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Homemade garlic olive oil for ear infections
  • Natural Remedies

Garlic Olive Oil Remedy for Ear Infections

Katie WellsAug 20, 2015Updated: May 22, 2020
Reading Time: 4 min

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Remedies » Garlic Olive Oil Remedy for Ear Infections

When it comes to powerhouse herbs and natural remedies for illness, garlic tops the list. It is naturally antimicrobial, antiviral, and antibacterial, making it beneficial for helping the body fight many types of infections.

I always have fresh, organic garlic on hand because my husband comes from an Italian family and all of his favorite dishes call for garlic (and so does my favorite garlic soup). I’m always grateful I do when any of us get any kind of illness because of garlic’s natural ability to help the body fight infection.

Garlic as a Natural Remedy for Illness

Garlic has been used as a natural remedy for illness for thousands of years. There are historical records of its use in Ancient Greece and Rome, and it was part of the legendary vinegar of the four thieves tincture that supposedly saved four thieves from death during the bubonic plague.

There are almost 5,000 published studies that support garlic’s healing ability for everything from hypertension to hair loss and everything in between. (sources)

Though there are many supplements that contain garlic, I’ve found that raw, fresh, organic garlic seems to be the most effective remedy. I also include garlic in many tinctures as well as in my fire cider recipe.

The fastest and most effective way I use garlic for illness is mincing it up and drinking in water. It isn’t the most appetizing, but it works. I just mince one clove of garlic into tiny pieces and put in a small glass of water. I drink the water and just swallow the garlic pieces without chewing.

Unfortunately, my kids aren’t a fan of taking garlic this way because of the strong taste and they have more trouble swallowing the pieces of garlic. Since the most common childhood infection is an ear infection, I’ve been using a traditional garlic oil remedy for years to help fight ear infections quickly….

Garlic Olive Oil for Ear Infection

Traditional Garlic Olive Oil is a remedy that has been used for dozens, if not hundreds of years for ear infections. Unlike many other conventional remedies, garlic can work with the body and provide relief quickly with long-lasting results.

Antibiotics are often prescribed for ear infections, even though the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) has not recommended this as a general practice since 2004. Many ear infections are caused by viruses, which are unaffected by antibiotics. (source)

Thousands of children unnecessarily get antibiotics each year for ear infections when the antibiotics are not even effective for most infections. This has potential long-lasting side effects as antibiotics can permanently alter gut bacteria and many types of bacteria are becoming antibiotic resistant due to overuse of these drugs.

Additionally, research has shown that most children fight an ear infection on their own within 24-72 hours without the need for antibiotics or other intervention.

That said, just hearing that your child will be better in 1-3 days is not comforting to a mother who is holding her toddler as he or she screams from the pain of an aching ear. Fortunately, there are remedies, like this garlic ear oil, that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used to ease the pain of ear infection and speed the healing process.

Why it Works:

Garlic is powerful on its own and olive oil is soothing to infection as well. Olive oil is often used as the base for healing salves and lotions because it contains potent polyphenols which reduce inflammation. Together, garlic and olive oil can help ease the pain of ear infection and reduce healing time.

Important Note:

This remedy is very effective, but it is important to make sure that the ear drum has not ruptured before using this or any other remedy in the ear. I have this Dr. Mom Otoscope on hand to check my child’s eardrum before using any remedy inside the ear canal. Typically, pain subsides if the ear drum bursts so the presence of pain can indicate that the ear drum is still intact, but I always like to check.

If one of my children does ever experience a ruptured eardrum, I would definitely get him or her checked my a doctor, though often not much can be done besides keeping the ear dry and letting it heal naturally.

How to Make Garlic Olive Oil for Ears

I’m grateful that ear infections are very rare in our family, but if one strikes, I immediately head to the kitchen to make this remedy…

Ingredients:

  • 1 clove of fresh garlic (organic if possible), minced
  • 2 tablespoons of high quality olive oil or sesame oil

Instructions:

  1. There are two ways this remedy can be made, depending on how much time you have and your preference for heating olive oil or not.
  2. The fastest way is to heat the olive oil in a small pan or double boiler (preferred) and add the minced garlic. Then, keep on very low heat for about 20 minutes to let the beneficial properties of the garlic infuse into the oil. At this point, strain the garlic and remove. I let the garlic cool to just skin temperature and place about two drops in the ear. The warmth and the oil often offer fast relief. This homemade product is not shelf stable, so I make a new batch of this mixture every 24 hours if needed rather than keeping the remaining oil to avoid any problems with contamination.
  3. If you prefer not to heat garlic, you can accomplish the same thing by mincing raw garlic and keeping in olive oil without heating for 2-3 hours before straining and using, though this option is not as helpful if you need immediate relief.

Fresh Garlic Poultice

If you don’t have oil on hand or prefer not to use it, you can accomplish some of the same benefit by slicing a clove of garlic and placing between layers of a piece of gauze. Then, this gauze can be placed on the outside of the ear and left for 30 minutes or so to help fight infection. This isn’t as effective as the oil used internally but is safer, especially if you don’t know if the eardrum is intact or not. To increase the beneficial potential, you can also place a warm rice pack on the outside of the gauze to add heat.

A Pre-Made Alternative

Though I’ve found that homemade fresh warmed garlic olive oil is more effective, there are also pre-made, shelf-stable versions (like this one) you can keep on hand.

