“Mommy, my ear hurts.” Luke ran up to me clutching at his ear. It was reddish and discoloured. I laid him down and rested his head on my lap, so that his sore ear was facing me. Then I grabbed our bottle of ear oil and put five drops in his ear. He remained lying there for a while, as the oil worked its way down into the ear canal. In this moment of tenderness, I thought of the many generations of mothers tending to their young ones, finding simple remedies to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. My thoughts turned as well to Luke’s grandmother, who used ear oil to soothe Luke’s dad’s earaches as a child. Though years may separate us mothers in terms of age, the demands of our nurturing role remain constant—relying on ancient approaches to the care of our children, using timeless and simple formulas derived from what nature has given us.
Earache and antibiotics
Earache ranks right up there with toothache as an affliction that can make life just plain out and out miserable. What makes matters worse is that earaches are most common in children. It’s because their Eustachian tubes are small and underdeveloped. This makes them more prone to ear infections. In 80 percent of children, an ear infection clears up without the use of antibiotics. There is very little evidence, in fact, that the prescription of antibiotics for middle ear infection leads to an alleviation of symptoms or fewer infections. Nonetheless, the tendency of medical practitioners has been to over-treat this condition at an early stage and prescribe antibiotics as a way of tackling the immediate pain of earache. Not only are antibiotics often an ineffective solution, they are also not wise in our day and age, when antibiotic resistance has become a larger public health problem.
Ear Oil
The natural solution with the ideal ingredients
When it comes to earaches, Ear Oil is easily one of the most acknowledged and effective natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Comprised of garlic cloves and the flowers of mullein, calendula, and St. John’s wort—four classic Western herbs—and macerated in extra-virgin olive oil, ours is a formula specifically intended for topical use in the ear as an analgesic for the symptomatic relief of pain associated with middle and outer ear infections (“swimmer’s ear”), both common summer ailments.
When you look at its ingredients, it comes as no surprise that the Ear Oil is so effective. Mullein has known pain-relieving qualities, while calendula has always been a wound-healing herb. For its part, garlic is a strong antimicrobial. As for St. John’s wort, it has been used topically as an analgesic and antiseptic from as early as the first century A.D.
Proven by clinical trials
A clinical trial using a product composed of ingredients identical to ours was compared with a standard pain-relieving drug preparation for the earache associated with middle ear infection. The authors found a statistically significant benefit for pain with both treatments and noted that there was no difference in effectiveness between groups. The same research team reinforced their findings in another trial conducted two years later. After this trial, they concluded that antibiotics do not change the natural course of a middle ear infection and also stated that the main goal of treatment should be the alleviation of ear pain. It’s herbal Ear Oil that does this superbly well, because it is an excellent and appropriate topical therapy, one that serves, among other things, to stimulate the immune response. Also, with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities, it soothes the tissue around the tympanic membrane or eardrum.
After a short passage of time, Luke is ready to get back to playing. The ear oil has given him the relief he needed, leaving a reassuring feeling that the ageless wisdom of nature has empowered me to take excellent care of my children’s health.
