Ear Infection Relief

All of the suggestions seem good for getting rid of ear infections. Here is one to try not to get them in the first place: be sure you baby is not lying flat on his back to drink his bottle nor to breastfeed and do not lay him in his crib with a bottle. Fluid can get "stuck" in the ear and cause infections.

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I have been dealing with chronic ear infections with my 13-month old since December. We have been on various forms of antibiotic and I'm not convinced they are helping him at all. I was sick of going to the doctor for the same thing and only finding his infection was never going away. I decided to do my own research and just last weekend went to Good Earth. Here is what I got: I put 6-8 drops E-3 Oil (it has olive oil, garlic, mullein and Lobella in it), and I mixed in 2 drops of GSE (Grapefruit seed extract). Both of these are supposed to do wonders for ear infections. I put 3 drops in each ear twice a day. I also orally gave him 10 drops of Echinacea Astragalus. This is great for kids who have chronic ear infections--it boosts their immune system. I was skeptical at first, but after the first day I'm a true believer. My son hasn't been pain-free for so long that I could tell right away that he was feeling better. No more fever, no more pain. It's amazing. Give it a try and good luck!

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Switch his diet up...no wheat or dairy. Use Rice Milk and Cheese, Goat's Milk and Cheese, Brown Rice Noodles, All Natural Turkey, potato cubes, and lots of Fresh Fruits and Steamed Veggies! Sounds tougher than it is. A lot of kids are highly sensitive to wheat and diary. My 3 year old has been quite healthy since we switched her diet around...NO MORE EAR INFECTIONS, at all. When she was a just over a year, she had an ear infection that wouldn't go away for a few months. She stopped sleeping through the night and was not eating very well. In fact, the only thing that she wanted was those cheese sticks. So, needless to say, her ear infection did not get better with all that dairy. For some reason, that dairy made her produce more mucous and fluids in her ears. Also, you need to start him on an Infants' Probiotic to replenish the healthy bacteria in his system that the antibiotics have killed. In addition, add a liquid multivitamin and some cod liver oil to his diet to pump up the immune system and aid in brain function. They have kids flavored of each and the kids like them. You can find them at a local health food store. We also took her to see the chiropractor for a couple of months...which helped tremendously! I would start with the chiropractor and diet changes and you will see a HUGE difference in the health of your boy!

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Hi T.,

We went through the same thing with my son when he was younger. Antibiotic after antibiotic for the same ear infection. I got fed up with doctors just handing them out like candy!! So, I asked my Chiropractor about it. He treated my son with excellent success!! Now, at the first sign of an ear infection we head straight to the Chiropractor. My almost 3 year old daughter has NEVER had to take antibiotics!! We started having her treated (her foot turned out about 90 degrees when she started walking) at about 11 months. I know Chiropractors even treat newborns if you are worried 14 months might be to young. I hope you will give it a try. If you don't have a Chiropractor let me know I'd love to refer you to mine! Blessing to you!

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If this is your son's third ear infection my bet is that all three infections are the same infection and it is resistant to amoxicillan. If you decide to try antibiotics make sure your doctor gives him something else like Keflex (not Augmentin). My mother-in-law has many children and has found that a really good way to get rid of ear infections is to take a gel full of garlic oil, poke it with a pin, and put a few drops of the garlic oil into his ear. Put a cotton ball in his ear to keep the garlic in. He will stink pretty bad for a little while, but garlic is a really powerful antimicrobial. Onion juice works well too and doesn't smell as bad, but it isn't as strong as the garlic. You make onion juice by pureeing onions in a blender or food processor and squeezing the juice out of the puree.

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Colloidal silver is awesome for ear infections.But don't make your own and make sure it is 10 parts per million. Great for pink eye and all kinds of stuff. Life Force International has a awesome product. Good Luck

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At a health foods store, try E3 oil. It has 3 oils that you drop into the ear that will take away pain and infection. My sisters kids are allergic to almost all antibiotics so she has to use this with ear infections and it goes away fast. I have used it on myself as well as kids too instead of taking them to the doctor. It works great. good luck.

