Making Garlic Oil for Ear Infections

I can't help you w/how to make it, but to the mommies below:

We've used garlic oil when our son showed signs of ear infections and he has never had a full-blown one. Garlic is a natural antibiotic as well as an antiviral, so it is very effective.

The research no longer supports antibiotics as the "go to" just because an infection is detected. Repeated use of antibiotics may alleviate symptoms, but does not do anything to protect from future infections, so kids actually become more susceptible to them. In addition, antibiotics can disrupt the natural balance of good bacteria in the body and gut, compromising the immune and digestive system and increasing the risk for yeast infections and sickness.

Most drs who are current w/the research often agree to a "wait and see" approach rather than running out for antibiotics. I commend you for going this route - Herbs for Kids also has a great garlic oil.

ETA: Ditto to Jackie! Our son has been in weekly chiro care since he was 3 weeks old and it has helped w/ many things - check it out!

I have always used sweet oil for each aches, but not for ear infections. My educated guess would be that adding anything to the ear when it's already so full of fluid and red and inflamed and causes pain is a pretty bad idea; you don't want to add to that, you want it to drain properly. I'd say she needs to go on an antibiotic and possibly see an ENT to see if she needs ear tubes; recurring ear infections can cause lots of negative long term effects. Hope your little one feels better soon.

My question is.....

Where is the infection? Is it in the Eustachian tube (behind the ear drum), or in the outer ear canal?

You need to find out WHY she is having repeated ear infections... is it allergies causing congestion? Does she repeatedly pick up colds at daycare/school?

If it is in the eustachian tube, then garlic oil won't do much...... you need to get the fluid out of that area for the infection to clear up..... I don't know whether 4 year old children can take decongestants, but that often helps reduce the swelling that is causing the pain.....

Warm oil has been used in the past to ease the pain of the bulging ear drum (caused by the fluid buildup behind the eardrum), but I don't know if it really does much to get rid of the infection.

If it is "swimmer's ear", which is in the OUTER ear canal, then that might help....

Frankly, with ear infections, I really wouldn't want to mess around with home remedies... my mother had repeated ear infections as a child, (back when there wasn't much in the way of antibiotics, etc. to help with this), and had her eardrum rupture several times, and has had repeated sets of ear tubes as an ADULT...... her hearing has really been affected as an adult as a result.

Only start using if you know for sure that your little one doesn't have an active infection. My daughter had a horrible ear infection and it wasn't until we got to the docs we found out that she had perforated her ear drum because of it! Yikes!

But I think using it preventatively could be a great idea. Do lots of research!

I also concur about chiro for the little ones. We were taking my son for his allergies.

I make a new infusion every time. I just crush a garlic clove, let it sit in olive oil for a few minutes and then drop it in.

It's amazing how fast it will cure an ear infection! Oh, and if anyone claims that it's dangerous, my kids doctor approved my method and tells other people how to do it! :)

Have you considered chiropractic care for your child? They can give adjustments to help the ears and sinuses drain. They can also help give relief from allergies. (I looked at your other posts).

I haven't needed to use the oils for ear infection since my daughter has never had one and I don't think they will prevent it. If she is congested I take her for an adjustment. When I have had an ear ache I would put a hot compress on the hurting ear to help dry out any fluid.

It is easy to infuse oil with garlic. Just google it.

It's a simple matter of boiling the oil with the pressed garlic cloves in the oil, jar it, let it stand at room temp for 24 hours, the strain through a cheese clothe.

GL!

Just a word of caution, please make sure she does not have a whole in her ear drum, every time you put it in her hear. It could get very bad if her ear drum ruptured and you are putting garlic oil in there.