What can I do to prevent ear infections?

My daughter has been getting a lot of colds recently, as she has just started school. Out of 5 colds since the beginning of September, 3 have turned into ear infections. Is there anything I can do to prevent her from getting them so frequently?
I am also not so comfortable having her on antibiotics so frequently. Any suggestions that are an alternative to antibiotics would also be appreciated.
Thank you for all your answers!

My daughter had Prevnar shots. All three of them, which health care did not pay for then!! I thought Prevnar was a vaccination to prevent ear infections from turning into a form of menningitis...

I have a son that also suffered from severe ear infections. Ask your pediatrician about a mixture of alcohol/water after baths. I began using tea tree oil diluted with water. My son is multihandicap and antibiotics made him sick to his stomach(vomiting). My pediatrician and I both agreed to not give him antibiotics and test the fluid in his ears to determine if it was viral or bacterial. The pediatrician can also give you drops that will numb the pain associated with ear infections. The first year we decided to not give antibiotics was hard,but he has not had an ear infection or antibiotic in 6 years.

Be sure is taking a good mulitvitamin daily that has antixoidants in it or a separate antioxidant supplement to help keep her healthy. Keep her ears dry after swimming or taking a shower and consider using ear plugs when she showers or swims. If she feels like she may be getting another ear infection get some water steaming in a pot or cup and add some tea trea oil and let her stand near this ( not close enough to get burnt) and let her breathe in the vapors. Also try a few drops of tea tree oil on a cotton ball inserted in the ears if she may be getting an infection.

the best suggestions would be for her to wear a hat when its cold and keep her head warm and to prevent water and shampoo from entering her ears at any time. They sell some decent water proof earplugs at Walgreen's to facilitate this.

Immunization. There is a new vaccine called Prevnar that came out in 2000. Four doses are given during the first two years of life. For children 15 months and older, one dose is enough. This vaccine helps prevent infections from a bacterium called pneumococcus. This bug causes pneumonia, blood infections, meningitis and ear infections. The main purpose of this vaccine is to prevent the more serious infections. It also can prevent ear infections in two ways:
Decreased number of ear infections 鈥?this effect is minimal. Studies have shown that this shot only decreases ear infections by 10 鈥?20%.
Decreased ear infections from resistant pneumococcus 鈥?this is considered a much more valuable benefit from the shot. The vaccine has been shown to significantly decrease the number of ear infections caused by pneumococcus that are resistant to standard antibiotics.

If you or anyone in the household smokes, don't smoke around the child. It does have an effect on ear infections.

I wouldn't say there is one good answer, and none of the previous answers are that comprehensive. The last person was correct though, you can get a shot to fight off certain infections. The best thing that i have found to stop ear infections in the winter is prevention. I try to take a 24 hour sinus pill with like 120 mg of pseudoephedrine like once a week, or once every ten days. This gets all the junk out of my inner ears. After a day or so my ears pop, and i can tell my passages (eustacian tubes) are clear. I sleep with cotton balls in my ears like every night. it sounds generic but it keeps my ears warmer. I am thin, and don't have a lot of fat, and when i sleep i get cold real easily. Its not to the point of waking up being cold., but then again i am a heavy sleeper as well. The final thing to mention is when i do feel dizzy, and i realize that my ears are getting plugged i drink lemon tea, lemon tea with ginger, and drink lemon water. make it strong and really lemony. Citron (Lemon) is a very old remedy for stuff like this. Take a zinc supplement; I take Calcuim, magnesium, and zinc in-one. Take a good steamy shower, and try to get your nasal passages to drain out, and hopefully you will be good to go for another two weeks at least.
good luck.

take her to an audiologist. my daughter lost some of her hearing from ear infections and scarlet fever. dont play around with that.