Earache Remedies

Because of all the interest and discussion about the Homemade Cough Remedy, I thought I’d share our remedies for earaches.

We were away for the weekend and didn’t have much with us to treat any problems, but my 4-year old came to us, crying about his ear.  I gave him some tylenol and hoped that would help – I really didn’t want to go to the ER at 11pm on a Saturday evening.  But then my sister-in-law suggested some coconut oil for his ear.   Coconut oil has so many different uses and so many health benefits.  It has antibacterial, anti fungal and anti microbial properties, and a quick Google search showed that it would be very beneficial. 

She warmed it up in a saucepan and we checked the temperature to make sure it wasn’t too hot.  If I’d had an eyedropper, I would have used that, but we didn’t, so I took a small spoon and dropped a few drops in. It seemed to soothe it right away.  We repeated every 20 minutes or so for an hour, keeping him lying on his side so it wouldn’t drain out.  After that hour, he seemed to be in much less pain, and went right to sleep.

I was so happy to avoid the ER, as well as a round of antibiotics.  His ear seemed to be a bit sore for the next few nights, so we did this a few more times and he was fine!

(You can also melt the coconut oil by putting it in a bowl and setting that bowl in a bigger bowl of hot water).

We also found that warmth made the ear feel better. I sent him to bed with one of those rice bags that you warm up in the microwave – we put it on his pillow and he slept with his ear on it. (note: don’t make it hot – that could cause problems.  I just warmed it for less than a minute to give some slight warmth).

Remember, please check with your doctor if the problems continue or if you have any concerns.  This is just one remedy we use to soothe sore ears and may not help with chronic infections.
I’d love some more suggestions for earaches – with four boys aged 6 and under, I imagine we’re not quite done dealing with them yet!!

Update: Check out our new compilation post, where we’ve combined all the reader suggestions into one article.  Great ideas there!  Thanks for your ideas!