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My two babies get ear infections after they get colds. A natural cure is putting 2 to 3 drops of breastmilk in the infected ear every 2 to 3 hours for 24 to 48 hours. It usually clears up in a day or so. It works and is totally safe.

As for antibiotics, studies came out in 2007 stating that they are not effective in clearing ear infections. And actually, antibiotics will kill all the good bacteria in the gut which will lead to a depressed immunity by letting fungus and yeast grow in the body. So, I would just stay away from them.

By the way, a great natural health website is www.mercola.com.
Good luck in your quest to be healthy naturally!

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You certainly can request a stronger antiobiotic from the Cephlasporin family (like Keflex), most ear infections are resistant to amoxicillan because of overuse.

One thing I swear by is tea tree oil. Just mix it 50% with olive oil and put a drop or two in the ear. The tee tree oil is an natural antiseptic and really works to kill the bacteria. It's a great way to help heal an existing ear infection AND help stave off any new ones.

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There are some natural earache drops by Hylands. I haven't tried them before, but we have used the Hylands Teething Tablets and they work great! I have also heard you can use ear candles on kids...if they are old enough to stay still for a few minutes...but have not tried that myself either. I have done ear candles on myself and thought they worked well. I would suggest visiting a natural foods/health store and talking with the folks there about options.

Oh...I have also heard of people crushing fresh garlic in olive oil and putting a few drops in sore ears.

Tylenol and motrin are always good for pain and discomfort.

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My son had chronic ear infections from age 1-2. We ended up taking him to an ENT and he prescribed EYE Drops that we used in his ear, and he hasn't had an infection since. I can't remember the name of the eye drops, but I'm sure you could ask and ENT and they would know about it.

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I can't remember if I responded already b/c I do respond a lot to the ear infection questions...

my stepson and husband USED TO get them a lot and we've used a natural method to keeping them away.

I have an email written especially for this. I'll forward it to you, just email me at ____@____.com and i'll get that to you ASAP!

-J.

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Go to the drug store and get Similason. They make drops for natural relief from ear infections and pink eye. It won't get rid of the ear infection but it will help ease the pain. We used it with our son until he ended up having to get tubes. With the tubes he has not had an ear infection in over 4 months after having one at least once a month for his first 9 months of life. Ugh, right?!?!

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I am currently working towards receiving my Master Herbalist so the advice I would give you is to use garlic oil. It is a 100% natural remedy for infections. It is made with garlic and olive oil, that's it. You fill the ear with the warm oil and cover the ear with enough cotton ball to stay in place in order to keep the oil from running out (do not push the cotton into the ear.) You may repeat this as often as you want. I would recommend doing this every night before bed, right before nap times, and any time he seems to be bothered by his ears. I recommend before sleeping because a child this small is more likely to remove the cotton before the oil has had a chance to seep into the ear well if they are running around and playing. Although, you may do it as often or at the times you determine are best for your child. You can also us mullein oil to break up congestion. Just place a couple of drops behind the ear and massage into the skin behind and below the ear. To find garlic oil I would suggest calling health food stores to see if they have these oils in stock. If not, to make garlic oil all you need to do is roughly chop or smash peeled garlic cloves (5 or 6 is enough for a small amount of oil), place in a glass jar, pour in enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the garlic with about 1 inch of oil extra, very lightly cover with a lid (there will be a small amount of pressure that builds up in the jar), lightly shake the jar at least 3 time a day and let out any pressure that has built up. After about 4-6 days your oil will be ready. Strain out the garlic and pour into another jar. You can buy dark glass jars with droppers at the health food stores, these are the best to store the oil in.

It would also be a good idea to keep your son away from all dairy while he has an infection. In fact, I would keep him away from all animal related products and processed foods until his infection is gone. Feed him as many fresh fruits and vegetables as he will eat. I don't know if you are nursing him or not, but if you are it would be good for you to follow the same diet.

I hope this advice will be found to be helpful for you.

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Never tried this but my doctor has suggested liquid iodine for use in the ear with ear infections. I have some for the throat but he told me it was good for ear infections also. For added relief, warm compresses and prop them up on a pillow, it eases the pain.

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The amoxicillan will help with the infection, but I would ask your child's doctor for ear drops called "OTIS" these are very safe and a better alternative to Motrin. Just 2 drops in each ear and I guarentee that within 5 minutes there will be such relief that it will be as your little on didn't even have an ear infection! My son gets these a lot and the drops are the best thing that work!
Hope this helps!
-Cassie

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My son started getting chronic ear infections when he was 6-7 months old. The antibiotics weren't working so he would have to go in for shots every couple days. We would give him baby tylinol and that seemed to help his pain.

He had tubes put in both ears at 9 months and hasn't had an ear infection since (he will be 4 at the end of the month).

Good luck.

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My dd had chronic ear infections when she was mainly teething, but we made the mistake of giving her a bottle when she went down for naps and bed. The specialist said if we must give her anything to drink to get her down to use water because the sugars in milk and juice caused the fluid to settle behind the ears. Since they told us that and we changed it she has only had 1 ear infection in the last 6 month.
My parents took my dd to the chiropractor and he realigned her neck and ears and told us to massage behind her ears and move fingers towards the neck to help the drainage so we do that once a day. I hope this helps and gl.

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I've been taking my 15 month old girlie to a chiropractor since she was weeks old(she could only turn her head to one side). I met A LOT of mommies at the chiropractors who were there to help with ear aches, or to prevent tubes. Find a chiropractor who works with children a lot OR has a family day. It is natural, and maybe he could point you into another natural alt. My baby has had several COLDS and only one ear ache. A day or two after her being snotty I will buzz her into the chiropractor. It helps drain her ears, and you can see her shake her head after, that she can feel it a little. It's not scary.

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I would suggest taking him to have his allergies tested. He could be allergic to foods that he is being fed. My daughter had 3 back to back ear infections and I finally did some reading. Cows milk, wheat and soy are the top food allergies. I have since switched her to goats milk and my son drinks rice milk. She hasn't had an ear infection in 6 months which is great because every time they take an antibiotic it takes their body a year to reproduce the good bacteria in their digestive track to get back to normal. Just remember there are a lot of alternatives and lots of good informational books out there to help out.

Working mother of 2 wonderful children a 21/2 yo boy and a 14mo girl and the best husband a woman or mother would ever want.

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You may want to research a chiropractor who is good with children. Sometimes, if the top few vertebrae are out of alignment, it can prevent the ear canal from draining properly.

Also, at natural food stores they sell a product called ear oil. It is made with lots of strongly antimicrobial herbs. I have given this to my kids every time they complain of an earache and, except for one time when my daughter had the flu also, they have woken up feeling all better.

Good luck.

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Our ped gave us drops to numb the ear and it worked within seconds and lasted for hours with our daughter.

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Many times when a person is put on antibiotics, they start a cycle. Every 28 days a new ear infection will start. Your child has no immune system because of the antibiotics. If he is done with them now, get some probiotics to put back the natural flora his intestines needs. I wish I would have known what do do when my children were small because antibiotics have been linked to adhd and other learning disabilities. There is a natural antibiotic called Goldenseal. It actually builds up the immune system so he won't get sick as easy. Go to your closest natural health food store and they will be able to help you find what you need.

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colloidial silver is a natural infection fighter -- you can prob give him three or four ddrops a day to keep the infection away -- when he gets one, you can just put a drop or two in his ear -- you can put a little cotton in his ear if it just runs out -- you can also put odorless garlic oil in his ear for both pain and infection -- there are also several grapefruit seed preparations you can give for infections -- also, if the pain is very bad, a warm-as-you-can-stand-it cloth over the ear helps

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Consider trying Cranio-Sacral Therapy and visiting a pediatric chiropractor. Both things show great success in helping chronic ear infections without needing drugs or surgery. If you want more info, send me a note.

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My dauhter had 4 ear infections buy the time she was 4 mos old. Therefore she had that many antibiotics as well. We are a family that likes to take care of things naturally and didn't like the idea of that many anitbiotics in her system. So instead of putting tubes in her ears -which was the next step the doctor wanted to do- we went to the chiropractor. He adjusted her ears and she has not had one since. It is a simple pull on the earlobes. You may have to ask a few chiropractors before you find one that does this. My daughter is now 8 years old and my son has never had a single ear infection! Until you can find one I know that the garlic oil that everyone is talking about works well. Good luck!

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Along with the suggestion for ear oil and chiropractic care, I would suggest eliminating dairy from his diet. That is what worked for a friend of mine with her 2-yr-old son. It's been over a year, and he hasn't had another ear infection since stopping dairy.

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Hello, my name is Sarah and I have four children. Ages: 11, 5, 2, and 5 months. Two of my children were born at home. My midwife has 12 children. She suggested that I use "Onion Juice". The way I have done it is, one handful of onions (cut up) to about 2cups of water. Boil the onions until they are soft (You may need to add more water, depending on what kind of onions are used). Drain through a paper towel. Let cool. A few drops in the ear and wait for one minute before swabbing, and wallah! Do this whenever there is complaining, it worked for me with my older son (5), and I am now using it on my infant son. Hope this helps...

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Applying heat works to relieve the pain.
we put a uncooked rice in an old sock. Tie the sock closed and heat in microwave for a few seconds to warm the rice. Then apply to the ear. It works great, not messy and can be reused!

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I have a 14 month old who has also had many ear infections this year. Our pediatrician often doesn't use antibiotics for ear infections because they have discovered recently that unless it's a very severe or specific type of infection, antibiotics do nothing for ear infections. Europeans do not use them for ear infections anymore: http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/160/1/Ear..., http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,213541,00.html

I use a remedy that is for children's ear infections that I bought at Pharmaca--it's got garlic oil, goldenseal root & more. There are a lot of brands out there. We use Gaia's Childrens Ear Drops. We do use one dose of motrin before bed sometimes to help with the pain. I've found that the homeopathy remedy, pulsatilla, often helps clear it up quicker as well. If you look into pulsatilla, it's amazing. It worked so well to clear up congestion on my daughter that my sisters, who rely on more mainstream remedies, have tried it with their kids and it's so effective and safe, they now use it (my parents too!) Also try warm compresses on the outside of the ear, which is supposed to loosen up the fluids. Best of luck!

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Hi T.,
My daughter had MANY ear infections the first three years of her life. My suggestion to you is to try chiropractic. When she was three, I was in an appt for myself when she was crying again, and I explained to the doc that she had an ear infection - AGAIN. The doctor just adjusted her ear out and up, and the infection went away (daughter didn't like it when it was happening, but the doc showed me how to do it and we didn't have ANY problems after that! I continued to adjust her at home). I wish we had known sooner how to help her ears drain naturally. Hope that helps.
D.

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If he is that susceptable to getting the ear infections, you may want to be careful about baths. Make sure that his head isn't submerged and then be sure to wipe his ears very dry. There is an old hime "remedy" to dry out the ears. Take a toilet paper tube and hold it to the ear, then put a hot lightbulb to the other end of it. the heat "draw out" the moisture. I've tried it, it didn't do anything bad. Don't know if it helped.

The other thing is to make sure that his head is always upright when he's drinking. At 14 months, i don't know if he's still using a bottle or not, but if he is, make sure he doesn't lay down with it. Hope this helped.

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This sounds silly, but if the infections are fluid related you might try going to a chiropractor (I reccomend Jaime Ricks). Sometimes there is a bone that they can adjust that allows the ear to drain. As "unnatural" as it is, I would also really suggest tubes (only under the careful supervision of an ENT of course). It changes your life, and your son will be MUCH happier. I've had the same problem with my daughter...only 7 in the past 9 months, plus a few other nasy infections. Anyway, there's my two cents. Good luck!

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Have you tried chiropractic treatments? Our son has been getting adjusted since he was a few weeks old and I feel that it is a safe alternative.

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