How we can help
Earache
Ear pain should always be investigated promptly by your GP or homeopath. Causes include outer ear infection or pressure damage (a painful blocked feeling not relieved by swallowing), acute middle ear infection or Eustachian tube blockage or a build up of ear wax. Earache accompanied by a discharge of pus or blood may be a sign of acute infection of the middle or outer ear.
Earache after a cold may indicate acute infection of the middle ear. Earache with pains in the jaws, teeth, face or throat may be caused by dental infection, sinusitis, or throat infection.
Specific remedies to be taken every ½ hour until correct diagnosis is reached, provided pain is not associated with fever, discharge or pain elsewhere
· Throbbing pain, soothed by warmth Hepar sulph 6c
· Throbbing pain made worse by warmth Belladonna 30c
· Severe pain in an adult, especially if he or she is irritated by trivia, or a child with ear pain who screams unless carried around Chamomilla 6c
· Pain as if pressure behind eardrum pushing it out, person weepy, Pulsatilla 6c
Sometimes a hot water bottle held against the affect ear can help.
Glue Ear
Accumulation of sticky fluid behind eardrum due to Eustachian tube blockage. Use of antibiotics to treat acute ear infections may be a contributory factor. Symptoms are increasing deafness (as bones in the middle ear are prevented from vibrating properly) and, in extreme cases, total deafness (if bones become fused together).
Conventional treatment can include making a small incision through eardrum, sucking out some of the fluid, then inserting a little tube called a grommet through the eardrum to allow the rest of the fluid to drain out.
Consititutional treatment should be sought, but if there is no improvement after six months the risk of permanent deafness is great enough to warrant the conventional procedure.
Specific remedies to be taken 4 times daily for up to 14 days
· Thick smelly discharge from outer ear, copious production of saliva during sleep Mercurius 6c
· Deafness, with a roaring noise in affected ear and eczema on ear flap Lycopodium 6c
· Full, stuffed up feeling in affected ear Pulsatilla 6c
· Snapping noises in affected ear, swollen lymph glands in neck Kali mur 6c
Avoiding dairy products for a month might help.