How We Avoided Antibiotics – Escape From the Pink Stuff
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Fever, ear pain, waking in the middle of the night. What do you do?
Worry.
This past week, our youngest had a really rough time. Really rough.
He'd had a virus (it's been a really rough winter and early spring with viruses, hasn't it?) and seemed completely recovered. Then suddenly one night, out of nowhere, he started complaining that his ear hurt. He even started crying, then got a little more upset, and said, “I wish I were an animal — because then I wouldn't have to feel this.”
When we explained to him that even animals feel the pain he said, “Then I wish I were a brick.”
No kidding. It was funny and I turned my head and laughed, but I was aching inside wishing that I could have taken the pain away from him.
I tried one natural remedy, knowing that I couldn't do much else for him besides dose him with artificial color-laden pain reliever (I didn't give it to him) — and rocked him to sleep. He fell asleep fast and slept all the way through the night, so the pain must have subsided quickly. Thank God. (Otherwise, I would have given him the pain reliever while wishing I'd bought the dye-free kind :-(.)
The sight the next morning was pretty hideous–dried blood coated the inside of his ear and came down his earlobe a bit. His eardrum had ruptured.
I checked the internet, looking for answers….nothing much to do but wait for it to heal and get his physician to look at it.
Called the doctor. Left a message and waited for the return call.
But mom wants peace of mind that her baby is OK and isn't going to end up deaf.
My “baby” had a low grade fever that came and went. He was pretty wiped out. So I fought it, with the strength of a Mama Bear who was waiting for the doctor and knew that mostly earaches pass on their own without medications.
Why the fuss? We all know about the problem with over-prescribing antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. My mom, bless her heart, gave me enough antibiotics for the entire state of Michigan. And then some. That's a lot of why I now deal with the health issues that plague me. My kids have likely inherited my weaknesses, so I seek to strengthen their bodies as much as possible.
I contacted the natural medical practitioner that we are working with on our family's health. She recommended using a lot of two Chinese herb blends Yin Chiao and Coptis Purge Fire that apparently help the body deal with illness.
But they taste icky. Really icky. I tried to cover the taste with carob, stevia, and other sweeteners, but my little one cringed when he tasted it and could barely get it down. Ugh.
We fought the bug for 2 days. And it appeared that we had won.
Until the dreaded fever returned and spiked to 102.
Onto the doctor's office. And got — the script. The doctor said it was up to me what to do–and he was fine if I decided to see where things went in the next day or two.
So there we went–onto the grocery store pharmacy with a sick kid in tow and a 30 minute wait for something that I didn't even want. But it was Friday and you know what that means — There I would sit, vulnerable over the weekend to maybe have your kid's fever hit 103 and have no antibiotics. No thanks. Better to be safe than sorry.
Home. My son fell asleep sitting up on the sofa while looking at a book.
One long nap.
Some prayers and some worrying.
Tried the Chinese herb sludge again. No way was he taking that.
Mind racing—how can I help him without the meds? I tried one more thing: HOMEMADE SALINE WASH with a drop of colloidal silver and a drop of grapefruit seed extract.
Offensive stuff came out of his nostrils. Lots of it.
Next morning, same nose rinse. The same stuff came out. Very unpleasant–but to this mom's eyes, there was something beautiful about this yucky mess. (Amazing what bodily fluids we can handle when they are our child's, isn't it:-)?)
Fever — gone.
Mom — relieved.
Child — better.
Pink bottle — unopened.
One small victory for natural mothering.
Other health-related posts you might be interested in:
– Natural Autism Support – and the Best Therapy Ever
– Special Needs Children – a Sign from God
– How a Mercury Filling Almost Took My Son's Life
– Could You Have Heavy Metal Overload and Not Know It?
How Have You Successfully Avoided Antibiotics?
Good to know about the dyes… Thank you! I’m pretty new at this… Trying to remain teachable & I’m learning lots :). One more question! Does the olive oil with garlic work the same as bought garlic oil? I’m trying to pick & choose which ones to buy/make from my own organic ingredients, as hubby & I are on a really tight budget right now.
It’s worth it not to get really sick& be faced with “pink stuff”, though! 🙂
Not sure – anyone else out there know?
OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT FROM AMERIDEN best ever
Wow, thanks for sharing! I had many antibiotics as a kid, too…. & thank God I’ve been able to avoid them for a few years now. I used to have the weakest immune system… But since I’ve been antibootic -free, (one really good doctor told me how to avooid them using different types of mucinex!) …and since I’ve gone organic and GMO free, we hardly ever get sick! My husband and I both have been able to avoid antibiotics.
