<p>If an adult is getting ear infections and isnt a swimmer, i would have allergens ( inflammatory foods) checked out especially things that create mucus like sugar, dairy & citrus.(especially oranges)
If you are a swimmer, there are drops you can use that will help.</p>
<p>Thank you again, everyone. I have a follow up appointment next Monday, so if the issues still persist, I’ll have a detailed discussion with the doctor. Maybe if he actually hears my medical history, what other drugs I am taking, etc., he will consider other options. And believe me, if I was in terrible pain, I’d be risking the cipro.</p>
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This is why they appear to work. They don’t actually work. I sometimes worry about interfering with the placebo effect, but nobody should delay medical treatment to see if a homeopathic remedy will “work.” It won’t work, because they do not and cannot work. It may be that the problem will resolve without treatment, and perhaps for some ear infections “wait and see” is reasonable.</p>
<p>Possibly it was the placebo effect when I treated my Ds ear infections with garlic oil, but she still has paranormal hearing.
( The pediatrician diagnosed them, but she couldn’t swallow pills & threw up liquid antibiotics)</p>
<p>Thank you, Hunt, for being the voice of wisdom among all the woo.</p>
<p>Well, garlic oil is not a homeopathic treatment. I suppose it’s possible that it would do something for an outer ear infection. As others have noted, it really couldn’t do anything for a middle or inner ear infection unless there’s a punctured eardrum, in which case non-medical care is not a good idea.</p>
<p>Wait & see is certainly more reasonable than throwing heavy duty antibiotics designed for resistant pneumonia at something that could be a virus.</p>
<p>A brief Google search indicates that there is some evidence that garlic oil has antibiotic properties. See, for example: [In</a> vitro activity of garlic oil and four diallyl sulphides against antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae](<a href=“In vitro activity of garlic oil and four diallyl sulphides against antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae | Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy | Oxford Academic”>In vitro activity of garlic oil and four diallyl sulphides against antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae | Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy | Oxford Academic) But it bears repeating that even if this is true, the introduction of garlic oil into the ear would onlyhave the potential for antibiotic effects on an infection of the outer ear. For middle and inner ear infections, it’s possible that warm oil in the ear might mitigate some symptoms, but it’s not going to attack the bacteria.</p>
<p>I have to also note that the internet is crawling with terribly bad “medical” information about this and related topics. I also blame Whole Foods and other companies for knowingly selling fraudulent substances to the public (such as homeopathic drugs, colon cleansers, and many, many more).</p>
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<p>[Dr</a>. Brad Spellberg: Antibiotic Resistance Is “Everyone’s Fault” | Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria | FRONTLINE | PBS](<a href=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/health-science-technology/hunting-the-nightmare-bacteria/dr-brad-spellberg-antibiotic-resistance-is-everyones-fault/]Dr”>Dr. Brad Spellberg: Antibiotic Resistance Is "Everyone's Fault" | FRONTLINE)
Imo, its irresponsible to prescribe or request antibiotics when it is not warranted.
The majority of ear infections are viral.</p>
<p>What I find amusing is when people seem not to understand that “natural” things have chemical names, too – that somehow the name has protective elements.</p>
<p>Garlic, for example, is made up of:</p>
<p>Contains 0.1–0.36% (usually ca. 0.2%) volatile oil, alliin (S-allyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide), S-methyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide, enzymes (e.g., alliinase, peroxidase, and myrosinase), ajoenes (E,Z-ajoene, E,Z-methylajoene, and dimethylajoene), protein (16.8%, dry weight basis), minerals, vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, etc.), lipids, amino acids, and others. </p>
<p>The volatile oil contains allicin (diallyldisulfide-S-oxide; diallyl thiosulfinate), allylpropyl disulfide, diallyl disulfide, and diallyl trisulfide as the major components, with lesser amounts of dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide; dimethyl trisulfide, allylmethyl sulfide, 2,3,4-trithiapentane, bis-2-propenyl tri-, tetra-, and pentasulfides, and other related sulfur compounds. Boiled garlic also contains sodium 2-propenyl thiosulfate.</p>
<p>Oooh, scary! But call it garlic oil, and it’s magical and healing and could never, ever, ever hurt a flea.</p>
<p>Well, if nothing else, garlic oil will keep vampires out of your ears.</p>
<p>What I find amusing is when people seem not to understand that “natural” things have chemical names, too – that somehow the name has protective elements.</p>
<p>Where did anyone say or even imply that?
