Best Easy Natural Ear Infection Remedy
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This post is for informational purposes only.
Most of us have probably experienced the pain and inconvenience of an ear infection. Ear infections can be so painful and affect everyday life. One of the biggest challenges is deciding whether or not antibiotics are necessary. It seems like we live in a time where antibiotics are overprescribed and it’s difficult to know when they are actually essential. The rule of thumb for our family is try a natural remedy for the infection first and if that doesn’t work, consider taking antibiotics. Different people will have different opinions on this and ultimately it comes down to a personal decision or a decision guided by your doctor.
If you do decide to try a natural remedy first, this garlic salve is a great option. This post will walk you through the process of making the salve, storing it and of course how to use it. It’s important to mention this garlic salve should never go IN your ear. The actual application will be detailed later in the post, but I’d like to include a reminder not to place the salve inside your ear.
How to Make Garlic Salve
What You'll Need
- 1 head garlic
- 1/3 cup organic unrefined coconut oil
- Food processor
How to Make
- Melt the coconut oil completely.
- Peel all of the garlic cloves.
- Add the melted coconut oil and garlic cloves to the food processor and blend until as smooth as possible.
- Transfer the garlic and oil mixture to a glass container and place in the fridge to resolidify for a few hours. If you’re food processor is large like mine, you may still have some chunks of garlic present, but that is totally fine! The application will just be a little more difficult because there will be little chunks of garlic.
Your salve should look something like this once it resolidifies: 
Note: If you do not have a food processor, you can simply mince the garlic or chop it finely and mix with the melted coconut oil. I have done this before as well.
How to Store Garlic Salve
- Garlic salve can be stored in the fridge for several months.
- Garlic salve can also be frozen for up to a year.
- Pay attention to any change in smell and discard if there is a change.
- Can be stored at room temperature for a month or so.
We prefer to store the salve at room temperature (during active use) or in the fridge.
How to Use Garlic Salve
Now, for the best part – actually using the garlic salve! When our children have an active ear infection, we rub the salve in BEHIND their ears several times a day and throughout the night if they happen to be waking up. Just take a small amount on your finger and massage it into the skin directly behind the ear. As a preventative, any time our children get stuffy with a cold or whatever else, we go ahead and rub in the garlic salve behind the ears every night before bed until the stuffiness clears. This has likely prevented many ear infections from starting in the first place. Many believe the garlic reduces the inflammation in the eustachian tubes which allows fluid to freely drain from the ear. Fluid sitting in the ear can lead to ear infection. We also rub the garlic salve into their chest and feet at night to help with the congestion itself and with reducing coughing – it works wonderfully for us.
Hopefully this has been informational and helpful for you. Please reach out in the comments below if you have any questions at all!
Please enjoy this picture of my son dipping his finger into the salve to taste it because he thinks everything is food! He even went back for a second dip after he tasted it! One of the beautiful things about using food for medicine is that it can be so safe that your children could literally eat it and be completely unaffected. This is so reassuring as a parent!
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