Each year many young children are diagnosed with middle ear infections – or otitis media.  Typical symptoms that occur with otits media include fever, ear ache and irritability. Many times these infections become recurrent and parents are forced to make several trips to the child’s physician to get treatment.  Parents often want to decrease their child’s suffering and may be quick to administer antibiotics to do so.  Although the use of antibiotics is warranted in some situations, they often do not address the root cause of the problem.  The use of antibiotics can leave the child more susceptible to other types of infections as bacteria become resistant to drugs.  Side effects of antibiotics can include digestive upset leading to diarrhea, gas and tummy ache.  In many instances, the ear infection is not due to bacteria, but due to a virus, which antibiotics will not be useful in eliminating.