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Earaches are downright miserable. I have been very blessed to have children who do not get earaches, at least until recently. Lillian had her first ever earache a short while ago. She woke up in terrible pain and was simply inconsolable. I felt just awful for her!
From the recent memory of my last earache (a neti pot incident – ouch!) I knew that the usual suggestion of garlic in olive oil didn’t do a thing to relieve my pain or calm my ear. In an attempt not to mess with her more than necessary I hopped online at about 2 am to look for another solution, that’s when I started to read about “onion juice”. It sounded a bit silly, I mean how on earth do you even juice an onion?! Never the less, it seemed promising and after reading close to a dozen sources I decided that this would be my plan of attack.
Here’s what I did.
- I turned the oven on to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and placed the onion inside on a pan (no preheating). I let it cook for about 15 minutes while I tried to calm Lily in a bath – and to get her ears cleaned out a bit (in the water only, no q-tips or other instruments.)
- I removed the onion from the oven and allowed it to cool long enough to be able to handle (it was still warm).
- Once the onion was cooled down slightly I cut it in half and squeezed over a small bowl. The onion juice came out easily and you only need a bit. (If there is any ‘stuff’ in the juice, strain it easily by pouring it through a piece of paper towel or a very thin cloth.)
- The juice should be cool enough to use at this point. Using a medicine dropper, I place a few drops into her ear and kept her head tilted to retain the juice for several minutes. (Do this for at least a few minutes, but more is good.)
- Enjoy the lifted mood – due to the relieved pain – of your little one (or self).
Before I put the juice into her ear she was simply unable to be soothed. The bath didn’t help, snuggling while we waited for the onion didn’t help, I even turned on a movie for her – which was also no help – though it did help me get her to let me put the drops into her ear while she rested her head on my lap. Within minutes her body calmed (she had been contracting her legs and fidgeting a lot because of the ear pain) and she was able to rest peacefully once again. In the morning there were no signs of a sore ear but I did follow up with a few more drops of onion juice for good measure.
My understanding is that the onion contains anti-bacterial, healing and anti-inflammatory properties that quickly and effectively sooth and calm the infected ear, allowing the body to heal without the inflamation and pressure causing pain. I was simply amazed by how quickly this worked for her and plan to make this my first resource should another earache ever come about.
I appreciate and fully believe in the benefits of holistic medicine, but I am not a healthcare provider. Earaches and infections can become very serious and I encourage you to use your intuition and best judgement. Consult a trusted physician if you are ever in doubt.
This was a new concept for me. Have you ever heard of or tried this method?
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve used garlic before for earaches, but never heard of using onions! I will have to try this out next time!
Welcome to the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families blogger group. It’s great to have you, and I’m glad I found your blog too. I need more ideas about natural remedies, so I will pin this. I hope you’ll join me when you have a chance on Tuesdays to link up to my Eco Kids Tuesdays Link Up. It’s nice to meet you!
My kids have often slept with onion halfs around their head. My sister-in-law told me about this, when my kids were babies. Have some funny photoes of them too wearing a balaklava hat with the onions bulging inside the hat… never heard of the juice thing though. Also my three kids never had an earinfection, but it worked for blocked nose and flu too
Thank you for the great post! I have never heard of using onion juice before for an ear ache, but I am going to try it out the next time my son gets one.
I have never heard of using onion juice in the ears but it does make sense. When ever I am starting to feel a cold coming on I up my intake of raw honey, garlic, and onions. Does the trick rather quickly. Using this method I was able to heal faster than my family from the Swine Flu a couple years ago, they went to the doctor and received a prescription, it’s sad they paid so much money ($80 for the one) when food cured my symptoms.
Great post. I shared on google+ tumblr, and digg!
Never heard of this, but thanks Amanda! I will definitely try it if and when little E gets an earache!
This was totally new to me! Thanks for a great tip
I have been lucky that my kids have not has any earache yet. I definitely try this if they will get it some day.
Just like Kim and the rest of the gang here, I never heard of using onions for earaches before. Yes, will definitely try it the nest time.
Well you learn something new everyday. I have to say I have never heard of anything like this before. I have heard about vinegar being used but never tried it. I am interested to try this out
Wow! I’ve never heard of this but this is awesome! What a creative way to help out without exposing your little one to harmful chemicals. I’ll make sure to keep this in mind for later use!
Good to know, I use breastmilk for all earaches that occur in the house but I have been wondering what I would do someday when I no longer have breastmilk available. Now I know, Thanks.
What a useful tip, I too am a great believer in holistic remedies and found this to be a very useful tip thank you…..
I cam via your blog from a link from Simplylivingfree.. Sue
I use a Neti Pot, and so do my husband and nearly-2-yr-old. What happened?? Now I’m super curious, and a little concerned!
I made the mistake of using it when my sinuses were to stuffy to be doing so. I ended up forcing the water into places it didn’t belong. It messed with my ears and then, if I recall correctly, I even lost my ability to smell for a bit. It was my own fault really.
My 3 year old son just woke up screaming and crying with a terrible earache, and in a desperate panic for something to make him feel better in the middle of the night, I stumbled across this. It was hard to get him to lay still but after 2 times of trying I got it to stay for a few minutes.20 minutes later, My house stinks terribly of onion and I (miraculously!) have a calm and pain free baby! Thanks so much for the idea!
Aww, I’m so sorry your little one has an earache, but I’m happy to hear that this was able to give him (and you!) some relief
Just wondering if there is a specific kind of onion? Or does any kind work?
From what I read, pretty much any onion. I used a red onion because it’s what I typically have on hand.
Very cool. Will have to try this next time one of my little ones has an earache.
Great to meet you at BlissDom!
Thanks for stopping by, it was so nice meeting you as well.
This method takes a little prep work, but it works faster than anything we’ve used – which is very handy when you have a miserable little one.
I’ve used this on my 5 year old and it worked instantly! I also have a friend who used antibiotic after antibiotic for her son’s repeated earaches and infections. Now she just puts in a couple drops of onion juice and he’s fine! Onions are awesome!
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