Ear Infections

Risk reduction, according to the Mayo Clinic, involves several factors:

• Choose a small child-care setting, if possible
• Protect your child from secondhand smoke
• Breast-feed your baby for at least four months

All children are susceptible to ear infections, but some children are more likely to get them than are others. According to the Mayo Clinic, those children most at risk include:

• Boys
• Children attending child-care centers
  

Ear infections are caused by a build-up of fluid in the middle ear.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the middle ear is a pea-sized chamber behind your eardrum (tympanic membrane) — a small circle of tissue that vibrates in response to sounds. It contains three tiny bones (ossicles) that send vibrations from your eardrum to your inner ear, where they're converted into the nerve impulses representing sound. These impulses are what allow you to hear.

Editor's Note:

"Race" is sometimes mentioned as a risk factor in the development of certain cancers and a number of other diseases. When you read this in a discussion about an illness, note that the explanation seldom refers to anything biological. Instead, it usually refers to behavior, such as eating habits. The kinds of behavior usually mentioned as risk factors are culturally determined. They are not genetic or biological.

A new report by the US Surgeon General makes clear that second-hand smoke is more than a nuisance. When inhaled by adult nonsmokers, it increases their risk of heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. Children and infants are at risk, because second-hand smoke is a known cause of sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory problems, ear infections, and asthma.

According to the Lung Association, scents can cause serious health problems for people, especially for people with lung diseases like asthma or COPD. Being near a scented product- perfume, scented candles, or even scented laundry detergent- can make some people sick.