Q: My son has enlarged tonsils and gets cold and cough frequently. His paediatrician has advised surgery and has also suggested to try homeopathy. We are giving him homeopathy pills for the past 8 months, which has reduced the recurrence of cough and cold. Few days back he got cough and cold again, we gave him homeopathy pills and he improved. But somehow he got pain in the ear and few days later his ears started discharging pus. His hoemeopath suggested to just get it checked by an ENT specialist, but not to take any treatment. The ENT specialist straightaway told him to take antibiotics and cleaned his ears. He said that operation is the only way to cure his tonsils problem. He said that ear discharge should not recur if he gets cough and cold. We should take allopathy treatment to improve the condition fast as the discharge problem can happen again. What should we do? Can homeopathy cure tonsils or is operation the only way? Can we give him both allopathy and homeopathy pills simultaneously? Can operation be done at this age? He is 5.5 years old.

A:A 5 year old child with recurrent sore throat and then pain in ear is a sign of an upper respiratory tract infection spreading to the ear. And now the ear has discharged, which means the infection is well established and the spread from a tube connecting the nose and ear is surely the reason. Enlarged adenoids (tonsil behind the nose) is another reason why the ear has discharged. Antibiotics will control the infection, maybe eradicate the bacteria but if any of the sign like ear pain, discharge or sore throat with fever comes back, then please follow the advice of your doctor and get the tonsil and the adenoid removed. Please I have nothing against homeopathy but allopathy is an established science and if properly used, the best science. The choice is yours!!!