I'm on a journey to find health and happiness through a more holistic and green lifestyle.

I find the world to be abrasive. =) That is to say, I feel the need to armor myself, physically and emotionally, in order to face life. Don't we all? Maybe. For whatever reason, it has become a priority in my life to rid my immediate environment of irritating things. And I'm sensitive! So there is much work to be done. But. I have thought for a long time that the things I come in contact with every day, and the stuff used to clean and maintain these things, need to be gentle and non-toxic. I have had eczema my entire life. For a long time I just dealt with it, and accepted that sometimes it's bad, and sometimes it's not, and that it will fluctuate a lot. Gradually over time I have come to find that certain things, fabrics, cleansers, materials, are more irritating to my skin than others. Stress can exacerbate it. In more recent times, I have realized that every aspect of my life improves when I improve conditions for my skin. Hah! What a concept! Thus my (long time) interest in going green, and my more recent desire to live a more holistic lifestyle. (I think I've felt a desire for a long time to live in a harmonious way with myself, my surroundings, and nature, but didn't have a name for it.) Anyhow, this blog is a journal of my trials and errors, and basic crooked path to find a balanced and peaceful existence for myself and my family. Thanks for your interest! I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Onion Juice or Garlic Oil For Earaches - Trial

My daughter (8) is telling me that her ear hurts. She has had earaches twice before, and we have treated it traditionally, by heading to the doc, spending $30.00 on the visit, then heading to the pharmacy for antibiotics.

I am not against this plan, of course. Medications are important when we need them. But first I'm trying this:

Onion Juice!

I have read online that garlic infused in olive oil and the juice of an onion (not together) can quickly and effectively take away the pain and irritation of an ear infection while the body heals. I'm gonna give it a try.

I have found, from online research, that people have different ways of cooking and preparing the onion. I chose to keep an onion whole and in the skin, and bake it for 35 minutes at 350*. I would say that it could have cooked longer to get softer, or at a higher temp. But we made do with this. I cut the onion into pieces and squashed them to release the juice. I collected the onion juice in a small bowl, and let it cool. I then (after doing so to myself to show my daughter she wouldn't turn green and start foaming) used a spoon to gently drip some onion juice into the hurting ear. I have read that it's good to let the juice sit in there for several minutes, and I got about 2 or 2 1/2 out of my daughter before she insisted that she needed to get up and drain it. (She wasn't crazy about the experiment, so I was willing to take what I could get)

I had planned to ask her once an hour about her level of discomfort. Less than half an hour after putting the onion drops in, she informed me that her ear was not hurting anymore. What? Regardless of this report, it always takes time to kill an infection, and we have agreed together to repeat the process three more times today (so that would be morning, noonish, 4ish, then before bed.) Then maybe once in the morning for good measure.

I would be very pleased if this works! If you have any experience with this process, positive or otherwise, I'd love to hear about it.

Update: We treated dear daughter's ear with onion juice four times yesterday. This morning, she said that her ear was hurting. So I decided to abandon the onion juice and go for the garlic in olive oil treatment, as I have used garlic to treat other infections in the past with great success. This time, I looked online, and followed this preparation:

Put 1/2 cup of olive oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Peel and smash two cloves of garlic. Put it into the olive oil and microwave on high for 15 seconds, or until hot. (The directions I read said 30-60 seconds, but mine was plenty hot after 15 seconds. Use your judgement on that.) Mix and wait until the oil cools down. Drip 1/4 teaspoon or so into the ear. (While the person lies on his/her side with the infected ear up.) Use a rice bag or rice in a sock that is gently dampened and heated in the microwave - or a warm damp cloth to cover the ear, and wait. The directions I read said to "put on a 30-minute movie" but I wasn't going to get 30 minutes out of my daughter. After 10-15 minutes she drained the ear. I asked her about 2 hours later how her ear felts, and she said it felt great. I will give her this treatment again one more time today if she'll let me, and assess tonight and in the morning.

Update: It is two days later. Yesterday, I asked my daughter a couple of times throughout the day how her ear felt. Each time, she told me that her ear felt fine. After a day out and about, she took a bath, submerging the ear several times, and continued to feel fine after that. I will ask her again this morning when she gets up.

Second Update: I asked her several times yesterday how her ear felt, and she has continued to give positive reports. So garlic in olive oil it is! By the way, I did give her a second dose of this that day. So four doses of onion juice, no change. Two doses of garlic oil, no more pain or discomfort. Was it the combination of the two? Hard to say. But if this comes about again, my plan is to try the garlic oil only.

I hope this works for you! Let me know!