5 Alternative natural ear pain remedies that you can find at home

Earaches can be caused by various things such as infections, allergies, and a response to other parts of the body that are inflamed. Although not always a sign of serious condition, ear pain is very annoying. You can handle it in various natural ways, but under certain conditions, you may need medical drugs. Here's the explanation.

What are the natural ear pain medications?

Here are various natural treatment options that you can do to treat earaches, including:

1. Hot or cold compress

Source: Health Ambition

Placing a towel soaked in hot water can help reduce inflammation and pain in the ear. You can put a towel that has been dipped in hot water on the ear for about 20 minutes.

Apart from heat therapy, you can also try cold compresses to treat earaches. Dipping a towel in cold water and then placing it on your ear can be quite an effective way to relieve pain. You can also wrap ice cubes in a towel and place it in the blood around your ear for about 20 minutes.

2. Massage

If the pain arises from around the jaw teeth or as a result of a tension headache, then you can massage the muscles around the area where it hurts. For example, if you have back ear pain, try massaging your jaw muscles as well as your neck. Massage can also help with pain from ear infections.

Start massaging from behind the ears to the bottom of the neck, moving from top to bottom. After that, try to massage into the front of the ear. This is done to drain excess fluid from the ear, which causes the pain to get worse.

3. Stretch the neck

Some earaches are caused due to pressure in the ear canal or hole. Performing various stretches in the neck can be used to relieve this pressure. You can do this by:

• Sit up straight with both feet touching the ground.
• Turn the neck slowly from right to left and vice versa.
• Raise your shoulders high as if you were trying to cover your ears with your shoulders.
• Do it every time you wake up and when your ear hurts.

4. Make a concoction of garlic

Brandon Hopkins, MD, an expert from The Cleveland Clinic said that although there is no scientific evidence about the efficacy of garlic as an earache remedy, you can try this method.

The reason is, garlic has been used as a traditional medicine for pain relief since centuries ago. Research shows that garlic has antibiotic and antimicrobial properties that can help fight infections.

You can process garlic as ear drops. You do this by soaking crushed garlic in warm olive oil or sesame oil. Once filtered, take the oil and apply it into the hole or ear canal.

5. Use tea tree and olive oil

Tea tree oil contains a range of anti-fungal, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial compounds that are good for natural earache remedies. So that you can use this one oil as a drop to reduce pain and discomfort in your ears.

To avoid the risk of allergies, you can mix tea tree oil with warm olive oil before dropping it in the ear. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, although there is no scientific evidence, olive oil can be used quite effectively to treat earaches.

6. Set the sleeping position

How you sleep can affect earaches. Rest with your head on two or more pillows, so that the sore ear is higher than the rest of your body.

Alternatively, if your left ear has an infection, sleep on your right side. This method can reduce ear pain that you feel because the less pressure, the less pain in the ear.

You can make these various home treatments as an additional alternative to treatment from a doctor. However, make sure to consult beforehand to avoid possible side effects.

When do I need to see a doctor?

Not all home remedies and natural ear remedies can relieve earaches. You need to see a doctor immediately if:

• Ear bleeding, even discharge pus.
• Have a high fever, headache, or dizziness.
• Feeling something stuck in the ear.
• There is swelling behind the ears, especially if one side of your face feels weak and it is difficult to move the muscles.
• Ear pain gets worse and even causes temporary hearing loss.
• Symptoms did not improve and got worse over two days.

What medical treatments can treat ear pain?

Treatment for earaches is usually adjusted based on the cause, age, and severity of the infection. The following are various drugs that are generally prescribed to treat earaches, namely:

Antibiotics

The doctor will give drinking antibiotics for ear infections caused by bacteria. Antibiotics are given to treat ear infections in:

• Children 6 months of age and older who experience moderate to severe ear pain in one or both ears. The pain has also lasted for less than 48 hours and the body temperature has increased to more than 39ºCelsius.
• Children 6 to 23 months of age with mild ear pain in one or both ears that has lasted for less than 48 hours and a body temperature still below 39 ° Celsius.
• Children 24 months and older to adults with mild ear pain in one or both ears. The pain has lasted for less than 48 hours and the body temperature is below 39 degrees Celsius.

The following is a selection of antibiotics that are commonly given to people with ear pain due to infection:

• Amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox, Wymox)
• Cefixime (Suprax)
• Cefuroxime Axetil (Ceftin)
• Cefprozil (Ceffil)
• Cefpodoxime (Vantin)
• Cefdinir (Omnicef)
• Clindamycin (Cleocin HCl)
• Clarithomycin (Biaxin)
• Azithromycn (Zithromax)
• Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)

Antibiotics must be taken according to the dosage dose and spent until the deadline determined by the doctor. In addition to oral medications, doctors can also prescribe antibiotics in the form of ear drops to treat external ear infections.

If it is caused by a viral infection, the doctor will give antiviral ear infection medication to treat the symptoms.

Antifungal

Earaches can also be caused by fungus. The symptoms caused by this condition are similar to earaches caused by bacteria. This condition is treated with antifungal ear drops, one of which is clotrimazole.

Research published in the Journal of Audiology and Otology states that 95% of the 40 patients studied experienced improvement in their ear canal symptoms. This drug also does not cause pain after use.

Pain relievers and decongestants

In some cases, ear infections can be caused by other diseases such as colds or allergies. If it is caused by the flu or other respiratory illness, you can use over-the-counter pain relievers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, to help relieve pain that occurs due to inflammation in the ear.

If the ear infection is due to an allergic reaction, you can use a decongestant or antihistamine such as pseudoephedrine or diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Although these drugs can be purchased without a doctor's prescription, try to consult your doctor before taking them. Toddlers with ear infections should not be given these drugs.