Ear infections are rough, especially for kids who are suffering through one. We recently took a family trip to the beach and all of my children practically lived in the water for a week. I typically bring 3% hydrogen peroxide to use in their ears after swimming in the ocean but forgot it this time in the hustle of getting ready. Using hydrogen peroxide has helped us avoid any ear infections in the past and I foolishly thought we would be ok without it.
A couple of days after we got home, two of our younger children started displaying the classic symptoms of ear infection. I checked to make sure the eardrum had not ruptured and started using garlic oil and my other remedies.
Our daughter was hit with symptoms at 2 AM so I needed to find a quick way to relieve her pain so that we could all get some sleep… and this lavender salt pack did the trick!
Lavender Salt Ear Infection Remedy
This simple remedy combines mineral-rich sea salt (or salt crystals) with lavender flowers for an external hot pack that helps ease the pain of an ear infection. We’ve used basic rice heat packs in the past for body aches and illnesses, but those were in the room with the last of our sleeping children and I wasn’t willing to risk waking them to get one.
Gazing into our salt lamp while I held my crying four-year-old, I wondered if Himalayan salt would work like the rice in a hot pack but with the added benefit of negative ions. I made a quick impromptu hot pack with a cloth muslin bag and some salt crystals and tried it on her ear.
It provided almost instant relief! It also gave the garlic ear oil some time to work without her trying to dump it out.
Here’s Why It Works…
The heat of the salt pack offers relief from the pain. In addition, the salt itself is naturally drying and helps pull fluid out of the ear.
An additional benefit of Himalayan salt is the negative ions it produces when heated. Through a process of attraction and evaporation with water molecules in the air, negative ions have been shown to promote healing and can bind to pollutants and even bacteria.
Finally, lavender has many health benefits and is naturally antibacterial and helps soothe and reduce inflammation. The scent is also calming and helps induce restful sleep.
How to Make a Lavender Salt Ear Infection Remedy
Lavender Salt Ear Infection Remedy Recipe
Equipment
- 1 organic cotton muslin bag, (or a plain white cotton sock)
Materials
- ½ cup Himalayan salt crystals (or regular coarse ground salt)
- 2 TBSP dried lavender flowers (or 2-3 drops of lavender essential oil, added after heating)
Instructions
- Place the salt and lavender flowers in a muslin bag or sock and seal tightly.
- Carefully, heat the bag in a pan over low heat until warmed or microwave for about 30 seconds.
- Make sure the pack is warm to the touch but not hot enough to burn and place over the painful ear.
- Warm and repeat as needed for relief of ear infection pain.
Notes
This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Ann Shippy, who is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and a certified Functional Medicine physician with a thriving practice in Austin, Texas. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
What do you use for ear infections?
Sources:
- Digel I, Temiz Artmann A, Nishikawa K, Cook M, Kurulgan E and Artmann GM. Bactericidal effects of plasma-generated cluster ions. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput., 2005; 43: 800-807.
- Marin V, Moretti G and Rossu M. Effects of ionizations of air on some bacterial strains. Ann. Ig. 1989; 1: 491-500.
- López V, Nielsen B, Solas M, Ramírez MJ, Jäger AK. Exploring Pharmacological Mechanisms of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) Essential Oil on Central Nervous System Targets. Front Pharmacol. 2017;8:280. Published 2017 May 19. doi:10.3389/fphar.2017.00280
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Thanks for all your info! How do you check/know if an eardrum has ruptured?
I use an otoscope I purchased online.
Wellness Mama, i think it would be helpful for all mommies if you could include any salt would be better to draw water from the ear. Not everyone have pink Himalayan salt around in the kitchen. This remedy always worked and don’t want others reading the post to think that only pink salt can be used. Using Pink salt would be great but everyone have salt in the kitchen in case of midnight emergencies.
Btw… loving your recommendation of the Salt lamp. We have been using it for a month in the bedroom and i am sleeping much better and waking up very refreshed.
What is the ear drum ruptures? Is there a way to help that with natural remedy?
I’d definitely see a doc to make sure the eardrum is healing ok and make sure there are no other problems and ask before using this, but I’d personally feel ok using this after making sure the ear was ok since it would help draw out moisture.
I’m really enjoying your blog, and am trying different items that you mentioned. It seems though that your search engine isn’t working, so it’s difficult to find certain things. Thanks!
The search function no longer requires you to hit “enter” after putting in your search term. It should just populate results as a drop-down menu in the search field.
This sounds great! One question though… how can you tell whether or not the ear drum has ruptured?
I have an otoscope that I got online.
Hi Katie, I have been wanting to get one of these – do you like the one you use? Could you recommend the brand?
Thanks
Sarah
Yes, I know you!
Wonderful information. I just had an ear infection. I will remember this if it ever happens again. Wellness Mama, you mentioned that the salt draws out moisture. I have been suffering from puffy eyes every morning. I sleep with my head elevated because if not, it will be even more severe. The problem is the swelling really doesn’t go down that much as the day goes on. I believe it started due to straining my eyes and I have been dealing with this for ever since, for years. Is there anything that I can do to alleviate puffy eyes? Thanks to anyone who can help me with this problem as it is causing my eyes to really become droopy.
For puffy eyes, i haven’t tried it personally. But have seen this as a remedy. Take one piece of ice then rub it around the eyes for a few min, then immediately run warm water in the sink and splash water on the eyes . It is mainly alternating cold and hot temperature to the nerves and muscles around the eyes. you can also alternate with cold and hot compress. Hope this helps.
For tired eyes after working on computer all day, I use a hot wash cloth and leave with over my eyes for 10 minutes. This really provides great relief.
Preparation H cream helps with puffy eyes. Takes away swelling and tightens the skin
I have not personally used this remedy, but I have heard that cold tea bags over the eyes can really help.
Homeopathy really works well and fast. Kalium carbonicum is the remedy for puffy eyes, and Hepar sulfuris 30C often helps with ear infections.
I used raw onion juice for years.natural antibiotic and apparent pain killer…grate and squeeze sm onion in muslin bag or small sieve to get juice only. Soak cotton ball and apply droplets to ear and have patient stay still so it will get where it needs to go..or .use a dropper for easier application/delivery…kills pain within 15 min..reapply as needed.
Interesting! Thankfully we’ve only dealt with one minor ear infection in 4 years and the garlic oil did the trick!
Wow….wish I had been that good a mom when mine were little. Amazing that you know so much.
does this work for both swimmers ear and a true ear infection?
Just a note: my sister worked for an Ear Nose & Throat Dr, and he recommended a solution of 50% distilled white vineagar & 50% rubbing alcohol to rinse out ears after swimming. Alcohol evaporates out the water & vinegar restores PH to the ears, to counteract the acidity of the chlorine. Use a clean eye dropper & while child lies on their side, put one or two drops in each ear. Then let it run out on a clean towel.
Eons ago, my pediatrician recommended a similar solution (different proportions), after he treated me for a bout of swimmer’s ear. I have used this every time after swimming or a “vigorous” shower and have NEVER had problems since then. I heartily recommend this approach. Interestingly, my DH’s ENT doctor completely dismissed the idea (DH had a different problem), which DH completely dismissed. We use this solution with our DC and feel it effective.