Guest guest Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 I was told today that my 8 month old son has the starting of an ear infection. Does anyone have any advice on a natural alternative that they used and found effective. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks, Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 --- In , " gailann7 " <gailann7@y...> wrote: > I was told today that my 8 month old son has the starting of an ear infection. Does anyone have any advice on a natural alternative that they used and found effective.> gail is your son breastfed? that's the best way to avoid ear infections in the first place. however, ear infections are, imo, greatly overrated by drs, ie. they are not as serious as they would have you believe. i would never give my children antibiotics for an ear infection unless a) my home remedies failed (which they never did) and my children were in bad pain. even tho all 4 of my boys were breastfed they still got an occasional earache & the easiest cure i ever used was breastmilk. just squirt a few drops in a few times a day or express it and use an eyedropper or even just a Q-tip to drip it in. if you don't have breastmilk i'd recommend a garlic infusion. gently heat a little bit of olive oil and then let a smashed up clove of garlic soak in it until the oil cools to room temp. take out the garlic and, as with the breastmilk, get a few drops into that ear a few times a day. it's been a while since i've had to use that so i don't remember the exact details but it might be good to make it fresh for each dose, because i seem to recall reading that the garlic may lose it's potency. with both remedies have the child lay down for a few minutes (or as long as they will! LOL) so it can sink in. some people claim these remedies don't work (mostly western drs) but they've never failed me and i have many friends who also use them. i always get relief within hours and the next day the symptoms are usually gone/almost gone. HTH vera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 This is likely to open up a torrent of suggestions--ear infections are not fun at all, and I hope this passes quickly for your babe. My daughter began having ear infections at 8 months, and had them chronically until about 18 months. From about 4.5-5 years old she went through another bought with this, so we have tried many things. If you find your child resistant to the things everyone else will suggest (such as mullein/garlic oil, homeopathic pulsatilla/chamomilia/etc.) feel free to e-mail me off list for the saga of things we have tried, and what we found that worked. The remedies I offer will not harm gut flora, but diarrhea indicates need to reduce dosage. Short version of what worked fo us (I won't bore you with what didn't work): -eliminating wheat and dairy -when she was a baby, Chinese patent formula pill Chuan Xin Lian (administered crushed and in maple syrup, fed by spoon), good for viral or bacterial caused ear infections--also useful against strep throat! -most recently, Coptis Chinese " tea pills " , good for viral or bacterial caused ear infections -most recently, a hydrastin, vinegar, zinc ear drop if ears are itchy--any sign of itchy ears and I begin administering these drops to kill any fungal sources of ear irritation, which can develop into full blown infection -most recently, a Wild Oats brand tincture " Childrens Ear Health " for internal use, as well as the companion " Ear Oil " for external use. Both contain coptis, among other things, good broad spectrum viral & bacterial infection fighters -current round of ear infections seemed to be provoked by mold exposure--obviously important to eliminate mold at its source. -a *good* cranio-sacral therapist is invaluable! If your child develops a chronic pattern with this (and I hope that doesn't happen!) I recommend purchasing an ear check monitor that can register presence of fluid behind the ear drum. This allowed us to begin treatment at the first sign of fluid build up, instead of scrambling once she was already in pain. These can be cheaply found on e-Bay. These days we are really going after the intestinal flora imbalance (another long story, my daughter was *born* with thrush), and feeding my daughter lots of homemade sauerkraut, kombucha tea beverage, and soured milk products like kefiili, as well as regular supplementation of cod liver oil. The more of these things she consumes, the stronger her immune system is becoming. We are also fairly strict about no sugar, and sticking to freshly ground non- wheat baked goods, as well as whole grain rice as our primary starch. This is just what worked for us, good luck to you, and feel free to contact me off list if you want. Leann in Oregon - > I was told today that my 8 month old son has the starting of an ear > infection. Does anyone have any advice on a natural alternative that > they used and found effective. I would appreciate any advice. > > Thanks, Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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