The researchers from University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands studied almost 500 Dutch children who used dummies or pacifiers. The study spanning five years found that the pacifiers almost double the risk of recurrent ear infections in those who used it as compared to the non-users.
Writing in the Family Practice journal, researchers advised that parents should avoid using pacifiers in infants who are prone to ear infections. There was a 90 percent increased risk of recurrent ear infections in those who sucked a dummy compared with those who did not.
Next to the common cold, ear infections are the most commonly diagnosed childhood illness in the United States. More than 3 out of 4 kids have had at least one ear infection by the time they reach 3 years of age.
Acute otitis media is the presence of fluid, typically pus, in the middle ear with symptoms of pain, redness of the eardrum, and possible fever. Middle ear infections often go away on their own within 2 or 3 days, even without any specific treatment.
