Ear, nose and throat infections

Is your child continually coughing, have a constant runny nose or wheezing? Karen Carroll of Amersham Osteopathic Clinic explains how osteopathy can help your children

Spring and early summer are often times when children have respiratory tract infections or start to suffer from hayfever. They frequently have coughs, colds with very runny noses and some children have a mild wheeze.

During this period when the tree and grass pollens are in the air, children can be very susceptible to runny noses and colds. Babies and toddlers that are teething have constant runny noses as teething (from an osteopathic perspective) seems to reduce the drainage through the face. This is partly due to the pressure on the membranes of the head caused as the teeth slowly break through the gums. They are also more susceptible to the colds and coughs picked up from siblings or nursery at this time. So teething, a real time of difficulty and discomfort for some little ones, is often accompanied by a runny nose, a snuffle and constant dribbling.

The under-ones may be susceptible to a condition called bronchiolitis - a condition that affects the smaller airways in the lungs. Some babies after having this (and teething often as well) can catch every little cough and cold going, have a mild persistent wheeze or tickly cough or may struggle to regain their former happy disposition.

Some children will go on to develop a mild wheeze / tickly cough after a recent cough or cold. This is typically a 'post viral wheeze' and may temporarily require some help from a puffer / inhaler or ventolin / salbutamol syrup from their GP.

Asthma is increasingly common in this day and age - it is typically inherited but environmental factors seem to play a role in the growing incidence of this problem. An asthmatic tendency may be aggravated by a respiratory infection.

"I often see older children whose glue ear, recurrent chest infections or even chronic sinusitis are affected by unresolved misalignments of the skull, neck and chest" says Karen Carroll, who runs Amersham Osteopathic Clinic and is also Consultant at the Osteopathic Centre for Children in London. "Having gentle paediatric osteopathy often helps to resolve coughs, colds and post viral wheezes quickly and effectively ".

How does osteopathy work for these conditions?

Osteopathy is a method of diagnosis and treatment based on the relationship between the structure and function of all the tissues within the body. Paediatric osteopathy is the specialist application of very gentle osteopathic techniques for babies and children. All parts of the body need to be in good alignment with each other and be able to move normally. In order to help babies and children fight these common infections, the paediatric osteopath is working to help the affected area have good blood supply and lymphatic drainage. They will also be aiming to help boost the child's immune system by working on the lymphatic system throughout the head, neck and chest.

If, for example, the head has suffered some compression due to being tightly packed in the womb or due to a long or difficult delivery, the bones of the skull may retain some compression or distortion of the bones that house the ears or the air sinuses. This may make a toddler or child more susceptible to recurrent ear or sinus infections.

Recurrent ear infections and glue ear respond very well to osteopathic treatment as treatment helps the drainage through the Eustachain tube, the drainage through the lymph glands in the neck and upper chest as well as releasing retained compression in the bones that house the ears and the neighbouring bones. Parents notice that there are less frequent infections, that colds don't result in a chest infection and antibiotics and that hearing is better in the case of glue ear.

If a child has a residual cough / post-viral wheeze following a chest infection, gently releasing the collar bones, the ribs, the diaphragm and encouraging healthy movement of the chest muscles can often help to ease this and reduce the need for medication or 'puffers'

Chronic sinusitis can be eased by helping the bones of the face to release. The facial bones may be compressed if a babe has been 'back to back' in the womb or if there has been a brow presentation or, occasionally, if forceps have been used. Teething also puts strain in the sinuses as the major face sinus is in the maxillary bone - under your 'cheek bones' where the top teeth emerge. Falls onto the face, braces, crowded teeth can all add to the strains placed on the bones of the middle face and contribute to chronic sinusitis and mouth breathing.

Osteopathy focuses on reducing restrictions and distortions, releasing strains and encouraging movement within the cranium, the face and the body framework. The application of very light, focussed pressure encourages the bones or compressed tissue to release. As restrictions release, the osteopath can sense an improvement in how the skull and body moves and works harmoniously, how the immune system is more able to do its job as the child grows and develops. Parents typically find that their child has less coughs, colds or ear infections and that the occasional cough or cold does not always result in a nasty chest infection or a post viral wheeze.

Treatment of children is usually undertaken by osteopaths with a post-graduate qualification in paediatric osteopathy. For more information about adult and paediatric osteopathy, call the Amersham Osteopathic Clinic on 01494 434651.

Karen Carroll. DO., ND., Dip.Paed.Ost.
Consultant, Osteopathic Centre for Children, London.

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