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?
I’m sorry I’m very disapointed that you would risk your sons health just to be Super Mom whos on a homeopathic mission. My father is deaf, unfortunately his mother could not afford a Dr let alone medicine, they tried many “herbal” treatments in desperation. The ear infection destroyed his hearing. I can’t imagine seeing my lil one in pain in order to “save his colon”. Taking antibiotics is not always bad! I am a fan of homeopathic use but NOT when thete is even a slight chance for severe consequences. All it takes is 1bad ear infection to loose your hearing….the same can NOT be said about using modern medicine to fight a nasty ear ache. I’m sorry, with upmost respect,
July (fellow mommy on a mission)
Hi there and thanks for commenting. I am sorry that you feel that way. The way I feel is that we take risks on every decision we make — medical and non medical. Different people feel differently about those risks and can feel differently at different times. For example, I would have been fine certain meds at one point in my own life, and not at others. These days, my gut has been through so much that I have avoided antibiotics when others would have jumped to them immediately. I was in touch w/ my physician’s office and they knew what I was doing. I didn’t wait for very long after receiving the antibiotics and felt it was a fair option given that most ear infections clear up on their own.
This link appears to state that ear infections typically do not cause hearing loss, but that it is when infections occur over and over again that it happens. Perhaps you could tell me what you think about that? Thanks again. https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Causes-of-Hearing-Loss-in-Children/
Hi! I wanted to know what your take was on getting the flu shot?
Overall not a fan. Has mercury – not a great efficacy rate and such – part of it is that it only works on 1 strain, right? But of course I am not a doctor. We all got it once. I think that’s enough for us.
Wow! That is a great idea! I am right there with you on the antibiotics. My 4 year old has never had one yet because of my same determination! Last year, he had a cold, and then, after it was over and we thought he was in the clear, BAM! His fever was 104!! So, reluctantly, I took him to the doctor with the advice of all family members but against my will and they prescribed the dreaded pink stuff. So, I filled it (because it was a Friday), and I came home and quickly researched what on earth to naturally do for an ear infection. If it didn’t work, I didn’t have much to lose and I could give him the antibiotic. BUT, I found a blog where a mom had been in the same situation. She made a concoction (ear oil) for an ear infection. So, I tried it! AND it worked, almost immediately! I minced fresh garlic, and cooked it on low in pure, organic EV olive oil for 20 minutes. After it cooled, I strained it several times to get any small, minute pieces out of the oil. Then I put it in a dropper bottle. I also had some Oil of Oregano essential oil and I added about 5 drops to that. I also had some cholloidal silver, and I added about 1 tsp. to it. Shook it real well, made sure it was absolutely, completely cool, and put about 4-5 drops in each ear. I let it sit for 10 minutes on each side and gently rubbed under his ear lobe. About 30 minutes after I put the drops in his ears, he said, “Mommy, my ears don’t hurt any more!” We did that one more time that evening and then twice the next day. Thankfully, we never had to take the antibiotic, and he was totally better in three days! That is our go-to now for anyone in the house who has an ear ache. I had a sinus infection last week and went to the doctor. They prescribed Flonase and Augmentin antibiotic. I didn’t get either one. I mainly wanted to confirm that is what I had. I came home and did the same process and also diffused Rosemary, Lemon and Eucalyptus. The next morning, no pressure! So it definitely works! I try to avoid the antibiotics because when my 12-year-old daughter was a baby, we got on the antibiotic 3-4 month cycle, and then would have to do breathing treatments and all. I vowed with my other two children to never get caught in that rat race again, and we never have! Glad we have the medical when absolutely needed but also glad for other holistic options when they can be applied! 🙂
That’s GREAT! I tried the garlic oil and it did nothing. So you did it for the sinus infection too?
I’m in total agreement about the holistic options. I wish more would try them and ditch the antibiotics so we would have fewer gut issues and fewer resistant bugs :).
Hope to see you around again!
My 6-year-old daughter has had an ear/sinus infection the past few days and this morning it started draining lots of yellowish fluid. We are headed to the doc tomorrow (for the first time in 5 years) to see if her eardrum has ruptured (praying it hasn’t!). Thanks for the reminder about the sinus rinse! I’ve never tried it on her before but I use it frequently. Sometimes you don’t remember the most obvious things when dealing with the emotion of a kiddo’s illness. Thanks for sharing your experience!
For sinus infections, use colloidal silver in a neti pot. It works to clear all infections out. Do a search; Dr. Axe, Dr Berg websites on it
Have you tried basil essential oil or tea tree essential oil?
I tried basil in ear for infections and use tea tree regularly.
That is great to hear!
I am going to add another possibility here for avoiding antibiotics. Try homeopathic medicine.
I have had aseveral sinus infections in the last two years all treated without antibiotics . Even though they were presecribed by the physician I did not take them. I am more afraid of antibiotics and what it will do to my overall health and the health of my colon, than I am of a little pain and suffering.
My homeopathic practitioner was able to treat me with hoemopathic remedies and the infection resolved quickly.
I just got home from some travelling with the dreaded travellers diarrhea. While eveyeone in my travel party resorted to prescription antibiotics that they took with them on prescription from their physician,- I took a homeopathic remedy and it was like turning off a tap! Only had to repeat the remedy once.
Everyone in the travel party got this dreaded diarreha even those who took the oral Ducoral vaccine.
Research is showing that antibiotics are just not necessary most of the time. Childhood ear infections will resolve themselves without antibiotics in about 80% of cases. A wait and see attitude is wise.
The underlying reason for repeated infections of any sort (bladder, ear, sinus) should be sought and treated and only an natural health pracitioner works at that deep level.
WE have all been sick for a week now. NO fever, just green yucky goo! The kids were congested and coughing… I did what I always do when they have a cold, we did the salt water nasal rinses 2, 3 even 4 times a day. Before bedtime and when they wake up is a must… more times during the day if they really got a runny nose or congestion.
It works like magic… we are all better… they get their ears popping when we rinse the noses and I know that we are clearing the ways and they won’t have to deal with ear infections. Sometimes they complain just a bit when the ears pop, but I know they won’t be crying all night with ear infections. Like you, I had a lot of them when I was a kid.
None of my kids has ever had an ear infection..or antibiotics!!! from the first cold when they are months old to now, all they have been treated with are salt water nose rinses. It works!!! I will occasionally give them Ibuprofen at night before bed but that’s it!!
Thanks for sharing. This one was a toughy and was an infection but glad now that I didn’t give in.
I used a homemade batch of colloidal silver this last weekend for pink eye. I dont recommend using homemade for anything but topical application, but it worked wonders for pink eye!
I just avoided a script for myself for antibiotics for a throat infection. Luckily, the pain was only close to unbearable for one night and part of one day. The rest of the time I was just uncomfortable. I ate raw garlic and chased it with honey. Gargled salt water and apple cider vinegar. Upped Vitamin D. I felt symptoms longer than I probably would have….but it’s all gone now 🙂 And I didn’t have to compromise my already compromised gut 🙂
That’s great! Unfortunately we do saline nose rinses on my kids all the time and they still get ear and sinus infections 🙁
Ugh. Have you cleaned the bottles out? I hope you aren’t using tap water…..? Maybe you need to add something to the rinse?