Prevention:

Prevention tips:

• Avoid irritants such as cigarette smoke, which can interfere with Eustachian tube function.
• Identify and avoid any allergans that may lead to your child's OME.
• Consider a smaller day care center, especially in the winter months. Day care centers that have six or fewer children result in fewer ear infections.
• Wash hands and toys often.
• Use air filters and get fresh air to help decrease exposure to airborne germs.
• Avoid overusing antibiotics. The overuse of antibiotics breeds increasingly resistant bacteria.
• Breastfeed. Nursing for even a few weeks will make a child less prone to ear infections for years.
• The pneumococcal vaccine can prevent infections from the most common cause of acute ear infection (which can lead to OME). The flu vaccine can also help.