the mighty onion compress

A couple of posts back I promised to share our earache dream solution; the simple onion compress. I'm keen to share this because it seems that most little ones get some sort of ear infections at some stage, possibly more so here in Aotearoa where many houses are chronically damp and cold.

We managed to sneak past them with Sky but when Ruby was a toddler she had a couple of ear infections with temperatures (note to self:high temperatures, another post.)
Early on when we were confronted with Ruby being sick for the first few times (especially if a temperature was involved), we called Gunter's mother in Germany for reassurance and advice.
It is thanks to her that we discovered the wonderful onion compress.

• Chop up a medium sized onion into small pieces and stuff it into one of those small cotton socks that have lost their partner or place onto a small piece of cotton and tape it up into a fairly flat package.
  Only use natural materials: cotton, wool or silk.



• Place on the painful ear and cover with a woolen swab (or a folded piece of wool.) The idea is to keep the area as warm as possible.



• Hold in place with a woolen scarf or a cotton strap. You can also use a fairly snug balaclava. Once Ruby was only interested in lying (with the pillow raised) with her ear over the compress - she fell asleep so that worked too.



• Keep it on for about 30 minutes and apply a fresh one 2 or 3 times during the day. I often applied it while she slept.

Thanks for the modelling Ruby

(we always had her laying as upright as possible to help the ear drain;

a detail forgotten at the photo shoot!)

This is the main remedy I used at the acute stage of Ruby's ear infections.
That, and lots of sleep, warmth, quietness, herbal teas and the love, care and attention that we all need when we are unwell.
The carers mantra: Cancel everything. Slow down. Pay attention.
Having a few nurturing treatments to apply still helps me to slow down and pay attention, while also giving me a few things to do.