s 19-month-old daughter, Shea, started getting ear infections when she was only 6 weeks old. Most were treated with antibiotics. "She’d have three in a row," said McKendree. "Then she’d go a couple months and have another three." Last October, McKendree’s daughter had tubes surgically implanted in her ears. Since the tubes were inserted, her daughter’s infections have decreased dramatically. "She’s only had one since we put them in," said McKendree. About half of all antibiotics prescribed to preschool children are for treating ear infections. Health officials believe if they can reduce child antibiotic use for such infections, they can stop the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs created by overuse of the drugs. For years, health officials have been battling improper antibiotic use by emphasizing that the drugs should not be used for viruses, such as colds, because they do no good. This time, health officials are going even further, urging that antibiotics also be withheld for bacterial ear infections if they appear to be minor. "We are making a societal trade-off — at the individual level, some kids may have a little bit longer course of their infection, but for society as a whole, we will be better served if we don’t give them," said Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, a member of the committee reviewing the guidelines. Medical studies have found the antibiotics do very little for a child’s ear infection pain. Common painkillers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen are effective for that, said Dr. Allan Lieberthal, co-chairman of the medical groups’ committee reviewing the changes. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities