Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/ask-dr.-sue-facts-are-better-than-fiction-pacifiers-and-walkers/5011140/
- Pacifiers -Children who use pacifiers may get more ear infections than thumb suckers. In a study performed in Finnish child care programs and reported in November 1995, use of pacifiers was a significant risk factor for recurrent ear infections.
The researchers studied 845 children who were attending child care centers full time for a year. They asked parents to record the symptoms and signs of illness, visits to doctors, diagnoses, medications, and days of absence from child care for their children. For the purpose of the study, they identified an episode of ear infection as one which was diagnosed by a physician at least three weeks from a previous episode.
By matching the parents' reports of the sucking behaviors of the children throughout the study and the episodes of ear infections, the researchers found a statistical association between having more than three episodes of ear infections and using pacifiers.
About half of the children were over four years of age when the study began. The parents reported that just over half of the children had previously used a pacifier and a little more than a fourth of the children were using a pacifier ...