OTITIS MEDIA
MD Cause: An infection by sneaky bacteria.
MD Rx: Antibiotics – and Lots of them!
ND Cause: A weakened Immune System which allowed the bacteria to gain a foothold. Food allergies or intolerances – especially to cow’s milk - are also a possibility.
Discussion: Behind the eardrum in each year is a chamber the chamber is drained by little anatomical tubes that go down into the back of the throat. They are called the Eustachian tubes. If those tubes get clogged, then the naturally occurring fluid in the middle ear behind the eardrum cannot drain properly. When this happens a nice environment for bacteria to grow is created. This is why many infants or children who have chronic ear infections have their eardrums perforated by the MD and little tubes inserted into them so that the fluid can properly drain. This is quite a painful procedure and it does not get to the root cause of the illness, but it is par for the course in caveman MD medicine. A better solution is to unclog the Eustachian tubes and to eliminate the cause of the inflammation that caused them to swell up in the first place. one of the most common causes of Eustachian tube inflammation is the consumption of cow’s milk and cow’s milk products. So in anybody especially a child who has an ear infection in addition to the 12 bad foods we must eliminate cow’s milk and cow’s milk products from the diet. There is an old naturopathic hydrotherapy treatment that is used to help unclog the Eustachian tubes. Get to mixing bowls from the kitchen. Put cold water with ice cubes in it in one and hot tap water into the other. Put a small face cloth into each bowl. Remove the face cloth from the hot bowl ring it out and apply it to the throat immediately under the jaw on the side of the body with the infected ear. Leave it on for about one minute. While it is still on the skin take the face cloth from the cold bowl ring it out and put it directly on top of the hot face cloth already on the skin. Then flip them over so that now the cold towel is against the skin and the hot towel is on top. Peel off the hot towel and put it back into the hot water. Repeat this procedure 10 times. Always start with the hot towel and end with the cold towel. Halfway through this process you will probably need to refresh both the cold and the hot water. Make sure of course that the hot water isn’t so hot that the skin is burned. Alternating the hot and the cold applications to the area of the body directly above the Eustachian tubes will effectively dilate and constrict them helping them to pump out the mucus and other stuff which has gummed them up.
An interesting side note about milk: Thousands of years ago the milk from domesticated cows contained a protein called beta-2. Modern day milk-cows have 2 different proteins: beta-2 and beta-1. There is growing evidence to support the notion that people who have lactose intolerance and or allergies to cow’s milk our having an allergic reaction to the beta-1 protein. If this is you, or if your child is suffering from chronic ear infections then it is a good idea to experiment with cow’s milk that only contains the beta-2 protein. This of course is not mandatory. If you simply want to avoid cow’s milk and cow’s milk products, then that’s much easier. By way of education, however, this beta-2/beta-1 distinction is interesting, and I believe it is worthwhile experimenting with.
My Rx: In addition to the 90 EN:
· Elimination of Beta-1 containing cow’s milk and cow’s milk products.
· Hot & Cold applications to the throat on the same side as the problematic ear.
· Good Herbs Super Olive Health: Take the acute dose outlined in Part 2, Chapter 6.
Argentyn 23: 1 teaspoon orally 3 times daily; 5 drops into the infected ear every 3 hours while awake.
Homeopathy:
· Pulsatilla nigrans: This is the “Go-To” remedy to use in any ear infection – especially if the ear affected is on the right side, and if the discharge is yellow/green.
· Belladonna: Use if Pulsatilla fails. The infected ear is Red, Hot, Dry and the pain is throbbing.