Being a parent is no easy task to begin with, much less when young ones are going through the inevitable hurdles of life, almost like rites of passage: illnesses or injuries that leave them bedridden or feeling miserable for days or even weeks on end.
Parents naturally want their children to be both happy and healthy and wish to ease their pains during these tough times. Yet, they also want to avoid giving their children too many chemicals or strong medications that could produce undesired side effects or long-term, detrimental health impacts.
Even medications as common as ibuprofen or cold medicines can cause damage to young, growing bodies, leaving parents torn between helping their kids feel better and keeping them away from lasting harm.
One of the toughest things to deal with, of course, is an ear infection. More common among young children than anyone else, ear infections are incredibly painful and hard to cure without a doctor’s help. They can be tough to treat without medication, leaving young kids begging for some kind of relief.
As mom Echo Featherstone shared, though, there are a few tried-and-true home remedies for ear pain—and for parents who don’t want to immediately head for the medicine cabinet, they can be a lifesaver.
Featherstone took to Facebook to share a home remedy passed down through her family, almost guaranteed to help out.
“What I’m about to share with you is a coveted family secret given to my mom from Aunt Mer,” she wrote. “Because it takes 30 minutes for pain meds to kick in, this is the handiest trick you will ever learn.”
She went on to explain that a homemade warm compress, created by heating up a wet face cloth and putting it in a hot coffee mug, can create a warm, moist environment to put over the hurting ear and alleviate some of the pain.
It sounds like an old wive’s tale, but Featherstone’s tip is actually well regarded among doctors everywhere. It helps in the same way that a hot compress can relieve cramps or soothe muscles, as the heat promotes blood flow and relaxes muscles to take away some of the additional pain that comes from things like ear pressure from infections. The heat won’t do anything about the actual infection itself but can help relax a young child enough to let them sleep or wait for antibiotics to kick in—and without the extra stress and pressure, the body can get to work healing itself.
Featherstone’s approach doesn’t necessarily eliminate the need for additional medication, but it does provide the important ability of helping a crying child relax enough to get to sleep—which, as even the most experienced doctors will say, is one of the most effective ways to speed up the healing process. The sooner a kiddo can get over their ear infection, the less medication they have to take—and the happier their parents will be!
