What causes Ear Infections?

Young children are often prone to ear infections (even if they do not eat pasteurized dairy products) – due to the straightened angle of their Eustachian tubes and sometimes very narrow ear canals, which further prevent proper drainage of mucus.

During an ear infection, the eustachian tubes (small tubes that run from the middle ear to high in the back of the throat) become swollen or blocked. This causes fluid or mucus to build up in the middle of the ear – which can then become infected. Ear infections can be chronic or acute, and can affect babies to adults.

Things that can cause eustachian tube blockage:

• Excessive wax
• Smoking
• Allergies
• Colds
• Sinus Infections
• Changes in air pressure
• Excess Mucus
• Bacterial, Fungal, Viral overload in the ear or sinuses
• Infected or swollen adenoids (tissue near your tonsils that can trap harmful bacteria or viruses)
• Ear infections can be very painful and come with a variety of symptoms which can include fever, headache, and sinus pain.

Without going into the entire history, and ALL the things I have tried – both drug (out of desperation) and natural treatments – to heal my children’s ear infections, here is just what works.

I’ve actually worked out two protocols – one for older children, who can take wild oregano oil orally, and one for younger children/babies who cannot take wild oregano orally. Remember that wild oregano is anti-fungal, anti-yeast, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial – so you’re covered no matter what’s causing the infection. These protocols can also be applied to adults with ear infections, and I will give the adult dosage equivalents as we go along.

Ear Infection Protocol 1 – Babies & Toddlers

This protocol involves putting diluted wild oregano oil directly into the ears. This is something that every herbal literature source tells you never to do. However, after trying various natural therapies for eight weeks, with pus pouring out of my two-year-old son Hugo’s ears the whole time, then another two weeks of Suprax antibiotics, which resulted in blood and pus coming out his ears, I was desperate enough to follow my intuition – which had been urging me all along to put the diluted solution of wild oregano in his ears!

So, I first tested it on myself for a few days and it felt fine for my ears. I then put it in Hugo’s ears, 2-3x/day for the next eight days. Then I took him to an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) specialist. I explained to the doctor what I’d done, and asked him to check very thoroughly for any damage to the ear canal, eardrum, etc. He reported, “No damage, everything looks good.” Oh, the relief. By the way, after only two days of using the wild oregano dilution directly in Hugo’s ears, all the blood was gone. After 10 days every speck of pus and mucus was completely gone, and the ear infection was completely healed.

The dilution I used in his ears was 7:1 (7 drops organic olive oil to 1 drop wild oregano oil) and I put in 3-4 drops at a time. Adults should probably use 5-6 drops, or whatever completely fills up the ear canal. You don’t need to warm it (unless you prefer it that way). But stay lying on your side for 10 minutes each ear. For children/babies, as long as you get them to lie on their side for 60 seconds, that’s enough to do the job.

Only use a brand of wild oregano I recommend or one that has already been diluted 3:1 with olive oil. Do NOT use essential oil of oregano. See the detailed instructions below for how to put the drops in the ears.

1. Give three drops diluted wild oregano oil (7:1 dilution with olive oil) in infected ears every four hours for the first 24 hours. Then every five hours for the next 24 hours. But, don’t wake if baby/child is sleeping. Usually, you can just put the drops in their ear while they’re sleeping and they won’t wake up – massage gently around the ear to take away the itchy feeling and they should stay asleep. If putting in ear drops means they will wake up, then let them sleep so their immune system can keep up its good work.

2. Then, administer three drops in infected ears 3x/day until infection is completely gone.

3. Then, give three drops diluted wild oregano (5-6 drops for adult) in infected ears 2x/day for 3 days and then 1x/day for 3 days.

4. Get GSE Nasal Spray (grapefruit seed extract) and use 3x/day until infection resolved – this will help to drain the sinuses and combat any fungal infection as well. If your child won’t take it up the nose, then just spray it in their mouth and give water to drink afterwards. If this step is too difficult, you can skip it. It is helpful, but not essential.

5. Simultaneously, supplement with probiotics: Natren’s Life Start probiotics for nursing babies and the Megadophilus, Bifido Factor and Digesta-Lac for toddlers and babies who are eating solid foods. Give 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon, 3x/day mixed in milk or non-acidic juice like apple or pear.

6. If your child has a lot of ear pain, experiment with applying a hot water bottle OR an ice pack to the ear. Depending on the child, the type of infection, or the stage of infection, one or the other will provide relief.

Note: When giving bottles, or breastfeeding children, try to keep child/baby in as upright a position as possible – this helps to prevent the milk from leaking into the ears, where it can get trapped and contribute to infection. So don’t lay your baby flat (horizontal) to nurse, use a pillow under your supporting arm, to elevate their head and then make sure their bum is as vertical as you can get it. You want to use the power of gravity to assist the breastmilk or bottled milk to go down their throat, not back into their ears or sinus area.

After developing this protocol, Hugo contracted two more ear infections in the course of the next year. I administered the diluted wild oregano ear drops at the first sign of discomfort and after only 2-3 days he was completely clear. I continued to administer the ear drops once per day for another 3 days just be sure all pathogens were completely cleared.

