Ciprodex - dangerous??

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 8:30 pm

My child has been on too many rounds of Ciprodex than I can count due to chronic ear infections. I was just googling and came across this website and I am very frightened- anyone with experience or information here who can weigh in? Physicians I’m interested in hearing from you as well. Thank you.

https://floxiehope.com/2013/07.....dren/

amother

Red

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 9:21 pm

This is one of the most ridiculous sites ever. Please don't read such garbage and believe it.

Ciprodex is a very common ear drop prescribed for ruptured ear infections and I have never seen an adverse reaction in all the years I've been working with it. The site states that she's sure the amount that's absorbed via ear drops is not the same as oral medication, but... There is no but! You cannot compare a localized antibiotic to the ear canal to a med that's taken orally.

And by the way, she fails to mention the risk factor untreated ruptured ear drums, which I have seen more than once. It's called mastoiditis, and I've seen that condition cause a clot in one child's brain due to the pressure; I've also seen it cause seizures in another child. Google mastoiditis and see what that fun is about rather than spending any time at all on this ridiculous site. Feel confident that you've been doing the right thing for your child.

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 9:32 pm

amother wrote:

Thank you so much for responding. I’m assuming from your post that you’re a physician so I hope you don’t mind if I follow up with a few questions.

1. Is it true that Cipro, which the site states is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, can adversely affect the nervous system and/or destroy connective tissue?

2. Is it true that Ciprodex consists of a fluoroquinolone plus a steroid, even though they are contraindicated to be co-administered?

3. Unrelated to the article - What do you think about having a chiropractor do “adjustments” to get ear infections to drain. I’m actually not sure if this is an option if a child has tubes.

Thank you again!!

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 9:34 pm

amother wrote:

Time to take your child to an ent. Tubes are probably in order.

She has tubes- they were inserted about a year ago and are still in place. We see our pediatrician and ENT regularly because the tubes have failed from day 1 and my daughter has had many ear infections since.

amother

Brunette

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 9:37 pm

amother wrote:

Have you tried taking her off dairy and seeing what happens?

amother

Red

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 9:55 pm

amother wrote:

I am not a physician, but a pediatric nurse.

You are correct that fluoroquinolones, including Cipro, are not routinely precribed for children, because there was some link to joint issues. They are regularly prescribed to adults. However, it is comparing apples and oranges to compare something given orally, which is avoided unless medically necessary (when benefits outweigh the risks), to something that's localized to the ear drum and has been found to be safe.

Ciprodex is a fluoroquinolone plus a steroid. I am assuming that given concurrently in high doses orally is considered to be poor medicine, however I am not so familiar with the issue. Maybe a physician can comment. However, again, were talking systemic vs local.

I don't know about the benefits of chiropractic adjustments, but if you want to try it (I probably would not do it when she has an active infection), I guess it's something you can try.

How old is your child? Have you tried to remove dairy from her diet, as others have suggested?

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:09 pm

amother wrote:

Thank you, you’ve calmed me down about the Ciprodex. About dairy - it’s a major factor in her diet, she loves yogurt and leben. I guess I could try non-milk yogurts. I have an ENT appointment coming up so I will discuss it then. If dairy is the culprit what would it be considered? A dairy allergy?

Thanks to everyone responding!

anonymrs

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:12 pm

amother wrote:

It’s not an allergy. Dairy is considered a mucus-producing food. Extra mucus hanging around, more opportunity for infection... This is how our pedi explained it to me.

amother

Blush

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:15 pm

anonymrs wrote:

THIs is from the FDA. Cipro

This. ^^^

A healthy family member, with no known medical issues, was on cipro. Less than 2 months later, he was diagnosed with Crohns Disease. Two different doctors told him that there is no conclusive research, but they have seen it too many times to believe it’s unrelated.

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:16 pm

anonymrs wrote:

THIs is from the FDA. Cipro

The adverse side effects mentioned in the article were what I was referring to and what the article I linked mentioned - but the FDA only speaks here about the oral medication and not the localized ear/eye form of the med. My daughter had conjunctivitis once together with an ear infection and was prescribed Ciprodex for ears and Ciproflaxin (sp?) for eyes... that’s a lot of Cipro at once

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:18 pm

amother wrote:

That’s terrible Sad

Was he on oral Cipro or the ear/eye drops?

amother

Purple

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:34 pm

I'm less concerned with the Cipro than with "dex."

Dexamethasone is a strong steroid.

Tell me, what is the doctor seeing that is causing the diagnosis of infection? Redness, inflammation, yellowish liquid, swelling?

Those symptoms also occur with steroid addiction and most doctors continue to diagnose infection even when there is no infection.

How long can she go without using the Ciprodex before she ends up back at the doctor?

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 10:57 pm

amother wrote:

Usually pus and swelling. Even when I put Ciprodex in her ears preventatively she ends up with another infection 1-3 weeks later.

What is steroid addiction?

amother

Brunette

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 11:01 pm

amother wrote:

Just be prepared for the ENT to be dismissive about the diet piece. Most of them are trained to treat symptoms, not look for causes. Cutting dairy is hard, but there are many good replacements these days, is much easier to do while your kid is young, and many, many parents have reported reduced frequency of infections after removing dairy from their child's diet.

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 11:07 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks. I really want to try cutting out the dairy but it’s hard because she eats breakfast lunch and snack in playgroup.. I can control it at home but will need to be on top of the morahs

amother

Brunette

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 11:13 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks. I really want to try cutting out the dairy but it’s hard because she eats breakfast lunch and snack in playgroup.. I can control it at home but will need to be on top of the morahs

btdt... just tell them to treat her as if she's allergic, send milk substitute with her for breakfast, snack shouldn't be a problem and she can eat anything from lunch that isn't dairy, or you can send your own. We love "so delicious" brand yogurts and ice cream, daiya shredded cheese substitute, wayfare "cream cheese". Also, try garlic mullein ear drops. Ever since I started using them, I've been able to avoid antibiotics in my kid with recurrent ear infections.