I'm back after suffering with an ear infection for a week...

[Kid_A]

Last week SUCKED. I have no idea how I even got an ear infection, but I was in agony for days. The doctor gave me some drops that did absolutely fuck-all except for burning the hell out of my ear. It felt like someone took about twenty needles, stuck them all in my ear and just PUSHED until they hit the center of my brain. I couldn't sleep because lying down made my ear hurt like a bitch, I couldn't eat because chewing made my ear hurt even more, and I couldn't listen to the new R.E.M. album that came out last week because I was deaf in my left ear.

Last week fucking sucked.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

1. I had one of those last year

Even went to the E.R. at 4 AM because I couldn't stand the pain anymore. Three different prescriptions did NOTHING for it. I just had to wait for it to go away on it's own.

[stellanoir]

2. I had chronic ear infections for years

I empathize totally. They are excrutiating.

What finally healed me was two things. Mullein/Garlic tincture from the health food store and 15 minutes of acupuncture. Use the oil (topically) whenever you feel a tickle. The acupuncture allowed the draining of the infectious villains permanantly.

Haven't had another infection in a decade.

Please don't flame me for offering up a solution that simply worked for me far better than antibiotics ever did. It's just merely a suggestion.

When you have an infection as severe as what you've described, they tend to be recurrent.

Be well.

[Kid_A]

3. Thanks for the remedy. I'll have to remember that.

So can you buy the stuff and use it right away, or do you have to prepare it somehow?

[stellanoir]

4. If I were you. . .

which is most admittedly, a really silly premise. . .I'd pick up a bottle (for 8-12 bucks) and keep it on hand to use preventively at the first symptom of reoccurance.

Let the antibiotics do their work for now. But pay attention to the slightest sensation of another flare up. Then, use the drops 3-4 times a day. You have to apply to the ear and cock your head for about five minutes and when you put it upright, a kleenex will be required or you'll have an unsightly oil stain on your shoulder.

A mother of 4 who's kids who all had recurrent ear infections recommended this to me.

She cured her kids (who were initially facing surgery). And it cured me as well.

Hope it works for you.

[VOX]

5. I hear you - had one of these this past summer. As painful as a toothache.

The reason ear infections hurt so damn much is that there are a ton of cranial nerves bunched around the ears.

Mine swelled up a bit, and because of that, my teeth weren't lining up probably -- I could barely chew for several days.

I used the drops, but my doc also prescribed a course of cipro, which turned the tide quickly.

Watch out for a recurrence, Kid_A -- these things can be persistent, and you don't want to let it go there.

Best to you -- :toast: