Ciprodex – Poison Marketed to Children

Ciprodex is an ear drop that is used in children, especially children under the age of 3, the main people who get ear infections, that contains Cipro, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, and Dexamethasone, a steroid. Let me list the ways in which this is HORRIFYING:

1. Fluoroquinolones are dangerous drugs. Their adverse effects include DESTRUCTION of all connective tissue throughout the body. This includes tendons, ligaments, fascia and cartilage. Destroying the connective tissue of a growing child is a REALLY BAD IDEA. Fluoroquinolones also adversely effect the nervous systems – central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems. Destroying a child’s central nervous system, its BRAIN, is also a REALLY BAD IDEA. A child’s brain is not fully developed and to damage it with chemicals is unconscionable. Fluoroquinolones are so dangerous that many have been removed from the market due to serious adverse reactions and safety concerns. The fluoroquinolones that have been removed from the market include gatifloxacin, repafloxacin, temafloxacin,trovafloxacin and afloxacin. Cipro (ciprofloxacin) may be formulated in a way that makes it slightly less strong, or, if you’re feeling cynical, it may be formulated in a way that adverse effects tend to be delayed, and thus it is not perceived as being as dangerous as other, recalled, fluoroquinolones, but it’s still REALLY DANGEROUS. Hell, it messed me up pretty severely, and I was a strong and healthy 32 year old. I can only imagine what it would do to a child. I shudder at the thought.
2. Fluoroquinolones should NEVER be co-administered with a steroid. They are contraindicated with steriods. Yet Bayer, in all its glory and brilliance, decided that it would be a good idea to combine a fluoroquinolone and a steroid in a single medication then market it to children. Awesome. Steroids weaken tendons, fluoroquinolones weaken tendons, putting them together is a toxic cocktail. Steroids also intensify the toxicity syndrome that is “Floxing.”
3. Because Ciprodex is an ear drop, it doesn’t carry the same warnings as orally administered Cipro. I’m sure that a drug that goes into the digestive tract is metabolized differently than a drug that goes into the body via the ear. However, I am also sure that people can be floxed by ear and eye drops because I’ve talked to people who have been poisoned that way. To take the warning labels off of ear and eye drops is absurd. The drugs are still going into the body. Eyes and ears aren’t disconnected from the rest of the body just because they’re not directly connected to the digestive tract. I’m not asking anyone to believe in homeopathy or to go to a holistic physician, but I am saying that it is crazy to think that drugs that go into the ear and/or the eye don’t go into the body. Ears and eyes actually are part of the body, not separate floating entities completely disconnected from the rest of the being. Yet the FDA treats them this way and doesn’t demand the same warning labels on ear and eye drops. So parents are completely uninformed of the dangers of Ciprodex when they administer it to their children.
4. Again Ciprodex is specifically marketed to children – what is wrong with these people? And what is wrong with the FDA? Children, the most inherently vulnerable people in our society, the people who are depending completely on others to take care of them, are being endangered at the least and permanently damaged at the worst, by pharmaceutical companies and a medical system that isn’t looking out for them. This is disgusting.

Here is the package insert for Ciprodex – http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=0ed518de-4ae1-43d1-84ff-26872d9e6a0f . Some things to note in the insert are:

