Did I Hear You Right? A Natural Swimmer’s Ear Remedy?

Nothing says summer like having some water fun in the pool, beach or backyard sprinkler, but “swimmer’s ear” can ruin it all.

This painful condition, often called otitis externa, is caused when water becomes trapped in the ear, giving certain bacilli or fungi that thrive in moist conditions a place to proliferate.

Instead of heading to the doctor for a round of antibiotics, many moms reach for their homeopathy kit. Homeopathy works naturally, quickly and effectively to reduce pain and inflammation so kids can get back in the water without medications!

Here are some popular homeopathic remedies for swimmer’s ear:

Aconitum napellus 30

This remedy is useful for sudden onset of earache with fever and pain that may wake the child from sleep. They may awaken anxious and scared. The child is worse after exposure to dry, cool winds or getting chilled. They may be thirsty and reach for cold drinks and feel better in fresh air.

Belladonna 30

This is often the first remedy to give when a part of the body becomes red and inflamed and throbs painfully, especially when being moved or touched. The earache comes on suddenly and strongly and may spread down to the neck. There may be noises in the ear, and the pain may be worse on the right side. Fever may accompany the earache, with heat radiating from the body.

Hepar sulphuris 30

The ear may be sensitive to touch and cold but does well with the application of heat. Pains feel stitching and may be accompanied by smelly discharge. The ear pains are worse at night.

Pulsatilla 30

Unlike Hepar sulph, Pulsatilla is indicated when there is sensitivity to heat, and the ear may be hot and painful when touched, while the cheeks are pale. The ears feel blocked. Smelly, thick yellow discharge may accompany this ear infection, which is also worse at night.

Prevention is important, so here are a few tips to keep swimmer’s ear at bay: 

• Always clear water out of the ears after swimming or bathing by tilting the head and gently shaking out any water.
• Avoid swimming in dirty or polluted water.

While I feel compelled to offer the top remedies above, I must admit that my personal all-time favorite for infections such as this, for boils and even dental infections is Hepar sulph 6 or 30. Consider this story of my part-time copywriter’s son’s swimmer’s ear story from just last night:

“Hi Joette, I just wanted to share my last experience of Jack’s ear infection with you and how again, what you have taught me saved the day (and night!)  Jack was still a bump on a log yesterday, not feeling well and complaining of his ear aching. I started giving him the Hepar sulph 12X at noon and every hour in addition to the Pulsatilla 30C every 4 hours.

“By evening, things were getting worse again, he was very irritable, crying and complained of the pain when we would even go near his right side. I put him to bed at 8 and then around 11 p.m., put some more Hepar sulph 30C in his mouth as he was sleeping.

“My husband was getting very worried and was poised to take him to Immediate Care. (My worst nightmare!) I convinced him to ride it out through one more night, and we would see how things were in the morning. (I then said about 100 Hail Marys for good measure.)

“This morning, Jack woke up at 6:45 a.m., all smiles and proclaimed that his ear no longer hurt him AT ALL!  We could touch it without him jumping to the roof and he was back to talking, smiling and playing again.

“How wonderful is this?! Back to perfect health without succumbing to antibiotics. I don't know whose smile is bigger now, Jack’s or mine! Once again, many thanks for your wisdom.”

— Elizabeth Blouin, Amherst, NY, Bank Project Manager and homeopathic mom

This, my friends, is the way homeopathy works: efficiently, safely, resolutely, and most importantly, in the hands of moms.