What is best for earaches, that can be done at home?

Answer 1

When I was a little girl my mother used to heat a little olive oil in a teaspoon and pour that into my ear. Then plug it with cotton wool. It did wonders and is something I'll use for my kids too.

Answer 2

I bought herbal eardrops for my son when he had a really bad earache. They were around $12 a bottle and you can probably find them in any health food store or health food section of your local supermarket. They are basically garlic...yes, garlic, and they smell like it too. BUT, and most importantly...the work!!! I put the drops in his ear, he went to sleep for a while, and when he woke up a few hours later, he felt much better, and his earache was completely gone the next day.

Answer 3

Here are some herbal remedies for ear infections.

Healing herbs are great for relieving pain and inflammation. They also treat the underlying causes without the risk of side effects that antibiotics have. And they don't cause antibiotic resistance.

Liquid extracts or tinctures are probably the best way to go with kids. You may want to avoid alcohol-based tinctures with kids. There are glycerine-based tinctures available which go down easy because they're sweet.

Echinacea is a well-known herb for stimulating the immune system. It also reduces inflammation and slows the growth of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

For a child who gets repeat ear infections, you may want to boost her immune system with echinacea and 500 mg of vitamin C a day. If your child develops diarrhea, cut back on the C.

Note: Don't use echinacea for more than two weeks as it loses its effectiveness over time.

Goldenseal is another well-known herb with antibacterial properties. It also soothes irritated membranes. Many times it's used in combination with echinacea. Give your child one dose of the liquid extract every two hours until his symptoms start to go away. Then cut back to one dose three times a day for a week.

Garlic is almost the herbal equivalent of a wonder drug! It kills bacteria, viruses, and fungus. It's good for "swimmer's ear," as well as for ear infections. You can buy garlic oil or make your own.

Mullein is great for earaches, and also for colds and coughs. This herb is a traditional Native American remedy. It not only relieves congestion and inflammation, but also has antibacterial and pain-relieving properties as well. You can buy mullein oil or make it yourself.

St John's wort can also be used to relieve pain, and it's useful as an antiviral, and an antibacterial. Use a few drops of the warmed oil in the ear canal.

Essential oil of lavender is soothing and also has antiseptic properties. Be sure to dilute it in an equal amount of olive oil to avoid irritating your little one's delicate skin.

A few drops of this warmed oil blend can be dripped into the ear canal, or rubbed behind the ear to help an unhappy toddler fall sleep.

Both peppermint tea and chamomile tea are soothing. They can also relieve pain and inflammation.

Lemon balm tea is a potent antiviral. It's also good for colds and other viral illnesses, especially if your child starts drinking it at the first sign of sickness. It's lemony taste makes it go down easy, too. You can sweeten it with honey if your child is over a year old, or with stevia.

Answer 4

If you have nothing severe, an OTC ear syringe with olive oil (it's a kit) found in most pharmacies can do wonders. If you have a medical situation, depending upon what the doctor may find, if pain medication is believed to be helpful, ask them if Abiotic fluid (it comes in a bottle, of course) would be helpful for you. I was prescribed that at one time, and it worked wonders.

Answer 5

Warmth and ear drops to clean the ear canals.Just ask you Pharmacist. If that doesn't work see a doctor. The pain could be a warning sign of something worse. And your hearing is a precious thing. Keep your ears covered outside in the cold.

Answer 6

The microbes that cause earaches usually show up first as a respiratory infection in your nose or throat. All it takes is a little push—you blow your nose, you lie down—and the viruses or bacteria move into your eustachian tubes. These are tiny channels that connect your nasal passages to your inner ears. From there, it's a short trip to the middle ear and your eardrum, which is laced with sensitive nerve endings. The infection creates pus, which pushes against your eardrum, causing pain. It can even make the eardrum burst.

Try these tips to take the ache out of your ear.

Warm up to olive oil. A few drops of olive oil or mineral oil can provide temporary relief, says Clough Shelton, M.D., an associate clinical professor of otolaryngology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a member of the House Ear Institute at the University of Southern California. Warm it up like a baby's bottle under hot tap water for a few minutes. Test the oil first (it should be about body temperature) and apply it with an ear dropper. Make sure to use only enough to coat the inner lining of the ear, he says.

Turn on the heat. There are two approaches for using heat to help relieve the pain of an earache. You can try setting a heating pad on medium and placing it on top of the sore ear. Or you can turn a hair dryer on the lowest warm setting and direct the warm air down the ear canal, holding the dryer 6 to 12 inches from your ear. Do not use the hair dryer for more than three to five minutes.

Prop yourself up. You're better off sitting up in bed than lying flat on your back, says David Marty, M.D., a Jefferson, Missouri, otolaryngologist and author of the The Ear Book. Sitting up actually allows blood to drain away from the head so there's less congestion in the eustachian tube, he says. "That's why kids with an earache will quit crying when you pick them up and start crying again when you lay them down," he says. "It's not that they want to be held, it's just that they feel better with their heads up."

