Ever woken up to a screaming child with an earache? They can be almost inconsolable when they are dealing with ear pain! As mother, these were the times I once felt completely helpless. But not anymore! Keep reading to see my plan for tackling earaches FAST!
(Before I begin, I must remind you that I am NOT a doctor. I’m a mom and wife who tries her best to take care of her family at home whenever it makes sense to do so. I can’t diagnose, treat, or cure your family. Consider this article a conversation between friends as I describe our experience. Use it for thoughts and ideas that may lead to further research. And always consult a medical professional when needed.)
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My husband and I were LONG overdue for a date night, and the night had finally come! The kids were excited about their night to sleepover at their grandparents’ house. And we were thrilled to be at one of his favorite restaurants, just the two of us, to celebrate his birthday! No sooner than the waitress set down our plates did the phone ring. On the other end, our 3-year-old daughter was crying big tears and wailing hysterically. Her very first earache had developed, out of the blue, and she wanted Mama.
You know what happened next…we downed our steaks as fast as we could and headed to our baby. One look at her, and I knew how bad she felt. This was my first experience facing an earache since I began to learn natural remedies, so it was time for me to put into practice all I had read and prepared for.
Step One: Pull Out the Homeopathy Kit
I actually had my travel kit with me in my purse, so I was able to give my daughter her first dose of remedies before we even loaded her in the car to head home. My travel kit has saved the day many times, so I highly recommend putting one together!
So, what did I give her? I followed the protocol homeopath Joette Calabrese recommends in her book Gateway to Homeopathy (1st edition, page 140). I gave her Chamomilla 30C and Belladonna 30C. (*Note: I’m including Amazon links to these homeopathic remedies so that you can see what I’m referring to. Amazon is not my favorite place to buy homeopathic remedies. Instead, see my article on where I like to buy remedies.)
Chamomilla helps address ear soreness, ear pain, and stopped up ears. It also helps with the emotional restlessness that often accompanies and earache. You can read more about Chamomilla is Dr. Boericke’s Materia Medica. And you might want to check out this study that found Chamomilla’s antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties to be effective at treating ear infections.
Belladonna can help with throbbing and beating in the ear, along with general pain. Here’s more information from Dr. Boericke on Belladonna.
After we got her home, I started alternating the Chamomilla and Belladonna every 15 minutes. Remedies often work a little better if you have the luxury of spreading out the doses of differing remedies by a few minutes.
If you love research like me, check out this study that found homeopathic treatments to be equally effective at treating ear pains as conventional treatments.
Step Two: Add Herbal Eardrops
I also put a few drop of Earthley’s Earache Ease in her ear and massaged it gently. This herbal blend contains Mullein Leaf, which helps with pain and even has antibacterial properties. There have been many studies around Mullein Leaf (also known as Verbascum Thapsus). This study compared an herbal blend containing Mullein with a prescription anesthetic ear drop and found them to produce comparable results. And this study compared 4 different groups including combinations of herbal remedies, anesthetic ear drops, and oral amoxicillin (a prescription antibiotic). The study notes that the participants that did NOT receive the oral amoxicillin had BETTER results.
Step Three: Add in a Few More Homeopathics and Encourage Rest
After the 3rd dose of the Belladonna/ Chamomilla combo and the Earthley drops, I noticed my daughter was much calmer. However, she was still weepy and clingy. Weepy, clingy, toddlers/young children can often benefit from a dose of Pulsatilla 30C. It is also indicated for ear pain, so I added in a dose to match those symptoms. You can read more about Pulsatilla in Boericke’s Materia Medica.
I waited a few more minutes and made sure to give her a dose of Hepar Sulph 30C. Homeopath Joette Calabrese calls Hepar Sulph the “Homeopathic Antibiotic” (source) With the looming threat of an oncoming ear infection, I wanted a dose of Hepar and Sulph in her before bed.
