Nature’s Best Earache Oil
You remember my son with the cough? He’s my different one. Not in a bad way, just different. The only brown eyed child we have, sensitive skin, thoughtful, behaves like a 60 year old man. Seriously, if you close you eyes, you could swear you were having a conversation with an old man instead of a 4 year old.
We’ve never had problems with earaches in our house. I know some families really struggle with that and have to go the whole route of tubes and antibiotics, but we just haven’t ever had that issue. I think we had maybe 1 or 2 earaches until my “sensitive son” came along. Now, I would not say he had chronic ear infections or even that much of an issue, but just more than we were used to dealing with. So, being the herbal-loving, frugal, slightly-crunchy, concerned Mama that I am, I started looking for what herbal remedy to use. It didn’t take long to find many references to mullein being a great treatment option for earaches. This has been a great resource for us ever since!
This was early in my herbal journey and I hadn’t used mullein before so I wasn’t really looking for it. But, boy when I did go hunting, I found it literally EVERYWHERE! It is said to be a healer of the soil so it grows in just about any type of soil. I have found it on the roadside in little more than just gravel. I promise, when you start to look, you will see it everywhere! My kids are constantly spotting it along the road and hollering for me to pull over and get it! Now, I always make sure to gather extra flowers during the summer and dry them for when I need them later.
Do not wait for the mullein stalk to fully bloom because they won’t! You will most commonly see it look like the plant above. Don’t pick the whole stalk head, because if you just pick the flowers, more will grow in a few days. This will allow you to harvest several rounds of flowers from one plant.
How to make earache oil:
- Place dried (or fresh) flowers in oil. I like to use sweet almond oil, but you could probably use olive or coconut oil.
- Cover and let it sit in a warm place (I like to use the kitchen window) for 2 weeks. If you can’t do it the long way, you can warm the mixture on the stove on low for 1 hour. Do NOT boil!
- Strain, and pour remaining oil into a container.
- When needed for earaches, take a dropperful and warm up. *Make sure to test it before you use it!
- Put a few (warm) drops in the ear and cover with a cotton ball.
Disclaimer: I am in no way a doctor or medical professional. This is just my personal experience with an herbal remedy that many have used over the years. I have found that it works great for common earaches, but is not intended to treat chronic ear infections. If you have reoccurring infections please, seek medical advice.
