Hi,

I'm new to this mail list and have sought it out due to my young son, Jamie.

He is 3 1/2 yrs old and was diagnosed with Glue ear about 1 month ago.  We
noticed the problem ourselves due to a noticeable hearing loss.  We took him
to a ear,nose and throat specialist who told us we had three options, 1.Drugs
(6 week course of antibiotic), Grommets, or do nothing.  I took the antibiotic
option but never ended up giving this to him because - 1.He doesn't actually
have an infection and 2.I don't want to destroy what natural immunity he has to
infections.

Instead I went to a Naturopath and was advised to change his diet.

No milk products, no sugar, no orange juice.  Limit eggs and chicken, Give
onion syrup (3xdaily), high doses of Vitamin C, nose drops for 5 days.
She is also an Osteopath and so performed the Bowen technique also.  On top
of this he has had a history of Colic and ear infections and so from a small
baby I have taken him to see a cranial Osteopath - this is continuing.

Phew - seems a lot of change for a little boy.  He is handling it all very well and
I think it is making a difference in his hearing already, but here (at last) are my
questions.

1.      Is there anyone else who has been able to help a young child with this
problem and if so - any other suggestions?, and did you find this became a
long term diet change.

2.      Does anyone have any recipes for snack food (biscuits/cookies, cake,
muffin slices etc) that do not contain any of the products above - I am finding
sugar the hardest to deal with.  I replace milk with rice milk and butter with non-
dairy margarine.

3.      We are coping at home alright but I wonder if others have any
suggestions for eating out.  It's hard when you don't know what is in food in a
restaurant or coffee bar.

Thanks in advance for reading this far and any suggestions you may have to
offer,

Pam