Step Four: Snuggles
By this time, she was looking very sleepy and ready for bed. We curled up to snuggle, and she dosed off to sleep easily with Mama nearby. She woke up crying once in the night, and I gave her Belladonna, Chamomilla, and Earthley’s Earache Ease once more. I chose not to space the remedies out due to the fact both of us were ready to go back to sleep as quickly as possible. Instead, I massaged her ear gently until she dozed back off.
Step Five: Re-Evaluate
The next morning, my daughter woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She ate a normal breakfast, and she began playing as normal. If you hadn’t witnessed the previous night’s upset, you’d have never known she’d had such an earache!
Because the painful symptoms were gone, I followed up with one more dose of the Earthley drops and one final dose of the Hepar Sulph, just for good measure. And that was the end of it!
Reflecting on the Earache
Seeing as how this earache event began at around 7:00 on a Friday night, running her to the local clinic wasn’t even an option. They were closed for the weekend. And when you have a child that’s hysterical from pain, waiting until the clinic opens Monday morning seems eons and eons away! THIS is why I’m so thankful to have my well-stocked natural remedy medicine cabinet. By the time the clinic opened on Monday morning, this earache was a distant memory. We’d all moved on, no appointments or antibiotics needed. All was well!
She’s had 2 more earaches since, but neither have been as intense as that first one. I followed very similar treatment plans, and we saw very similar results. No clinic visits needed.
But, What If?
Let’s talk “what-ifs”. What if she wasn’t all better Saturday morning? I probably would have taken out my otoscope to look in the ear. I could have referenced the handy book that came with the otoscope to see if it appeared she had an ear infection. There are also images online that I could have referenced as I made an evaluation. I doubt that we would have made a trip to the hospital’s emergency room unless other, more severe symptoms presented, so I would have likely continued treatment at home while waiting on the clinic to open on Monday.
I would have continued with all of the homeopathics. The Belladonna and Chamomilla would have been given as often as need. And I would have probably given 3-4 doses of Pulsatilla and 2 doses of Hepar Sulph (morning and bedtime). I would have continued with the Earthley’s Earache Ease, but I would have also alternated with Collodial Silver drops. Collodial Silver has been shown in many studies to be effective at killing a wide-range of bacteria (source 1, source 2, source 3)
I would have continued to encourage rest, and we would have enjoyed lots of movies and snuggles. I would also focus on good nutrition. I would have given her some homemade soup to get in some good veggies and a serving of homemade bone broth. I would have encouraged hydration and had her sip on my homemade “Get Well Cocktail” below.
Isn’t It Irresponsible to Not Take Your Child to the Doctor If There is a Possible Ear Infection?
I am NOT advising you to avoid your pediatrician when you need him or her. In many cases, problems like these arise outside of business hours. Unless you happen to have a pediatrician in the family, you’d likely have to wait to be seen anyway. Why not be proactive while you wait? In many cases, your home remedies, which have been shown by the research above to be effective, may just help you turn the corner before the clinic even opens.
You’ll need to use your God-given mama-sense to make determinations as each scenario unfolds. And I can’t guarantee that your situation will unfold just how ours did. But, I can guarantee that you will have more options if you are prepared BEFORE the problem arises. Think through what you would do in a given scenario, then stock up for it! You may find my article on how to stock your natural medicine cabinet to be helpful. And this one on the Top Ten Homeopathic Remedies Every Family Should Own might also help you plan ahead.
In short, Diligent Mama, be wise. Ask the Lord for wisdom when it comes to caring for your family. Be ready. Maybe your budget can’t afford to stock up all at once, but you can make a list of what you need and buy an item or two at a time. I even have friends that asked for their big homeopathy kits for birthday gifts. One step at a time still gets you to where you are going!
Wishing you many healthy days ahead! And may you glorify Him, even on the sick days, as you follow your calling to mother your children with diligence.
Want more natural remedy ideas? Be sure to check out my Remedy with Diligence page!