1. The amount of Cipro in it is low. This is good. Seriously, thank God.
2. It is approved for use in patients 6 months of age and older. This is appalling.
3. “CIPRODEX® Otic is contraindicated in patients with a history of hypersensitivity to ciprofloxacin, to other quinolones, or to any of the components in this medication.” So, if your baby starts having seizures, you may want to discontinue use of this drug because it turns out that your child now has a history of hypersensitivity to Cipro. Too bad they don’t mention that an adverse reaction isn’t reversible. And how, other than poisoning their children, are parents supposed to know whether or not their child has a history of hypersensitivity to these drugs?
4. “Serious acute hypersensitivity reactions may require immediate emergency treatment.” This implies that there is a treatment. There isn’t. If your child has an adverse reaction to this drug and you take him or her to the emergency room, he or she will likely be pumped full of steroids which will make him or her worse. Then the child will have connective tissue and nervous system issues for a while, possibly for the rest of his or her life. But sure, tell your doctor immediately if your child experiences a hypersensitive reaction. They won’t be able to do anything about it, but they may realize that they poisoned your child and may avoid doing it again in the future.
5. “If the infection is not improved after one week of treatment, cultures should be obtained to guide further treatment.” Cultures should be obtained before the administration of any antibiotic, period. Fluoroquinolones should not be used as a first line of defense against verified bacteria, period.
6. “The systemic administration of quinolones, including ciprofloxacin at doses much higher than given or absorbed by the otic route, has led to lesions or erosions of the cartilage in weight-bearing joints and other signs of arthropathy in immature animals of various species.” Yup. And I wouldn’t trust that the amount absorbed by the otic route is too small, especially seeing as everyone’s tolerance for fluoroquinolones seems to be different. Some people die after 2 pills, others take 90 before they have a reaction. Besides, the people who are testing these drugs are the ones selling them. Don’t trust the bastards.
7. “Guinea pigs dosed in the middle ear with CIPRODEX® Otic for one month exhibited no drug-related structural or functional changes of the cochlear hair cells and no lesions in the ossicles.” Well, it’s nice to know that their ears looked okay. Could they run though? Could they still find their way through a puzzle (or do whatever cognitive things guinea pigs can do?) How did their brains look? How did their tendons look? You don’t know because you weren’t looking? Oh…. I see.
8. “It is very important to use the ear drops for as long as the doctor has instructed, even if the symptoms improve.” It is very important to stop using fluoroquinolones as soon as possible after you start having an adverse reaction. Even after stopping administration of them, the adverse reaction can continue. Since we’re talking about children, it’s really important that you stop giving your children drugs that are poisoning them. Discontinue use immediately.
9. “Specific drug interaction studies have not been conducted with CIPRODEX® Otic.” I’ll tell you that NSAIDs and steroids trigger adverse reactions.
10. “Ciprofloxacin and corticosteroids, as a class, appear in (breast) milk following oral administration.” This is bad.
11. “No clinically relevant changes in hearing function were observed in 69 pediatric patients (age 4 to 12 years) treated with CIPRODEX® Otic and tested for audiometric parameters.” Your child will still be able to hear. That’s good. He or she may even be able to hear constant ringing (tinnitus), a common effect of fluoroquinolone toxicity. That’s bad.
12. All of the adverse events listed are things involving the ear. Of course, adverse effects on the ear should be noted when studying ear drops, but the rest of the subject should also be noted. Of the 937 babies poisoned by Ciprodex, how many suffered from subsequent tendon pain? How many had cartilage, tendons, ligaments or fascia that were mal-formed? How many of these children subsequently read at a normal level? How many of these children displayed symptoms of autism? Could they run? Could the jump? Could they think? Could they concentrate? Did they have GI problems? ALL of these things are problems associated with fluoroquinolone toxicity, and if none of these questions were asked, then the researchers were LOOKING AT THE WRONG THINGS. THEY WERE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS AND THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF THIS DRUG HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED PROPERLY.

Even if all of the 937 children who were part of this study (side-note – don’t put your children in drug studies, just don’t) were fine, (and I doubt that is the case), effects of fluoroquinolones appear to be cumulative. So, even if these children didn’t react to these drugs the first time they were administered, they may react horribly to them when they get a fluoroquinolone in the future. A ticking time-bomb in their little body has been triggered, and it may get set off by future fluoroquinolone use, steroid use, NSAID use, or maybe even vaccines. (I’m not trying to vilify vaccines any more than I’m trying to vilify ibuprofen, the culprit is the fluoroquinolone, not the triggering toxin.)

Ciprodex and plain Cipro ear drops are given to children constantly. A very good friend of mine brought her then 9-month old daughter to an emergency services clinic with a suspected ear infection. The doctor never cultured the bacteria in her ear, he simply prescribed her some Cipro ear drops. Thankfully I was with my friend when she went to pick up the drops and she never filled the prescription (because I flipped out). The infection went away on its own.

The following was recently posted in a Facebook group that I belong to – “My 20 month old grandson is visiting from GA. He had a follow-up appointment at Vanderbilt for his ear tubes. The physician prescribed Ciprodex Otic Suspension for an ear infection. This is a combination of Cipro and corticosterod given via the ear. The insert does not disclose all the potential side effects. The insert states there are other potential risk and if you have concerns get additional information from your health care provider (which we know how that goes). After watching my wife go from a normal life to a life with disabilities…..I am concerned. In my personal research, children are at high risk of floxing. Does anyone know of floxing via the ear drop forms of quinolone antibiotics?”

Children are being given this poison every day. A child has probably been given a dose of Ciprodex in the amount of time that it took you to read this post. I hope and pray that they are okay.