Most children experience a middle-ear infection at least once in their childhood.
But parental decision-making may be able to prevent this bacterial infection, which is characterized by pain, swelling and fever. Selecting a day-care center with fewer than eight children enrolled should prevent the spread of disease, says Dr. Michael Biavati, an assistant professor of otolaryngology at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Mothers also can help protect their child by breastfeeding for the first year of the child's life. In addition keep children away from cigarette smoke, and do not prop them in bed with a bottle. No matter how many hours spent in leg-toning workouts on the Stairmaster, some women feel confined to wearing trousers because of small, bluish veins that appear around the knees and upper thighs.