Garlic oil for ear aches.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: Garlic Oil for Ear Infection!!!
From: Michael Moore <hrbmoore.rt66.com>
Date: 9 Aug 1995 20:25:02 GMT

>My experiences with most all ear infections, strongly suggest the use of pure garlic oil - inserted into both ears. I use garlic oil capsules from Walmart.
> This has never failed me, and usually works over the course of one night. An exacto knife is used to prick 1 end of the garlic oil capsule, and liquid is squeezed into BOTH ears. (Even if only 1 ear is in pain.) Gently insert cotton into ears, to hold in garlic oil. It's too bad that conventional doctors have been trained to tell you that this doesn't work, etc...

One should be VERY CAREFUL...the oils or suspensions of garlic that are to be found in the various garlic supplements, admirable as they are for many of us, are NOT OIL OF GARLIC!!! Oil of Garlic consists of the solvent extracted aromatics from garlic, manufactured in much the same way as Oil of Sandalwood. Oil of Garlic is commercially available (although quite pricey) and is pugnacious and morbidly pungent...and VERY CAUSTIC. I stopped selling it in my store a few years ago after a parent purchased it and, with loving misconception, used it in her childs ear. The oil burned and reddened the tissues of the ear canal and necessitated medical attention

This is OIL OF GARLIC, not the steeped oil or the craftily extracted allicins suspended in safflower oil that are to be found in garlic "perls". The latter is probably a fine application (as is a little warm olive oil or steeped mullen flower oil).

I'm not being critical, just attempting clarification...I learned the difference the hard way.

Michael Moore (hrbmoore.rt66.com)

From: watrsprite.aol.com (WatrSprite)

I was lurking through the posts, just generally looking around, when I saw this post from today...

In my experience, it doesn't matter too much what kind of oil you use, since my mother used mineral oil to cure my ear infections. In point of fact, I've asked my doctor if that was something that she should have done, and he confirmed that her actions were correct. Now, my doctor may be something vastly different from what you people have, and I've had quite a few doctors before I found this one, whom I trust. (that is saying a lot, since I don't trust people easily)

Anyway, it doesn't take very much...my mom used to suck a little up into that thing moms use to clear out their baby's nostrils (can't remember for the life of me what they call that thing, but it's a bulb with a little syringe end thingy on it <G>)...and then, she'd put it in my ear, follow with the cotton, etc.

You don't really need to smell like garlic is coming out your ears...literally...my doctor said that even vegetable oil would have been fine, as long as it was clean and unused and the bulb-thingy was sterile.

May you find shade this day

From: Luke Summers <luke.aardvark.apana.org.au>

If anybody is concerned about the smell and the residual oil from the garlic. Another good remedy is to use onion juice. This won't smell as bad and it is easier to clean out etc. This will work just as well.