Has anyone had success using garlic drops instead of antibiotics for toddler's ear infection? My 19month old son developed an ear infection and the doctor gave him amoxicillin. I gave him all of it but Target only gave me enough for 8 days instead of 10 so his infection returned (I'm unhappy with Target!). We recently started seeing a Natropathic doctor who recomends Allimax garlic drops in his ears and orally.
I am wondering
1. have any of you had any success getting rid of an ear infection using garlic drops?
2. if so, how long did it take?
it seems as if it helps somewhat but if we miss or delay a dose his symptoms return in a milder form but they do return.
I have never tried garlic drops for ear infections, but I believe if the drops reduces the symptoms, great!
I've been working with toddlers and preschoolers for more than 16 years, and have taken care of many children with ear infections. During this time, I wanted to learn more about ear infections so I could help the children in my care more when they had one. I found out that most ear infections are viral not bacterial, so antibiotics won't help. I also learned doctors cannot know for sure which type of infection your child has.
It is now recommended that parents used alternative treatments to ease symptoms allowing the body to heal its self. If the child develops a high fever or is in serious pain, then it's time to call the doctor.
I suggest you keep up with the children's Tylenol, your natropath's drops. If you're looking for a different treatment, I've always have had luck with the Similasan line of drops. I used their ear drops a few years back when my husband had an infection and he felt better soon.
I wish you the best of luck. Ear infections are tough, because they happen so often and your child is in pain. I hope this clears up soon!
I had repeated success. Mullen oil w/garlic was what worked for us. Many doctors are avoiding antibiotics as they are not the proper treatment, but western medicine doesn't have any answers and they don't want you to leave empty handed.
If your child is eating lot's of milk, cheese or white flour these can be cause of the congestion.
Since you are seeing a Natropathic doctor, you have most likely already been given the advice to take probiotics to balance the antibiotics.
One of the best books I have found is Eat Right for Your Type. Even though we have different blood types in our family, we all thrive and have worked it out.
If you child is a blood type O, milk, cheese and flour are among the worst foods you can feed them. I grew up in constant pain, until I found this blood type information, now I am healthier at 45 then I was at 15.
Always do your own research. Doctors have a limited amount of information and are under untold stresses these days. Take responsibility and participate with the practitioner...you have to live with the results.
Garlic and Mullin oil have been around a very long time.
Many years ago when my now 22 year old was about a year old, he got repeated ear infections. The doctor wanted to put in tubes, but the next time he had ear problems we used the mullein/garlic ear compound once in the morning and once before bed and stopped sugar and dairy. It stopped it from becoming an infection. He stopped getting ear infections after that too. We might have only had to do the ear drops a few more times. I think the reason your son might have gotten an infection again was because the antibiotics kill the infection and the good bugs too, but if there is water in the ear and your immune is low they can tend to return. I think 8 days of antibiotics would have killed anything and it's possible it still could have come back with 10 days of antibiotics.
I used them exclusively with my son and had great success. He always seemed better within a few days, but more importantly, did not ever seem worse. We used the garlic mullein from Herb Pharm.
In your case, if he was already on antibiotics, I would be concerned a stronger strain of something had come back.... If it were me, I might we willing to try a more natural course as long as there was no high fever/major behavior changes.
Also, are you breastfeeding by chance? Some milk in the ears would be great as well. It is like magic for just about all illnesses. Cleared up a recent pinkeye case in a flash!
I have not used garlic, but have taken my little one to the Chiropractor. I know it seems weird to take a little kid to the chiropractor, but it really has worked for us. I am not one of those people that swear by them either. I go about three or four times a year, only when I really need it. I have a very physical job and sometimes I get bad tension headaches, which the chiro helps with. I see someone that specializes in kids and pregnant women, which i recommend and shouldn't be too hard to find.
Hi Suzanne,
Both my husband and I have been commited to addressing childhood colds and flu's naturally. My husband was in his previous marriage, married to a naturopath. She did her research on children's ear infections and as a result my husband felt knowledgeable and confident in treating ear infections naturally. Fortunately, for us, in our town we have a Homeopathic doctor who is also a MD family practitioner. I would always take the boys, I have twins to see her to check their ears, just in case we were looking at something that might need something stronger, like antibiotics. As an MD and a homeopath I trusted her completely when she would suggest, garlic ear drops and warm compresses. These did work! Also, it was helpful to know that the reason children get ear infections so much is that until they are older it's like a "sore throat" because of the angle of their tubes in their ears at such a young age. It's hard when they have ear infections because they are in so much pain and they scream and you feel terrible. My boys are six and a half now and I can assure you, they are healthy and hear fine. Best of luck to you! Mary
ALAM: I'm a happily married mother of fraternal twin boys, who are in first grade. I work p/t.
