Is your baby fussy, tugging their ear and crying more than usual? They might be suffering from an ear infection. The good part is, there are many home remedies for baby ear infection. It is very common for the younger kids and every 5 out of 6 kids have an ear infection before they turn 3 years.
Baby ear infection or otitis media is usually very painful and inflammation of the middle ear. Most of the infant ear infection occurs between the eardrum and eustachian tube which is the connecting tube for ear, nose, and throat.
What Causes Ear Infection in Babies?
Ear infection in toddlers often follows a cold. The reason for a toddler ear infection is bacteria or viruses. This infection causes the eustachian tube to swell and inflammation causing discomfort and pain. The narrow tube is infected and fluid builds behind the eardrum causing the pain and pressure. As the kids are still growing, their tube is narrower than the adults. Although the eardrum ruptured due to the infection in many cases usually heals in about 2-3 weeks and rarely causes any permanent damage to the kid’s hearing. However, the most suitable way to heal is the home remedy for ear infection.
Doctors prescribe antibiotics as soon as they learn about the infection. But do you know why? A mother and a paediatrician, however, would recommend the home remedies for ear infection. This is major because the baby’s ear infection treatment at home has no side effects as compared to the antibiotic dosage that the doctors prescribe. Thus the most common infection in kids which is the ear infection is easy to make it go away with easily available items at home.
Ear infection comes with very little symptoms in a baby and it is difficult to judge if it is an infection or not. In such cases, the home remedies for an ear infection at home is worth trying as it has no side effects or does any harm to the baby. There are many cases of being affected by ear infection without fever. And hence to diagnose it could be difficult without a specialist.
Baby Ear infection Home Remedies:
There are many toddler ear infection home remedies which you can use to give some relief to the baby instead of using child antibiotics. Depending on the toddler ear infection symptoms, you must decide on the method. The overexposure of antibiotics for kids can alter the microbiome and the healthy gut flora that helps them keep off infection. In many cases, this becomes a permanent one due to excessive antibiotic dosage. The side effects of antibiotics are intestinal yeast, thrush, diarrhea or compromised the immune system as we said above.
1. Wait and Check:
The ear infection usually is very common in kids and is of very low risk to the kid’s health. Thus waiting and watching is the first home remedy rather than prescribing any antibiotic dosage right on the day they seem to have issues. Although, you must always take a note of the severity and the age of the child in such cases as the infection could be in both the ear and of a severe nature sometimes. Also, as the most physician recommend, between the 24-48 hours, we must wait to see if the symptoms get better and sometimes up to 72 hours as well it is considered ok.
2. Garlic oil:
A great anti-inflammatory and child ear ache remedy is garlic oil. It not only relieves the pain but also fights the ear infection whether bacterial or viral. The first sign of pain could be the right time to drop little garlic oil into the ears f the child. This can be repeated 3-4 times a day and you must be able to see the positive effect very soon. Although garlic can be irritating, hence, you can either make it at home if you are alright to or buy it from any food store. It is easily available in the stores as well. Make sure that it must not be too hot while pouring.
3. Cod Liver Oil:
Yes, you read it right. Cod liver oil has an amazing effect on the ear infection and is an excellent home remedy for treating an infant ear infection. It has always had many health benefits. The Vitamin A found in high quantity in cod liver oil proves beneficial. The fermented cod liver oil proves to give quick relief to an ear infection.
4. Onion Earmuffs:
This might sound an awkward thing to do, but you will be shocked to know the medical benefits of onion. One of the best ear infection remedies for kids and a child ear pain home remedy that even doctors suggest is using onion ear muffs. Simply slice an onion into half and microwave it. Or you can as well put it in half an inch of water and simmer boil until soft. Wrap the warm onion in a cloth and hold it up to your kid’s ear for as long as they could tolerate it. Make sure the onion is not hot, it must be warm.
