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 Earache
is a very common problem faced by both adults and children.
It is related to allergies, sinusitis infections, colds,
injuries and ear infections. Earache can also happen when a
person experiences pressure or altitude changes (e.g.
boarding on a plane), teething, as well as swimming in
polluted water. However, the most common cause of earache is
ear infection, either outer ear or middle ear.
Outer ear skin infection is called otitis externa, which
usually occurred after swimming. Otitis media, on the other hand involves
the infection of middle ear and eardrum, which is very common among infants
and children. Harmful liquid such as mucus tends to flow to the middle ear
which contains air and being trapped there. Bacteria in the mucus will then
infected the ear and resulted in pain.
To prevent earache, some simple rules can
be followed. When blowing your nose, do it gently as blowing
too hard will cause your ear to plug air. When swimming in
dirty waters, put on earplugs to reduce the chances of outer
ear infection. When boarding on a plane, keep chewing a
chewing gum to keep the Eustachian tubes opened and drained.
Here are some of the
suggested earache home remedies:
Mineral Oil:
Applying mineral oil from natural resources (e.g. petroleum) is a good
remedy for swimmer's ear. Drop some mineral oil into the ear and put on
earplugs before going to swim. This will avoid ear pain caused by the
pressure differences when swimming in the water.
Chewing Gum:
Chewing gum and yawning help relieve the ear pain and fullness resulted by
altitude changes, for example boarding on a plane and climbing up a
mountain. The action of chewing and yawning helps in contracting the muscles
and open Eustachian tube.
Hot Shower:
Having hot showers will help softening the ear wax and make it easy to be
removed. This will prevent the wax from settling too long in the ear.
Proper Diet:
Eat more food that is rich in Vitamin C to boost the immunity strength.
Avoid food that may cause cold and cough and avoid smoking too as ear, nose
and throat are interrelated.
Bishop’s Weed-Sesame Oil:
Mix Bishop’s weed oil and
sesame oil at 1:3 ratio. Warm up the mixture to the body temperature.
Apply 4 to 5 drops to the aching ear. After a while, wash with warm water
and dry. This is an effective remedy for ear ache.
Ginger Juice-Sesame Oil:
Mix ginger juice and sesame oil at 1:1 ratio. Apply 2 to 3 drops into the ear and cover
with a cotton ball. Leave it for about 15 minutes and then clean. This also helps in
relieving the pain.
Garlic-Salt
Poultice: Mashed a few cloves of garlic and
add a pinch of salt. Then wrap it in a woolen cloth and put on the ear. Garlic contains natural antibiotic that
helps in relieving the ear pain away.
Grapefruit
Seed Extract: Apply 3 drops into the aching ear.
This is another great home remedy for an aching ear.
Fresh Peppermint
Juice: Grind some fresh peppermint and
extract the juice using a cotton cloth. Use the juice to relieve your
ear ache.
Fresh Urine!:
Use 1 tsp of fresh urine and instilled in the ear
and cover with a
cotton ball. Believe it or not, the ear ache will go within 15 minutes.
This may sound weird! But when all else fails, why not give it a try!
Home remedies are an effective way to
ease
earaches. However, if the pain continues, it is advisable to
seek treatment from medical professional.
To find out more remedies for earache resulted by middle ear infection (otitis
media), please refer home
remedies for ear infection.
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