With my own kids I have never used the antibiotics, but when I was a childbirth educator many of my students did with results similar to yours.
However I have used the garlic with good results, I also remove all sugar and of course ( althought this is normal for us) no refined flour and most grains in general from their diets for a few days an suppliment with vitamin c and zinc during that time and be sure they get lots of water. It also helps to be sure lots of extra sleep....since yeast can be a factor in ear infections in my experience with my kids, antibiotics can make it worse.
I have found that adjustments from either an ABC practicioner if you can find one or if not from a chiropractor can make a real difference in ear infections too. Also helps to take hold firmly to the earlobe and the cartlidge right next to it and pull firmly down and then out and up, this helps the ear to drain and often relieves pain right away.
We also use highland's teething tablets for the pain....giving something else for the pain stops the body from running a fever, which prevents healing.
Yes! I make my own garlic oil by putting some
chopped garlic into olive oil and letting it marinate over night. Then I place a few drops into my ears. It works. I had a chronic ear infection that didn't respond to antibiotics but this cleared it up.
My doc always told me to return to him if the infection returns, so I would do that. I have never gone to a Natropathic doctor so I have nothing to say about that.
I've had no experience with garlic drops in ears, but I'd like to address your Target experience.
Why didn't you return to claim the last 2 days of antibiotics? I've had a few experiences where the pharmacy didn't have enough of my drug on hand to completely fill my scrip, but I've always been instructed to return to pick up the remainder in a few days.
Taking the full course of antibiotics is extremely important, because if you don't, all you've done is killed off the weakest bugs and allowed the strong resistant ones to reproduce. This is why we have such a huge problem with resistant strains of bacteria.
Sorry, but my opinion is that you dropped the ball and didn't make the effort to obtain the full course of antibiotics for your child. This was not Target's fault.
My grandmother used to take a garlic clove, cut it in half, peel it and put one piece in tissue and gently put it in the infected ear.
Now I would suggest exactly that as I wouldn't want the garlic glove to disappear into your infant's ear. Which is a real possibility because as the garlic does it's work it shrinks.
I would recommend garlic drops. I did have an ear ache/infection recently and the garlic clove did work. the earache was gone in three days.
I've used this with my son & it works every time. Even the American Pediatric Association recognized that antibiotic don't work for ear infections & recommends that docs stop using them for this. If your kid has gotten an ear infection so early, he may be allergic ot something he's eatting like my son. I eliminated cow dairy from his diet completely & he hasn't gotten one since. Good luck.
Yes, Yes, Yes. And, I made it myself in advance stuffing garlic into a brown jar and olive oil over it. Two weeks shaking daily and letting it sit. Poured the contents into one ounce dropper bottles. And, it worked better than antibiotic.
I also gave my 4 year old a garlic clove for her mouth and that really did the trick.
No swallowing only let it stay on the upper back teeth. It took the infection right out of her ear.
We use willow/garlic oil for ear infections plus we take our 22month old to the chiropracter every month,
My little one got a ear infection at 14 months, we personally not a fan of medicated meds, so we got the willow/garlic oil from the health food store , just slightly heat it up and drop it in the ear, it took about a week but we also went to the chiropracter every 3 days to make sure her ears were draining, after we would leave she would sleep so well, we are believers....
Good luck if you have questions about how to do it feel free to email me
ok this is going to sound awful but when my son had chronic ear infections for the first two yrs of his life, after the first couple times using anti-biotics that didn't work, i just used.....nothing. Tylenol to ease the pain is it. they wanted to put tubes in his ears but one doctor told me to wait till after he turned 2 to see if the infections would stop and they did....he hasn't had one since and he is 3 1/2. i know not everyone is the same so.....? the doc just said that they usually always clear up after age two.
I would suggest vinegar, actually. I use it in my son's ears when they get a little achy, and since I began using it, the pain goes away in a day or so, and stays gone.
I know it sounds weird, but I do it with my own ears. I actually got the idea from a relative who cared for poodles, which are often prone to ear infections. She used drops of vinegar in her dogs' ears, too. (That probably makes it sound even weirder, but I've never known it to hurt anyone.)
We use a combination of garlic and mullein drops. You can get both at any health food store. My 2 year old has had 1 dr. diagnosed ear infection and we opted to use this first before antibiotics. Took him back in 10 days and ut was all cleared up.
I have also put garlic and olive leaf tablets in smoothies when they are having symptoms of "colds" or "flu". Everything clears up super fast!