The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Garlic, Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Jasmine (Oklahoma City, Ok) on 12/31/2010
★★★★★
I am soooo thankful for the EC participants! My 4-yr old daughter suffered her first earache recently. I tried alternating mucinex and children Tylenol to help with the drainage and the pain. Even Rescon - which is specific to Eustachian tube drainage. A week later we are still dealing with the varying pain from the earache. I have been to this site before but this is my first time posting b/c your recommendations WORK!
While she was sleeping I used a note from Garlic "YEAs". Mixed a small SCORE of garlic with olive oil then dipped a small portion of toilet paper in the now garlic oil (didn't have cotton balls). I balled it big enough where it basically sat on the outer cusp of her ear - did not push it down inside. Left it there for 1 hour while she slept. In the morning she was CURED! Chipper and yelling her ear was better. Then said there was a lot of wax coming out. The ear infection had drained out - it was a watery yellowish substance. This was not from the garlic mixture as I only dabbed a small piece of tissue and did not even stick that all the way in her ear. I couldn't believe it!!!!
To remove some of the drainage of which some had crusted on the outside of the ear - I started with a warm washcloth to soften the crust and worked my way in. Then to get the inner drainage I diluted Hydrogen Peroxide with room temp bottled water and put a few drops inside. My daughter reported NO pain and said she could hear the bubbling in her ear (smiling all the while as if this were a science project). THE REMEDIES WORK!!!! Thank you ALL for your feedback (even the nays add valuable insight - don't overdo it).
Herbal Formulas
Posted by Amanda (Hot Springs, Ar) on 12/30/2009
★★★★★
My 3 year old daughter has a cold, and yesterday her ear started hurting. I gave her the usual remedy that I always use for my kids' ear infections that has always worked; it is an extract that has black cohosh root, chickweed arial parts, goldenseal root, passion flower arial parts, licorice root, and valerian root. I put a few drops in the ear, and if they are over two, i give 1/4 teaspoon by mouth. anyway, it didn't stop the pain right away,so I chopped 1/2 onion and put it in a cheesecloth, and held it to her ear for 1/2 an hour; within 10 minutes she stopped crying and went to sleep and slept through the night and never complained about it again and it has now been about 24 hours.
Honey
Posted by Siafu (Three, GA) on 03/26/2009
★★★★★
My son developed an earache the other night and I was about to warm up some oil, but then had another idea; honey - locally procured of course.
I went ahead and used a dropper to place two drops into the affected ear and literally within seconds he went quiet and pulled the covers over his head. I was talking to my wife about what else we could do when I noticed he was not squirming under the covers. I pulled the covers back to reveal a wonderful sleeping little boy with no more pain. Altogether this took probably a minute or less.
This lasted all night and well into the next day until the afternoon when it happened again, but not as severe. Keep in mind that when it began he was kicking and grabbing his ear, not wanting me to touch it or do anything.
My wife took him to a doctor who said his ear was infected.
I have not had to try it again, but next time I'll be sure to reach for the honey. I hope this can be of use to someone, especially the little ones.
I don't know what warnings to give about honey but be sure to research it before giving it to your child or anyone, even in the ear.
