Whole Family Chiropractic – Dr. Tye Moe – Dr. Chelsey Henney – Pediatric and Family Chiropractors in Minneapolis and St Paul, MN 55116

Are Natural Remedies for Ear Infections Good at Preventing Them From Coming Back?

Many parents bring their kiddo into our office because they are looking for natural ways to help their child with recurring ear infections.  They are wanting to avoid unnecessary antibiotics & ear tubes, and are looking to strengthen their child’s body so their kiddo is not always sick.

To help your child, it is important to know what to do in the moment.  If your child is uncomfortable and in pain, you just want them to feel better!  The quicker your child gets over their ear infection, the quicker they can get back to feeling good and being a kid again.  It also means they get back to school and you get back to work.

If you’ve been seeking out natural ways to help, it’s likely because you’re worried about the effects antibiotics can have on your child’s good gut bacteria (70% of your child’s immune system is located in their gut!).  

While antibiotics can be effective for ear infections caused by bacteria, they also wipe out the good bacteria in your child’s gut.  This can weaken your child’s overall immune system, and mean future infections are more likely.  (https://www.insider.com/guides/health/do-antibiotics-weaken-the-immune-system)

The benefit of using natural remedies to treat an ear infection is they tend to be much easier on your child’s body.  When your child fights an ear infection naturally, they can keep their gut bacteria stronger.  In addition, their immune system learns how to clear out bugs without relying on a strong outside intervention.  You can also avoid having to build your child’s gut back up after a course of antibiotics.  

However, what happens if you treat your child’s ear infections naturally, but they keep coming back?  There is an important difference between treating an ear infection in the moment and strengthening your child’s body to prevent future ear infections.

If they keep recurring, this often means that something is preventing your child’s body from being as strong as it could be.  When it comes to recurring ear infections, the two things we see most commonly are:

  1. Something is preventing your child’s ears from draining properly.  Hint: even though they are young and their eustachian tubes are horizontal, it doesn’t mean they don’t know how to drain!
  2. Your child’s immune system isn’t becoming stronger after being sick.  If your kiddo is getting the same sickness over and over again (e.g. ear infections, colds, stuffy noses, etc) it means something is preventing their immune system from learning and getting stronger after they’re ill.

For more on the two steps needed to help your child heal from recurring ear infections, read our blog post here:

What Two Steps are Needed to Help Your Child Heal From Recurring Ear Infections?

The bottom line…we love natural remedies to help ear infections.  However, if you’ve found yourself having to use natural remedies again and again, please reach out.  We’d love to help your child get stronger so their ears can get clear and stay clear!

Call 651-789-0033 or email feelawesome@healthyfamilymn.com to ask more about the appointment process.


Here’s an article that discusses 13 natural remedies (note that chiropractic is included):

13 Home Remedies for Ear Infections


Interested in understanding more?  Check out this webinar:

Help to Break the Cycle of Recurring Ear Infections and Antibiotics

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