I was wondering where to get or what brand of pain killers are dye-free? does it say on the bottle? Also… (I don’t have kids) but I use extra-strength Mucinex cure sinus infections/bronchial cough. I Drink lots of water & I take a daily vitamin. I’m positive there are all sorts of dyes in those orange & blue (or sometimes green) horse-pills… Do you think the dye is worth it though if it cures the infection before having to take antibiotics? I know they make children’s mucinex too. It’s just a thought. I would love to hear your thoughts on mucinex vs. antibiotics.
I don’t know about Mucinex vs antibiotics but I would think it’s not as bad. I take no supplements that have dyes, with the occasional benadryl, but I wash as much of the pink coating off as possible then. I am sure you can get something like mucinex w/o the dyes and there are tons of multis on the market w/ no dyes. I have used NOW for a long time and they don’t put dyes in anything.
I know I’m a little late in commenting… I grew up using an olive oil soaked cotton ball with a few drops of melauca(tea tree oil) for ear aches. It always worked like a charm! The t.t. oil works great on canker sores and I even got rid of my dry sockets with it when I got my wisdom teeth pulled!
Nice tip – thank you!!
I think Leslie was referring to garlic ear DROPS not ear candles. We do the same and it WORKS!
I have found with my 5 little ones, my hubby and I too….that if I catch a cold or yuck feeling early and put GARLIC OIL in everyones ears it saves our family from getting really sick and will cure an ear ache overnight. I use 3 times daily until its run its coarse.
The kids know the drill and even ask for it now…because it works. Cleared up my double ear infection in one night. I will NOW BE ADDING a drop of two of colloidal silver and grapefruit seed extract to my GARLIC OIL!
In a pinch-You can make it at home with olive oil and crushed garlic…let sit a few hours in room temp and strain into dropper bottles. EASY, CHEAP and EFFECTIVE. I have even used the oil from the crushed garlic jar when we have run out. Leslie’s directions are BEST if you plan ahead and keep some on hand.
I use 60 drops of ‘Nutribiotic’ Grapefruit Seed Extract (no triclosan)in a 32 oz spray bottle and use it instead of any commercial ‘LYSOL’ type product. GSE kills EVERY bug you can imagine…and it is 100% natural…the way God made it. I spray and wipe sinks, toilets, telephones, door knobs, hands,toys,& anything that collects germs.
I seem to remember that there is something about something in the processing that has to do w/ triclosan – not that the GSE has triclosan in it. I think it was in the comments of this post. Do you know anything about that?
I use garlic oil and mullein in my ear oil (I use a base of grape seed oil 1/2 cup)and fill the ‘cup’ up with mashed garlic and mullein leaves that have been cut reallllly small. then, I ‘steep’ it for a minimum of a week…..and pour into dropper bottles and use in ears. This works really well for ear aches…I have practically watched the mastoid glands shrink! ! I, also, replace the natural ear oils with this, when I candle our ears. I am 70 years old and have used this my whole life…I have been super fortunate to have been a ‘natural’ addict, my whole life! P.S. My two developmentally disabled sons are 49 & 50 and have never had an ear ache or a cavity…their doctor is amazed how healthy they are, eventho they suffer from cerebral palsy and are autistic !
So…you really think the candles work? I have never tried that.
Just thought I’d pop in here and say that we have used the ear candles and they feel very soothing and warm. They say it draws out waxes and when you cut apart the remaining ear candle after using it, there is always dark orangish brown waxy stuff stuck on the inside of the candle. But, whether that’s actually ear wax or residual wax from just the burning process – I guess I’ll never truly know. But, I can attest that I like how it feels because it warms your inner ear and soothes you almost like putting a miniature heating pad into your ear.
I have been reading this story and its like we all moms deals with the same, but when you have a child in pain all you want its to stop it, one thing that works perfect for me (my mom gave a lot of meds to) and my children when the EAR PAIN arrives its this: I put a garlic clove, in a fork and put it to the direct flame of the gas range, when its kind of dark,(outside burned) I put it fastly in a cotton with chest rub or vicks vaporub, I fold it and push it a litlle so it can get into your ear canal when its still warm, its the only thing that works for me, I hope its works for you…
What an interesting tip! Thanks Adriana! And nice name, if I may say so myself :-).
Really good idea!
I can very much relate to your experiences with antibiotics as a child, it’s taking years for my body to realize it CAN handle sicknesses. Now I (and my kids) rely on cleaning with hydrogen peroxide to clear infections. I swab my nostrils with HP on a Qtip for all respiratory infections as it is very likely that the infection started in the sinuses. I follow up with saline rinse in a bottle vs neti pot, as you had mentioned. I also use HP in ears for any ear discomfort, always following up with a drop of alcohol to dry it. We also use HP for oral infections, followed up with salt water to soothe the tissues. We also do these things preemptively as a cleaning method, as we have found the cure also works as a prevention. Thankfully, these methods have helped us to avoid antibiotics, which to me seem a short term solution with severe long term repercussions.
Umm. Sound like the concerns are well-founded.