EC: Honey is not recommended for children 12 months old and under.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Pam (Boston, Ma) on 05/07/2014
★★★★★
My mom used Hydrogen Peroxide on us kids since as far back as I can remember. Anytime we had an earache, we'd lay on our side with a towel around our face (from the ear down) and over our necks and she'd pour in the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. I'm used to it now as I've been doing it for over 35 years. I have perfect hearing and no ear damage. Now - I've never had tubes put in or anything like that, so such people may require special treatment. But on me and my siblings anyway, we love it. I have one ear that for whatever reason, is prone to infections. Whenever the pain starts to kick in, I do the Hydrogen Peroxide treatment. If you have an infection going on, it will bubble up like crazy - that's how you know it's working. When it stops bubbling, simply tip your head to the side and drain it out - whatever little Hydrogen Peroxide is left will evaporate. I've never had any trouble with it getting "trapped" in my ears - but that's me. Like I said though - I've been doing this for 35+ years. I also advocate an onion poultice for severe pain...used overnight. And avoid getting water in your ears at all costs. Also direct sunshine on the ears is great if possible. HTH! :-)
Replied by Meeda
(Abu Dhabi)
11/05/2018
Charity
(Faithville , Us)
11/06/2018
Replied by Wendy
(Columbus, Oh)
11/06/2018
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Mtb (Milwaukee, Wi) on 02/28/2012
★★★★★
My daughter woke up in the middle of the night with ear pain that made it hard for her to tolerate people talking at normal levels. We did the hydrogen peroxide 3 times in a total of about 5 hours. Each time the ear pain was reduced and the last time her earache was gone. She woke up today with earache still gone. Seems like a winner!
Thank you - Michelle
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Raleighmom (Raleigh, Nc) on 12/18/2011
★★★★★
The hydrogen peroxide really works. Our son was up most of the night with very severe ear ache pain. I had used hydrogen peroxide to prevent and treat colds, but had not used it on an ear ache previously. I was a little hesitant to put something in his ear when it was already hurting. However, it made a huge difference quickly. The pain is almost all gone now. I don't know why this works, but it does indeed work well. I would imagine that some of the people who have had problems with this maybe had a punctured eardrum to begin with. We have done this often enough that we know it works fine for us. We have had no problems using the hydrogen peroxide in ears.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Sylk (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 04/15/2010
★★★★★
My 94-yr-old step mother told me: I really know about it curing ear problems. When my son was an infant he had an ear infection while my husband was in New Richmond sand-bagging the city against the flood. I had no car at home and pediatrician could not come to the house but suggested another one from Clifton who was a surgeon also. He came and prescribed using a few drops peroxide in Ned's ear. SUCH screaming!!!!! But it cured him in two days. Also remember that he charged $25.00 while the usual docs calls were $3.00.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Philip (Goose Creek, SC) on 10/09/2008
★★★★★
I have a daughter (2 years old now) gets ear infections all the time and let me tell you if it wasn't for hydrogen peroxide I would still be wasting my money on the doctor and antibiotics that NEVER WORKED!! It is amazing how quick she stops the crying and holding her ear after about 5 min of putting peroxide in her ear. By the way I wanted to throw the fact that numbers show that doctors are only right 50% of time.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Keri (Sylvan Lake, Michigan) on 03/21/2007
★★★★★
Cured toddler's ear infection!! After many ear infections and ear tubes in my son's ears, I was told to try 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water and put drops in his ear to stop the discharge from his ears. Magic! It stopped the gooey discharge and cleaned his ear of the wax too!! I recommend it to everyone!!
Hydrogen Peroxide and Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lisa (Syracuse, New York) on 07/03/2008
★★★★★
THIS WORKS!!!! I I got a phone call from my husband and I can hear my 8 year old daughter crying loudly in the background. He was telling me over her crying that she started complaining of an earache about 1/2 hr ago, but just started hurting alot in the last 5 minutes. I told him to drive her home.I had just come across this website and wanted to try the hydrogen peroxide as I've gone back and for to the doctors with her for antibotics for earaches at least 8 times in her lifetime. He brought her home, and she threw up immediately. I almost thought of bringing her to the emergency room. I called the on call nurse and she said to give her ibuprofen and she should be ok to come in in the morning for antibiotics. I had her lay down on her side and I opened up a bottle of apple cider vinegar and hydgrogen peroxide. I filled the hydrogen peroxide cap 1/2 with both and left it in for 30 sec and repeated 5 times. She said her ear felt better and wanted to go to bed. I was in shock, and said ok, lets go. I expected her to come get me in the middle of the night and need to do it again, but she slept great and the following morning, I did the same thing. My husband brought her to the docters to be on the safe side. They prescribed the antibiotic and we filled it just to be safe. After looking at more responses from people using hydrogen peroxide, it looked like putting it in the ear for 5 minutes works well, so we switched to that the next two days. She is still fine and I am still in shock, but this truly works.I am shocked and almost angered that we've been so trained to believe that antibiotics are the answer. This works and I am SOOOOOOO grateful for this website. I know my family will be more healthy because of it!!
Laughter
Posted by Mama To Many (Tn) on 06/24/2017
★★★★★
My daughter had an earache a week ago. I treated it with Mullein Oil, my go to for earaches. (Thought I do use garlic oil when I have it around. Being that it is summer, I am clean out of garlic oil - I tend to only need it in the winter. And oddly, I am out of garlic to make more right now.)
Anyway, the pain passed but the congestion remained, which has been very irritating to her, of course.
So we did hydrogen peroxide in the ears. I made onion oil and tried that. Nope. Nada. Nothing!
Then her other ear got clogged.
So off to Earth Clinic to find another remedy. I read about holding the mouth shut and the nose closed and breathing out through the nose, gently to clear blocked ears. I was skeptical because I worry this would make it worse. But my husband says he did this all the time when he had ear trouble as a boy....so I told her what to do. She did it and immediately the ear that hadn't been blocked as long was clear! Whoa!
She would repeat this new blowing technique throughout the day. (With my cautions to do it gently! )
One time, just as she was doing this, my youngest said something funny and it made her laugh, while she was blowing through her nose. POOF! Her ear cleared!
I should have just started with jokes, I guess! It never hurts to laugh and it might just help! :)
~Mama to Many~
Lemon Grass Tea for Ear Infections
Posted by Thamas (east coast nsw, australia) on 11/20/2007
★★★★★
My son when he was 3 had recurring ear infections that once landed him in hostpital with double infections in both ears and a temperature of 40.He was on antibiotics on a regular basis and I cringed every time. Needless to say this did not cure the problem. On research I found that lemon grass has a very high vitamin A content and knowing that vitamin A is vital to fight infections I made tea for him. Well He loved the taste and he is now 12 and has NEVER had an ear ache since! so now when he is looking a bit run down or he's had too much of a good thing, I give him lemon grass tea. Fresh is best, luckily where I live it grows easily and abundantly in my garden. So It's free just like nature intended!
Milk Can Cause Ear Infections
Posted by Marian (Tulsa, Ok) on 05/01/2011
Thanks Earth Clinic and readers for all your wonderful advice!!!
When one of my sons was about 8 years old, he kept getting ear infections accompanied by fatigue and exhaustion. I eventually consulted a naturopath after the ear nose and throat specialist couldn't help. He noted that when an infection recurs, it often signals an underlying allergy. Sure enough it turned out that he was severely allergic to dairy of any kind. It was quite a shock to discover that dairy products are contained in a mulititude of foods including hot dogs, buns, waffles, you name it. I had to learn to read the ingredient list carefully. As long as he stayed away from dairy, he was perfectly fine, back to his old self. What an incredible relief!!
Olive Oil
Posted by Kathie (Dacula, Ga) on 09/06/2013
★★★★★
My Mother put warm olive oil in my ears when I was young to treat ear aches. It worked great. Put cotton in ear after olive oil to keep it in my ear. I also used it for my husband when he had ear aches. He swears by the remedy. It really works well. I am speaking of occasional ear aches. Not sure about on going ear aches or specific ailments of the ear. Not sure if it is the olive oil or the heat that makes it better, but whatever it is, it works.
Olive Oil
Posted by Debbie (Lodi, Ca) on 03/15/2011
★★★★★
My six year old woke up screaming and crying with an ear ache in the middle of the night. We have used H202 in the past but it did not work this time. So we tried the olive oil on a cotton ball and within a short while she was able to fall asleep and wake this morning feeling fine. Thanks for all the great tips on this site, absolutely love it!
