Best antibiotic treatment for ear infection? No antibiotic treatment at all.

Using antibiotics to treat newly diagnosed acute ear infections among children is modestly more effective than no treatment, but comes with a risk of side effects. Researchers found no evidence that name-brand antibiotics work any better in general than generic antibiotics and that careful examination of the eardrum by a clinician for signs of infection is critical for accurate diagnosis of acute ear infections. The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Our findings reinforce the existing knowledge that the best antibiotic treatment for common childhood ear infections may be no antibiotic treatment at all," said the lead author. "Prescribing antibiotics early may help cure ear infections a little bit faster, but also raises the risk that children will suffer antibiotic-related side effects such as a rash or diarrhea."

Of 100 average-risk children with acute ear infections, about 80 would be expected to get better within about three days without antibiotics. If all were treated with antibiotics immediately at diagnosis, evidence suggests an additional 12 would improve, but three to 10 children would develop a rash and five to 10 would develop diarrhea.

Bonnie - because of the devastating effects antibiotic's have on healthy gut flora, reoccurring infections and other gut related issues are likely.