Last week Burkley was just not himself. It took me awhile to figure out that something was really wrong.
After five days of the most terrible diarrhea (I have pics, but I'll spare you) -- I mean terrible -- we're talking up the back, down the legs, everywhere diarrhea, I began to wonder if he somehow contracted Rotavirus. But, there was no fever, no vomiting, and no clingy, sick-acting kid. He didn't have much of an appetite, but hey, who would in that situation?
Then, a few days after the diarrhea subsided, he really started to act sick. No fever, but super clingy, lethargic, and whiny. He also had a really bad cough that was keeping him up at night. After two nights of none of us getting much sleep at all, we decided to take him to the doctor. He had had this cough for several weeks, but those two nights were really bad. When we got there, he did have a low grade fever, and it turns out that he had gotten his first ear infection. They placed an order for antibiotics and we were on our way.
Before picking up the prescription, I did some research and talked with two of my friends about our situation. They, along with Dr. Sears, recommended avoiding antibiotics if possible. If we gave him the antibiotics, there's a chance that his body would not build up his own immunities toward the infection and then he would get an ear infection again. And again. And again. And each time we would give him antibiotics, he would continue to not build up the antibodies needed to fight the infection on his own, and keep needing antibiotics, which he would eventually become immune to (as I've known this to happen to a few of my friends).
So, my friend recommended we try out her chiropractor. And, we did!
The chiro just had me hold Burkley against my body, as if he were in a wrap or carrier, facing me, and he came up behind and just pushed gently on his neck and the back of his head, near the back of his ear. One amazing (to me) thing was that he could tell which side the ear infection was on just by feeling his head, without me having to tell him. He pushed something around a tiny bit (Burkley didn't even seem to notice) and that was it! It took all of one minute. Now, I don't know if Burkley was already getting better on his own or not, because he was acting better that morning in general, but he really had no other symptoms later that day. He slept just fine that night without coughing and the next few days were fine as well. Five days later, we went in again to make sure he was indeed better and see if anything else needed aligning. He checked the part in his neck that he had adjusted before and he said it felt great. Then he had Burkley lay down on the table, head-down (this was kind of hilarious because he willingly did it and just laid there so sweetly) and adjusted his hips a bit. Again, we were done in less than five minutes!
I've always been a bit hesitant to take the chiropractic route. When I was a child, I was cheated/scammed by a chiro who was purposefully having me stand in odd positions for my x-rays so that I would appear continually misaligned and therefore "need" more chiropractic care. It also hurt quite a bit. What Burkley experienced was much more gentle; no snapping or cracking or anything sudden. I'm also hesitant because it seems like chiropractors are never "done." Any maybe they're not, maybe that's part of their practice (I honestly don't know much about it). So, the chiro asked us to come back in two weeks and then continually come back once every two months. I'm not sure if we'll do that or not. Burkley seems completely healthy and happy now and we don't really have the extra money in our budget for ongoing chiropractic care.
All in all, I'm glad we tried this remedy. It certainly seemed to work and I hope this will hold off potential ear infections for our son. My husband is really pumped about it and excited that we tried it and pleased that it worked. I think he is operating a bit out of concern for Burkley because as a child, my husband had many, many ear infections. He's willing to try a method that promises fewer recurring ear infections for the sake of our child.
Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Do you see one regularly? Does your child? Share your thoughts so I can learn more about others' experiences in this area!
After five days of the most terrible diarrhea (I have pics, but I'll spare you) -- I mean terrible -- we're talking up the back, down the legs, everywhere diarrhea, I began to wonder if he somehow contracted Rotavirus. But, there was no fever, no vomiting, and no clingy, sick-acting kid. He didn't have much of an appetite, but hey, who would in that situation?
Then, a few days after the diarrhea subsided, he really started to act sick. No fever, but super clingy, lethargic, and whiny. He also had a really bad cough that was keeping him up at night. After two nights of none of us getting much sleep at all, we decided to take him to the doctor. He had had this cough for several weeks, but those two nights were really bad. When we got there, he did have a low grade fever, and it turns out that he had gotten his first ear infection. They placed an order for antibiotics and we were on our way.
Before picking up the prescription, I did some research and talked with two of my friends about our situation. They, along with Dr. Sears, recommended avoiding antibiotics if possible. If we gave him the antibiotics, there's a chance that his body would not build up his own immunities toward the infection and then he would get an ear infection again. And again. And again. And each time we would give him antibiotics, he would continue to not build up the antibodies needed to fight the infection on his own, and keep needing antibiotics, which he would eventually become immune to (as I've known this to happen to a few of my friends).
So, my friend recommended we try out her chiropractor. And, we did!