What do you do for ear infections? Ever tried a natural remedy like this?

Category: Natural Remedies

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (110 Comments)

  1. Alyssa

    August 23, 2015 at 10:36 AM

    My mom always did this when I was a child– she had five kids and I don’t think any of us took antibiotics for ear infections, garlic oil always worked like a charm!

    Reply
  2. Barb Tocci

    August 22, 2015 at 12:59 PM

    Great post about lovely garlic!! When my kids were young and they spent all summer in the river/lake/pool, depending on where we lived they would need garlic oil at least once every summer. Garlic is not only antibacterial but is a NATURAL SULPHA compound, so it has very powerful drying effects. So many times it was fluid in the ear canal that was the major source of the pain. I also added mullein flowers the garlic oil to steep because of their antibacterial properties. We never had to use Dr.s/antibiotics for ear infection after we started using garlic/mullein flowers steeped in oil.

    Reply
  3. Becky

    August 21, 2015 at 3:21 PM

    How often do you recommend placing the drops in the affected ear?

    Reply
    • Wellness Mama

      August 25, 2015 at 8:33 AM

      I do it every few hours until the child feels better.

      Reply
      • Veronica

        February 7, 2016 at 12:36 AM

        Katie, I’m interested in purchasing a hard copy of you remedies handbook. Where can I purchase your book?

        Reply
        • Wellness Mama

          February 7, 2016 at 1:29 AM

          The Natural Remedies Handbook is only available as an ebook…

          Reply
      • Natalie

        February 9, 2016 at 7:32 PM

        You let the oil stay in the ear, correct? Or do you drain it?

        Reply
        • Wellness Mama

          February 10, 2016 at 12:25 PM

          Such a small amount is used that it pretty much absorbs and it doesn’t need to be drained.

          Reply
      • Lise

        December 24, 2017 at 2:53 PM

        How much shall i drop, and to the ear canal or around it?

        Reply
        • Steve yun

          December 14, 2019 at 8:35 PM

          Do you reheat the batch every couple of hours or just leave at room temperature?

          Reply
      • Lyndsay S.

        August 17, 2021 at 4:01 PM

        Are you saying to drop the oil directly into their ear canal? I have read from a lot of people that advise highly against dropping oils into the ear..

        Reply
    • Maria

      June 8, 2022 at 11:03 AM

      Is this okay to do on infants? I have a 10 week old.

      Reply
  4. gerry

    August 21, 2015 at 12:34 PM

    I started using this recipe this flu season. My 4yr old son was having ear infection very often and I did not want to give antibiotic every time. So i started looking for natural remedies. warm up sesame oil with few cloves of garlic on the stove on low heat few minutes and then let it cool. When the oil is still soothing warm i apply it for the infected ear. The pain is mainly caused by the pressure on the ear drum due to the increased pressure in the middle ear. The highly viscous oils like sesame or olive oil will soothe the thin ear drums by providing more volume.
    Combine this with warm salt compress. By the time we go to visit the doctor the ear infection almost gone and the Dr no longer prescribes antibiotic. This has worked for me number of time and will recommend this.
    Clogged nostrils will increase the pressure in the ear and also increase the possibility of getting bacteria from the nose to the ear. So make sure the kids nostrils are clear of any phlegm before going to bed. It is not easy to get any cooperation from the kids to clean their nose. Try enough to get it a little clear. Tried the NeilMeds sinus rinse works very well but the kids hate it. What i do now is to splash some water into the nose to loose the phlegm and then clean after 5 minutes.

    Reply
  5. Tamara

    August 21, 2015 at 11:25 AM

    The cheese cloth method is good but watch the child’s skin since raw garlic can burn and cause irritation. I’ve heard raw onion in cheese cloth can also be affective.

    Reply
  6. Jill anderson

    August 21, 2015 at 4:55 AM

    I used this method and also a couple drops of colloidal silver on my son more than 2 years ago and he’s never had an ear infection again! And he only had it less than a day! So awesome! What are your thoughts on colodial silver?

    Also where you give the instructions it says your putting the garlic into the ear but you put the oil right? I think it was a typo….. Just thought I’d point it out in case someone hasn’t tried this and doesn’t know to use the oil 🙂
    Awesome post!!!! Now I know I can use garlic for other things as well!

    Reply
  7. Patricia king

    August 21, 2015 at 3:35 AM

    I just wanted to let you know I find the home remedy so helpful thanks

    Reply
  8. Jean

    August 20, 2015 at 11:41 PM

    Can. Use this of cats?

    Reply
    • Kerri

      July 9, 2016 at 3:22 PM

      No onion or garlic can be used with cats. They are both deadly to cats.

      Reply
  9. Sulee T

    August 20, 2015 at 9:26 PM

    This sounds “stinkin” great ha-ha, don’t mind the pun & thanks for the info 😉

    Reply
    • JAMES BANNON

      August 21, 2015 at 12:49 AM

      The body absorbing the garlic over time and smell is minimal, only had a 2 people notice in the beginning so it is not what it might seem to be.

      Reply
  10. JAMES BANNON

    August 20, 2015 at 8:54 PM

    I started eating 3-5 cloves of garlic chopped up and uncooked in my daily food and shakes 30 months ago. I have NOT had a single illness of any allergies since. Miracle stuff

    Reply
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