Fill up on fluids. Drinking lots of water and juice not only helps soothe the symptoms, but repeated swallowing can also help clear your eustachian tubes, says Charles P. Kimmelman, M.D., professor of otolaryngology at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. Chewing and yawning are also good for clearing your eustachian tubes, he says.

Try a vasoconstrictor. Over-the-counter nasal sprays like Neo-Synephrine contain the ingredient phenylephrine, which helps return your eustachian tube to normal functioning, says Dr. Kimmelman. "The spray shrinks down the lining of the nose and hopefully the region around the entrance of the eustachian tubes, allowing the tube to function better. If the eustachian tube returns to normal, you'll feel better," he explains. Don't use phenylephrine-containing nosedrops for more than a few days, and make sure you don't exceed the daily dosage recommended on the label. Overuse of nasal sprays can actually make the problem worse.

Opt for a painkiller. Another possible temporary remedy for ear pain: an over-the-counter analgesic like Advil or Tylenol, says W. Steven Pray, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. "Just don't fall into the trap of taking an analgesic and thinking because your ear doesn't hurt anymore, you don't need an antibiotic," he says. "The analgesic doesn't kill the organisms—it just controls the pain."

Ask about antibiotics. Because a bacterial infection is one of the most common causes of earache, most doctors recommend taking antibiotics like Amoxil and Ceclor to beat the bug, stresses Dr. Pray.

Answer 7

Earache is the result of infection in the ear area. The middle of the ear is normally filled with air. But during a cold, fluid or mucus gets accumulated in the middle ear and may get infected by bacteria, which leads to ear pain. Even infections that affect the ear nerves can be a cause for earache. There are quite a number of reasons for the earache to occur, and all the symptoms have to be dealt with prompt medical care.

Common Causes of Ear ache
Blockage in the ear tube (Eustachian tube)
Tooth infection such as abscessed teeth
Objects stuck in the ear
Damage to the eardrum
Sinusitis
Earwax
Arthritis
Ear injury
Tonsilitis
Pharyngitis

SOME HOME REMEDIES FOR EARACHES.

#Sooth the ear with the warm, not the hot setting, of a hairdryer. Now be careful and make sure it is on the warm setting.
#If you puncture a piece of garlic and pour the juice in the ear it will help to take the pain away. Garlic has a natural antibiotic, so use it, and see if it helps.
#If the ache is from altitude change, just chew gum or yawn to relieve the pain.
# If you get it from swimming, usually called, swimmer's ear, just put some mineral oil in before going in the water. This should help the condition.
#The greatest pain reliever is the presence of warm, moist heat around the ache. A warm compress - such as a towel rung out in hot water and pressed against the ear, brings immediate relief.
#After you take a shower or bath; blow dry your ears with the warm setting of a hair dryer instead of rubbing them.
#Puncture a piece of garlic and pour the juice in the ear. Garlic being a natural antibiotic will help to take the pain away.
#Put some mineral oil (oil derived from a mineral source, such as petroleum, because it is inexpensive and rarely causes allergic reactions) in your ear before going in the water. Wear earplugs while swimming and avoid swimming in dirty waters.
#Warm few drops of olive oil in a spoon. Using the dropper, put 2-3 drops in each ear after the oil has cooled down. This will help relieve pain.
#Excessive earwax can also cause hearing problems and aches. Put a capful of hydrogen peroxide in each ear, let it set for a minute or two, and then let it drain out. One drop of alcohol after bathing can also prevent excessive earwax.
#A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel also makes a comforting pillow for an aching ear.
#Press a dual-purpose first-aid gel pack that you can warm up in hot water or the microwave on your ear. It will make you feel better.
#Warm up an oven-safe plate, wrap it in a towel, and rest your aching ear right on it. The plate should be warm and comforting, not hot,
#With the help of a dropper, pour warm mineral oil to soothe a sore ear.
#If wind bothers your aching ears, wear a scarf when you're outside, or stuff cotton, but avoid pushing it deep down from where you can not retrieve it with your fingers.
#If your ears hurt when the pressure changes, especially during descent and landing during an airplane flight, chew gum or suck on candy. The chewing or sucking will activate the muscles that send air to your inner ears, when you hear your ears "pop," you'll feel better.
#If chewing doesn't work, close your mouth, relax your cheek muscles, hold your nose and blow one nostril at a time gently until you feel relief.
#If the pain is bad and doesn't go away quickly, make sure you go to the doctor, he can give you an antibiotic to cure this problem.
#Grind a few Holy basil leaves and extract some juice. Apply 2 drops inside the ear.
#Boil 3-4 cloves of Garlic in some water. Mash them and add a pinch of salt. Wrap this poultice in a flannel or woolen cloth and place on the aching ear.
#For gripping ear pain just put few drops of warm onion juice and your pain will just vanish away in a jiffy.

Answer 8

make sure no one in the household smokes.

Not a scientifically conducted study, but I have noticed that people who complain about having kids with frequent ear infections are almost always smokers.

I almost never hear of non smokers whose kids have this kind of problem, and my own kids stopped having them after we quit visiting in-laws who chain-smoked.