The chiro just had me hold Burkley against my body, as if he were in a wrap or carrier, facing me, and he came up behind and just pushed gently on his neck and the back of his head, near the back of his ear. One amazing (to me) thing was that he could tell which side the ear infection was on just by feeling his head, without me having to tell him. He pushed something around a tiny bit (Burkley didn't even seem to notice) and that was it! It took all of one minute. Now, I don't know if Burkley was already getting better on his own or not, because he was acting better that morning in general, but he really had no other symptoms later that day. He slept just fine that night without coughing and the next few days were fine as well. Five days later, we went in again to make sure he was indeed better and see if anything else needed aligning. He checked the part in his neck that he had adjusted before and he said it felt great. Then he had Burkley lay down on the table, head-down (this was kind of hilarious because he willingly did it and just laid there so sweetly) and adjusted his hips a bit. Again, we were done in less than five minutes!
I've always been a bit hesitant to take the chiropractic route. When I was a child, I was cheated/scammed by a chiro who was purposefully having me stand in odd positions for my x-rays so that I would appear continually misaligned and therefore "need" more chiropractic care. It also hurt quite a bit. What Burkley experienced was much more gentle; no snapping or cracking or anything sudden. I'm also hesitant because it seems like chiropractors are never "done." Any maybe they're not, maybe that's part of their practice (I honestly don't know much about it). So, the chiro asked us to come back in two weeks and then continually come back once every two months. I'm not sure if we'll do that or not. Burkley seems completely healthy and happy now and we don't really have the extra money in our budget for ongoing chiropractic care.
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| Burkley, before going to the chiro for the first time. He really hates the water lately, so I tried dumping a zillion toys in there. Alas, he only wanted to play with the one that's attached to him. ;) |
Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Do you see one regularly? Does your child? Share your thoughts so I can learn more about others' experiences in this area!
We go monthly or so to a chiro. We switched a few years ago to one that seems better with children and we are so happy with her. All 3 of our kids go and she is our first dr visit with any illness. We hardly see anyone else for medical needs and she knows of nutrition, homeopathic and Chinese remedies. Glad to hear you have found some success already!
ReplyDeletePoor Burkley has had it rough lately! Thanks for sharing this, we've always done antibiotics, although I've really wanted to try something different. I grew up always counting on antibiotics and medicine, so I'm nervous to branch out although I really want to! I just feel like I don't know enough about alternative treatments and scare myself back to going the familiar route. Chiropractic care is definitely something that intrigues me, although our budget is rather tight, too. I'm glad you explained what happened during your visit,sounds simple!
ReplyDeleteAlso, sorry to hear about your scamming chiro, what a bummer.
Well, you know my thoughts on chiropractic care and the benefits of it ... I love love love my chiro and the wonderful things she has been able to do for my health. I think it's great that you tried this route with Burkley, if you can avoid antibiotics, I say it's worth a shot! Even if you don't end up going back once every 2 months or whatever (I'm with you on that one ... if he seems okay, I wouldn't spend the money either!), it's great that you have this resource now - but hopefully you won't need it that often :).
ReplyDeleteWe brought Hannabert a few times when he was little (correcting latch problem) and I feel like we need to go back again, how did you find a family/child friendly practice?
ReplyDeleteYour chiro fixed a latch problem!? Wow, amazing! And we just went to the practice where my bestie takes her kids!
DeleteAww, Burkley is so adorable! And yes, even though antibiotics are recognized as the most common treatment for ear infection, they are not always effective and may even lead to the recurrence of the ear infection. However, for almost a century, the chiropractic profession has proven that ear and other upper respiratory infections react positively to chiropractic adjustments. And the results are evident in Burkley’s case.
ReplyDeleteChiropractors always aim to identify and treat the main cause of a health problem, rather than just treating its symptoms. It’s a good idea to turn to a chiropractic professional, since it’s a traditional and drugless way of healing. I’m glad that your little Burkley is now doing okay.:)
ReplyDeleteI’m so sorry to hear about your chiropractic experience when you were a kid. But I’m glad that you didn’t let that bad experience disregard chiropractic treatment altogether in order to help cure your baby. Looks like his first trip to the chiro turned out fine. I hope his ear infection will get treatment immediately. =)
ReplyDeleteIt’s great to hear that Burkley’s ear infection was easily remedied by a visit to the chiropractor! And how great was Burkley throughout the whole thing? What a brave little warrior! Let’s hope Burkley’s successful experience with a chiropractor has also helped remedy your negative experience with a chiropractor when you were a child. I know many people are reluctant to try chiropractic for themselves, let alone their children, because most medical doctors wouldn’t exactly recommend it as a “legitimate” or “scientific” medical treatment, but it’s nevertheless wonderful to see testaments like these that prove that there are advantages to the practice that other people might want to try for themselves as well.
ReplyDelete