Personally, I suspect that a lot of ear infections are actually fungal – not bacterial. So treating repeatedly with antibiotics not only destroys the gut flora, it doesn’t get rid of the causative pathogen either – hence the high recurrence rate. Wild oregano is a potent anti-fungal (along with being antiviral and antibacterial) so you’re covered regardless of the cause.

Protocol 2 – Children & Adults

Herbal literature also tells you not to use wild oregano oil orally in children under the age of five. However, I have tested this extensively with all three of my children and don’t find it applies. As long as you scale down the dose appropriately and/or dilute where needed, it is fine. My children could take wild oregano orally from the age of three or four. Earlier than that, it would cause them to vomit – it’s simply too strong and they can’t chug water fast enough to clear it.

When taking wild oregano orally, have the child (or adult) take a sip of water and hold it in their mouth, then tilt their head back as you shoot the dosage into the back of their mouth. Make sure they hold their mouth wide open, so none of the oregano oil touches their tongue or lips. When you say, “Okay”, they can close their mouth and swallow the mixture immediately. Have a glass of room temperature water ready so they can drink it quickly until all traces are gone. See this video to see my five-year-old daughter Zara demonstrate this easy way to take wild oregano oil:

1. At the first sign of infection, give 3-4 drops (10 drops for adult) of wild oregano oil orally every four hours for the first 24 hours. Don’t wake up to take it – if you’re up, then take it, but if you’re asleep, then let your body sleep. Then take 3 times/day for next two days, or until infection is gone. Pain should resolve within first 24 hours when combined with wild oregano ear drops. Again, only use a brand I recommend, or one that has already been diluted 3:1 with olive oil. Do NOT use essential oil of oregano.

2. Administer three drops (5-6 drops for adult) diluted wild oregano oil (7:1 dilution with olive oil) into infected ears every four hours for first 24 hours. Then every five hours for next 24 hours. But, don’t wake if baby/child is sleeping. Usually, you can just put the drops in their ear while they’re sleeping and they won’t wake up – massage gently around the ear to take away the itchy feeling and they should stay asleep. If putting in ear drops means they will wake up, then let them sleep, so their immune system can keep up it’s good work.

3. Then, administer three drops diluted wild oregano (5-6 drops for adult) in infected ears 3x/day until infection is completely gone. Then administer once per day for 3-4 more days.

4. Get GSE Nasal Spray (grapefruit seed extract) and use every 3 hours for first 24 hours (don’t wake if sleeping) – this will help to drain sinuses and combat any fungal infection as well. Then 3x/day until infection is resolved.

5. Start high dose oral probiotics after the first 48-hour wild oregano dosing period finishes and continue daily until two weeks after the infection is completely resolved. High dose means 4-5 billion c.f.u per day (7-10 billion c.f.u per day for adults) of each Natren brand species – Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac.

6. If you or your child has a lot of ear pain, experiment with applying a hot water bottle, OR an ice pack to the ear. Depending on the person, or the type of infection, or the stage of infection, one or the other will provide relief.

How To Administer the Ear Drops

1. Child (or you) should lie on their side, with infected ear up. If ear is blocked with mucus, pus, or blood, then use a Q-tip soaked in warm water to gently clean the pus/blood out of the ear canal first. Use as many Q-tips as you need to gently clean the ear canal and get it as clear as possible.

2. Pull ear gently up and back to open ear canal when putting ear drops in. The tip of the dropper should not touch the fingers, ear, or any other surfaces. After putting the ear drops in the ear, tug down on the bottom of ear lobe gently a few times.

3. Gently press the tragus (the triangular bit of cartilage that protrudes out over the ear hole) five times in a pumping motion. This will allow the drops to pass through the eardrum and into the middle ear. Then massage lightly around the ear.

4. Stay lying on your side for 10 minutes each ear. For children/babies, as long as you get them to lie on their side for 60 seconds, that’s enough to do the job. Add some rolled cotton wool to keep formula in the ears for 10 minutes if your child will allow it.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for the other ear if both ears are infected.

Another therapy that is useful – especially if your child is prone to repeated ear infections – is to do lymph drainage for the head area. My daughter found this so helpful that she learned to do it for herself. See my home remedy for: Lymphatic Drainage for full instructions (it’s actually quite simple).

These protocols are definitely more work than just taking a prescription antibiotic. However, when you compare the systemic damage done by drug antibiotics, there is no comparison.

I remember when the FDA issued a report, requiring doctors to warn patients that Cipro (and other antibiotics classed as Fluoroquinolones) also causes tendonitis and causes tendons to rupture. Again, pharmaceutical companies claim this is very rare side effect. But, if it was so rare, then why was the FDA releasing press notices about it and asking doctors to warn patients?

An even bigger question is: What on earth are these antibiotics doing to the body that they can cause such seemingly unrelated side effects?

The first Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist gave me a Cipro ear drop product to use in Hugo’s ears, which I didn’t, since there are two tendons found in the middle ear: the tendons of the tensor tympani and the stapedius muscles… that’s just way too risky in my opinion.

EAR INFECTION TREATMENT SUMMARY

• Apply ear drop formula 3x/day after gently clearing any pus or mucus
• Take wild oregano orally if you can
• Take Natren probiotics to re-build gut flora
• Breastfeed baby in a more upright position
• Use lymphatic drainage for the head area
• Use a hot water bottle OR ice pack on the affected ear to reduce pain – see which one works best