5. Chiropractic Care:
The lymph nodes which hold a very important role in the human body needs to function properly to help muscles contract in your baby’s movement of the head and must flush out the lymph fluid too to avoid congestion in the area. If the bones in the baby’s neck portion become restricted due to some reason, the muscles around that area do not work properly by having difficulties to contract.
Thus, the body has a very hard time flushing out the fluid from the ear canals too. You must have the immune system of the body functioning properly to help you recover. Hence restoration of the body functions is important first to treat any ailment.
6. Essential oil:
The lavender oil is again child ear pain home remedy which works wonders. The oil reduces the inflammation when applied using acupressure. It helps to reduce the infection and relieve pain. The acupuncture points are located in from of the ear and the back of the ears. The space between them must be held with a thumb and index finger. Doctors while trying to check a patient follow the same and hold the patients in the same fashion.
7. Vitamin C:
The oral vitamin C supplements also act as toddler ear infection home remedy. However, anything in excess is not good for health, and similar is the case with vitamin C as well. You must ask the doctor for the dosage suitable for your child to consume else it leads to diarrhea in case of overdosage.
8. Salt Sock:
One of the children ear ache remedies at home is to use this salt sock approach to relieve pain and soothe the baby. The warm salt in the sock specifically helps the ear and jaw area to comfort and accentuate the healing process. Use a clean sock and the longer the sock, the better to use for this remedy as you need to tie a knot to keep the salt within intact. Next, you should take about a cup and half coarse sea salt or the Epsom salt. Pour the salt in the sock and tie it up with a knot. Place it over a clean skillet on a medium flame.
Keep flipping the sock to ensure it warms the salt evenly within. When the overall salt within is warm, (not too hot!) add few drops of essential oil, for example, lavender oil or tea tree essential oil. Place this warm sock on the kid’s ear and allow it to sit for as long as possible. Repeat this process for quicker results.
9. Elderberry Syrup and Tea:
The anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties in elderberry helps it to sooth the child ear infection. Among many other natural remedies for an ear infection, the favorite one with supporting the immune system naturally is elderberry. Use the dried or fresh elderberries (1 cup) with some honey, water and ginger added (some cinnamon sticks – optional) to bring it to a boil.
Strain it once the content has been boiled and reduced to half. Add honey only after the boiling process. Transfer in a jar and store it in the fridge. A spoon of this syrup is a useful remedy for ear infection in kids. Increase the dosage to a teaspoon every 3 hours for quick results in adults or grown-up kids.
10. Hydrogen Peroxide:
The hydrogen peroxide also makes an excellent home remedy to treat ear infection in kids. You can add several drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear for 10 minutes and see the results immediately.
How to Prevent Ear Infection in Babies:
Although preventing ear infections cannot be full proof. However, there are steps you can take to keep your baby from risks of ear infection:
- Breastfeeding: The most powerful recipe or medicine for the child to build their immune system is mother’s milk. This protects the baby by giving it the right amount of antibodies via the milk and host of other medical conditions for 6-12 months old.
- Position the bottle properly while feeding: A very genuine thing to avoid any such complications is to hold the bottle in the right position while feeding the infant. The feed must not flow back to the eustachian tube which could lead to the infection and discomfort in kids.
- Avoid passive smoke: The exposure of kids to the secondhand smoke could make the ear infection more frequent and severe. Protect your kid from such secondhand smoke.
- Maintain hygiene: Hygiene being the main concern in many cases, the cold and flu bugs seem to attack. Keep your house clean and make it a healthy environment for the kids to grow and keeping germs at bay.
- Vaccinations: You must timely make sure to have your kid’s immunization are up-to-date. The flu shots and etc. for 6 months older toddlers are also important along with the pneumococcal vaccines.
Studies have proven that home remedies for a baby ear infection is one of the best ways to treat as it works faster than any antibiotics. Let us know if this was helpful and share your feedback and ideas in the comments section below to help other parents too.
