Tuesday, September 10, 2013

How We 'Cured' an Ear Infection

I mentioned that Drew got her first ear infection. After talking with the pediatrician and deciding to 'wait and watch' {due to her being above 6 months of age and not having fever above 102 degrees} and hitting up Peoples, we did the following:

  • Alternated breastmilk and garlic/mullein oil drops in her ear
  • Saline {xylitol} nasal spray
  • Teething tablets, belladonna and Ibuprofen for pain and fever
  • Humidifier when sleeping
  • Continuned our Probiotic, Omega 3, Vitamin D and Immuno PRP regimen 
And...we beat it! 

I worried a lot {ask B...I think he was ready to smack me a time or two} that I wasn't doing the right thing, but by Saturday {48 hours after diagnosis} she wasn't running fever, her runny nose was clear, and she wasn't nearly as fussy. 

I read several interesting articles that referenced studies that showed 80% of ear infections will clear up on their own and a lot about the science of why garlic and breastmilk help. All very cool stuff.

Point being - I trusted my gut, watched Drew very closely, sought advice from people I trust and avoided the antibiotic! {Sidenote: I am not anti-antibiotics, but Trent is allergic to amoxicillin, so D was already being prescribed something stronger that I knew would tear up her stomach and kill all her good bacteria too - making her MORE susceptible to an illness, and I wanted to avoid that if we could.} 

We had our follow-up today and was told her ears looked 'perfect'. I was so happy to hear that and so proud that I followed my instincts and let her body heal naturally. It should make any future infections easier to treat and be easier on her. I'm really loving more and more all the natural stuff I find out. I have exciting stuff lined up to share soon. {grin}


3 comments:

Jenna said...

love it, of course! im proud of you!

Kelly said...

That is awesome!!!

Anonymous said...

Love this! It's exactly the approach I used with Stella for an ear infection she had 6 months ago. By the way, I love reading about your natural journey. I must say, I miss the amazing resources in Austin, like Peoples. Your post reminds me I need to get serious about finding shops here in Oz that cater to my mama approach!