Tobradex - ear infection med

[Guest guest]

Here's another drug to be cautious of, especially with little ones

this time of the year getting ear infections:

This is from about.com/deafness:

What is most upsetting about my experience is the fact that Tobradex

is not even FDA approved for use in the ear. What this means is that

no clinical studies have ever been undertaken to determine the

actual risk to the human ear of Tobramycin, the active ingredient in

Tobradex. Many research studies have confirmed that Tobramycin is

quite harmful to the inner ear nerve cells of all mammals tested,

but because no human studies have ever been performed, many

otolaryngologists use that lack of human data as the their

justification for their use of the drug on humans, saying that no

data indicates any harm to humans. No data exists showing harm to

human ears because Tobradex was never intended by its manufacturers

to be used in the human ear, therefore no clinical studies were ever

performed to determine its safety in the human ear. It's a twisted

logic that otolaryngologists use to justify their dangerous " off-

label " prescribing practices. Off-label is just another name for

prescribing a drug in a manner for which it was not intended and for

which little or no research regarding its safety exists. It can be

very high risk to the patient and should never be undertaken without

the patient's informed consent. My consent never obtained and I was

assured the drug was safe when I asked.

The otolaryngologists who continue to use Tobradex in human ears all

say they have examples of it being used safely, but how many

examples, compared to the number of victims like me? Have they ever

actually tabulated the numbers? Of course not. Patient

confidentiality prevents it and also inadvertantly protects the

doctors from any free and open accounting of their dangerous

practices. The doctors who continue to use Tobradex, while believing

it is safe are actually using nothing but their own unscientific,

anecdotal experiences and word of mouth from other like minded

doctors, on which to base their beliefs. Those are incredibly

unscientific and dangerous actions, from doctors who view themselves

as both scientific and humanitarian.

I send this out as a caution - my daughter lost her hearing at age 4

and we don't know why. Maybe this? I can't remember what meds, if

any, she was on prior to losing her hearing.

~ Tracie

[Guest guest]

I was told years ago that all the -mycins have that potential--except erythromycin (sp?). That came from a pediatric surgeon.

Tobradex - ear infection med

Here's another drug to be cautious of, especially with little ones this time of the year getting ear infections:This is from about.com/deafness:What is most upsetting about my experience is the fact that Tobradex is not even FDA approved for use in the ear. What this means is that no clinical studies have ever been undertaken to determine the actual risk to the human ear of Tobramycin, the active ingredient in Tobradex. Many research studies have confirmed that Tobramycin is quite harmful to the inner ear nerve cells of all mammals tested, but because no human studies have ever been performed, many otolaryngologists use that lack of human data as the their justification for their use of the drug on humans, saying that no data indicates any harm to humans. No data exists showing harm to human ears because Tobradex was never intended by its manufacturers to be used in the human ear, therefore no clinical studies were ever performed to determine its safety in the human ear. It's a twisted logic that otolaryngologists use to justify their dangerous "off-label" prescribing practices. Off-label is just another name for prescribing a drug in a manner for which it was not intended and for which little or no research regarding its safety exists. It can be very high risk to the patient and should never be undertaken without the patient's informed consent. My consent never obtained and I was assured the drug was safe when I asked. The otolaryngologists who continue to use Tobradex in human ears all say they have examples of it being used safely, but how many examples, compared to the number of victims like me? Have they ever actually tabulated the numbers? Of course not. Patient confidentiality prevents it and also inadvertantly protects the doctors from any free and open accounting of their dangerous practices. The doctors who continue to use Tobradex, while believing it is safe are actually using nothing but their own unscientific, anecdotal experiences and word of mouth from other like minded doctors, on which to base their beliefs. Those are incredibly unscientific and dangerous actions, from doctors who view themselves as both scientific and humanitarian. I send this out as a caution - my daughter lost her hearing at age 4 and we don't know why. Maybe this? I can't remember what meds, if any, she was on prior to losing her hearing. ~ Tracie