Treating Childhood Earaches Naturally

Parents and children alike cringe at the word earache. Quickly reminded of the sleepless nights or the holiday weekend that was ruined because their child was overcome with pain. Earaches are commonly seen between the ages of 3 months to seven years old but can occur in some children until 13 years of age. There are three main types or earaches: serous, infective, and external. Both infective and serous earaches often arrive following an upper respiratory tract infection and are accompanied by symptoms of fever, throbbing, tugging at the ear and pain.

Risk factors for an infective or serous earache include, daycare, exposure to second hand smoke, craniofacial abnormalities, and not having been breast-fed. An external earache is caused due to an infection in the external ear canal usually from repeated wetting of the canal allowing for bacterial and fungal growth.

Otherwise known as swimmers ear it is usually accompanied by pain, itching, and foul smelling discharge. A 1:1 mixture of rubbing alcohol and vinegar used in drop doses into the ear canal can help ward off swimmers ear. It is a good idea to have a doctor examine the ear to rule out an eardrum rupture before putting anything into it.

Twenty-four million anti-bacterial prescriptions are written annually in the U.S. for pediatric ear infections. Studies show that 80% of pediatric ear infections will resolve on their own in 2-7 days and that 30% were shown to have no bacterial component. In an attempt to reduce the amount of antibiotics prescribed and decrease the chances of bacterial resistance, a recent study in Pediatrics reported pain management with acetaminophen and ibuprofen to be effective by 78% of parents for the management of ear infections.

Despite the evidence indicating the lack of efficacy of antibiotic treatment it still remains the standard treatment for ear infections in the United States. A strong association between chronic earaches and food allergies has been made, specifically to cows milk, and wheat. If your child is a candidate for earaches consider removing these common allergens from his or her diet temporarily.

Remember moms; pasta is made from wheat along with most breads, crackers, and cookies. These foods create mucus. With the tonsils enlarged, this increases the chances of small particles and bacteria becoming trapped in the lower part of the eustacean tube(s) increasing the chances of infection. Whether your child has an acute infection or is plagued by chronic infections I suggest using Homeopathy for effective natural treatment. Homeopathy is safe for all ages of children including newborns. In my experience, the proper homeopathic remedy works within hours to restore children to health. Aside from stimulating your child's healing response, I think the best part about homeopathy is that children never object to the slightly sweet taste.

The practice of homeopathy is based on the law of similars, which means that what a substance can cause it can also cure. A good example is coffee. Homeopathic coffee can be used to treat insomnia associated with agitation and over-stimulation of the nervous system, where as drinking too much coffee can cause those same symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are prepared through a series of dilutions and it is the smallness of the dose, which assures the non-toxicity of this medicine. A recent case I had involved a 6mo old girl who had an acute ear infection and would wake in the middle of the night screaming from the pain.

During the day she was not her usual self. Anything she was presented with she pushed away, she was very irritable, wanted to be carried and could not be consoled. For this presentation I prescribed homeopathic Chamomilla 6c four times a day. After the first dose the child became less irritable. The third dose was taken just before bed and she slept through the night. By the next day the fever had broken and she was feeling much better. Many conditions can be treated effectively in the home with homeopathy. For more complex conditions it is necessary to see someone who is well trained.

I suggest that parents get a homeopathy kit of 30C potency for the home that has 30-50 of the most common single remedies for acute prescribing along with a homeopathic book to reference. Kits and books can be mail ordered from the following companies:

Dolisos (kits only)- 1800-365-4767 www.DolisosAmerica.com

Natural Health Supply (kits and books) - 1888-689-1608 www.A2ZHomeopathy.com

Book: Kruzel, Thomas, The Homeopathic Emergency Guide, ISBN# 155643-123-6

Book: Ullman, Dana, Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants, ISBN# 087477-692-9

Infentions in Medicine 2003: 20 (5): 224-229

Pediatrics 2003: 112:527-531

JAMA 2003: 290:1608-1616