{"id":3670,"date":"2023-09-22T19:53:38","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T23:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/?p=3670"},"modified":"2023-09-22T19:53:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T23:53:39","slug":"can-allergies-increase-your-childs-risk-of-an-ear-infection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/can-allergies-increase-your-childs-risk-of-an-ear-infection\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Allergies Increase Your Child\u2019s Risk of an Ear Infection?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Approximately five out of six children will have at least one ear infection before their third birthday, making it <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/ear-infections-children#:~:text=Anyone%20can%20get%20an%20ear,is%20otitis%20media%20(OM).\" target=\"_blank\">one of the most common reasons young children see a doctor<\/a>. Ear infections occur when the Eustachian tube, which runs from the middle ear to the back of the throat, becomes swollen and blocked. When the Eustachian tube becomes blocked, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/ear\/ear-infection\/\">mucus can build up in the middle ear and become infected<\/a>. A couple of things that may increase your risk of developing an ear infection include but are not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Age<\/strong>. Children are more susceptible to ear infections because they have smaller Eustachian tubes that are more prone to becoming swollen and blocked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Allergies<\/strong>. People with seasonal allergies, such as hay fever, may be more likely to develop ear infections when allergen counts are high.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s examine why allergies may increase your child\u2019s risk of developing an ear infection and what you can do to prevent them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is the Link Between Allergies and Ear Infections?\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Young-girl-getting-her-ear-checked-for-an-infection.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3673\" style=\"width:402px;height:268px\" width=\"402\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Young-girl-getting-her-ear-checked-for-an-infection.jpg 1254w, https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Young-girl-getting-her-ear-checked-for-an-infection-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Two possible causes for the relationship between allergies and ear infections are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Compromised immune system<\/strong>. Impairment of the body\u2019s defense mechanisms from allergies may leave your child more <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27544665\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">susceptible to infections in the middle ear<\/a> and respiratory tract.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Inflammation<\/strong>. Chronic allergies can lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3573758\/#:~:text=With%20persistent%20or%20repetitive%20exposure,develops%2C%20with%20associated%20tissue%20alterations.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inflammation in the body<\/a>. When inflammation spreads to the middle ear, the Eustachian tube can become swollen and blocked, leading to an ear infection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Can You Manage Your Allergies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing your child\u2019s allergies can be a great way of preventing allergy-induced ear infections. A couple of allergy management options include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Avoidance<\/strong>. Avoiding your allergens is a great way to reduce your symptoms. For example, if you\u2019re allergic to pollen, avoid walks around Webb Bridge Park during high-pollen days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Immunotherapy<\/strong>. Immunotherapy works by injecting small doses of an allergen into the body over a period of time to reduce sensitivity to it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Medication<\/strong>. Medications such as antihistamines and decongestants can help reduce inflammation and other allergy symptoms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If your child is extremely sensitive to ear infections, their ENT specialist may recommend ear tubes to help <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/ear\/ear-tubes\/\">promote fluid drainage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on preventing and managing ear infections, contact <span class=\"company-name \">ENT of Georgia North<\/span> today to make an appointment with one of our specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/can-allergies-impact-my-energy-level\/\" class=\"related-post\">Can Allergies Impact My Energy Level<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/what-is-the-relationship-between-allergies-and-glue-ear\/\" class=\"related-post\">What Is the Relationship Between Allergies and Glue Ear?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/how-does-fruit-juice-affect-allergy-medication\/\" class=\"related-post\">How Does Fruit Juice Affect Allergy Medication?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Approximately five out of six children will have at least one ear infection before their third birthday, making it one of the most common reasons young children see a doctor. Ear infections occur when the Eustachian tube, which runs from the middle ear to the back of the throat, becomes swollen and blocked. When the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3670"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3675,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3670\/revisions\/3675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}