Antihistamines may prolong infection - Ears - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Feb, 2004

Parents should think twice before administering antihistamines to relieve their child's ear infection symptoms, report researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, as this common remedy not only increases recovery time, but could lead to additional complications.

The standard treatment for ear infections is antibiotics. However, Tasnee Chonmaitree, professor of pediatrics and pathology, recommends that some doctors not prescribe antibiotics for ear infections to avoid building resistance. Since many children with acute ear infections have cold symptoms caused by a virus, these same physicians recommend an antihistamine and/or a decongestant to relieve symptoms. Bacteria and viruses may increase the degree of inflammation in the ear by producing more histamine and other inflammatory substances.

The study included 179 children with acute ear infections who were treated with antibiotics. The youngsters were divided into four different groups to receive antihistamines, corticosteroids, both drugs in tandem, or a placebo. "We expected that patients who received either the antihistamine or corticosteroid, in addition to the antibiotic, would have clearing symptoms and less recurrence," reasons Chonmaitree. Instead, neither the antihistamines nor corticosteroids helped. In fact, the children who received corticosteroids had no change, and those who received antihistamines maintained fluid in their ears longer, which can have even more serious consequences. Prolonged presence of fluid in the middle ear can impair hearing, promote recurrence of infection, and may lead to more troubling situations such as ear tube replacement.

Ear infections are one of the most common maladies in infants and young children, resulting in more than 30,000,000 visits to physicians annually.