You are purposely trying to demean others experience.
:p</p>
<p>If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it. It’s just an observation I have about people who pay obeisance to “natural” remedies. They don’t seem to understand that those remedies are just as “chemical” as those made in a lab.</p>
<p>Garlic oil will likely keep your friends away too…so you won’t be exposed to any other types of germs:)</p>
<p>Thumper, I was thinking the same thing.</p>
<p>I looked at some pediatric med websites. They tend to recommend that if there is fluid in the ear, without pain, fever, etc., to wait to see if it resolves itself…in 3-6 MONTHS.</p>
<p>"
You are purposely trying to demean others experience."</p>
<p>To the contrary, I love when thousands of people’s experiences are aggregated up to draw conclusions from! That’s called science. I know nothing about ear infections, ear anatomy, or the healing properties of garlic oil, but I echo that there are professionals who know about these things, and crowd sourcing medical info is fraught with peril. Sure, some things are do-no-harm … But others can cause problems.</p>
<p>Everyone on this site is equal barring some posters claims of being an “expert” on this or that.
I can do with out the snide comments.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
;)</p>
<p>It doesn’t really matter to me whether the homeopathic remedies <em>worked</em> or not. All I know is that we got much better results by using them than from using antibiotics. And no side effect – no hives, no listlessness, and very quick relief, similar to the relief from an antiobiotic time wise. Plus, we cut way, way down on the use of antibiotics that way. So, if the <em>woo</em> approach, helped our family cut down on antibiotic use, well, I consider that a good thing. Also, not all doctors are equal, either. A good doctor is worth his or her weight in gold. Surely I am not the only one to visit a conventional doctor and been given treatment or prescriptions that either did not have any effect on symptoms, or actually made things worse? A lot of conventional medicine doesn’t really work that well either, and yet it is not called <em>woo</em>. It should be though.</p>
<p>mstee, the difference is that conventional medicine is based on research that shows that it is safe and effective. It isn’t perfect, of course, but it’s based on the scientific method. Most alternative methods, including homeopathic medicine, aren’t based on that kind of research–there’s a little bit of research supporting some things (like acupuncture for certain problems), but nothing at all for many others. When you use these remedies, you are (in my opinion, anyway) putting yourself in the hands of people who are, at best, people with an unproven theory, and at worst, charlatans and hucksters. It would be better to do nothing than to use a homeopathic remedy, because at least then you wouldn’t be giving money to somebody who is cheating you. At least if you make your own garlic oil, nobody is stealing your money.</p>
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<p>True, but I always make the assumption that the parents on CC give their advice knowing that the rest of us are intelligent people who are able to evaluate it appropriately. </p>
<p>I will say that someone on CC was able to tell me why my thyroid medication wasn’t working when my own endocrinologist could not (because like my ENT here, she didn’t ask enough questions and I didn’t know enough to volunteer the info.) In addition, someone else on CC acurately discerned what was causing my D’s pain, when an ER visit didn’t do it (the CC poster came to the same conclusion that her pediatrician did.)</p>
<p>The answers I have received here have at least confirmed that in some cases, ear infections, of some types, go away without antibiotics…whether a homeopathic remedy does it or it goes away on its own, some times one can wait it out.</p>
<p>I have had two ear infections in my life that were so painful that I would have taken any pill or steaming potion that the doctor put in front of me, without question. What I have now is merely annoying.</p>