Ear Infection

Ear infections are very common in children. It might be caused by swimming when the kids don’t clean the water from their ears immediately. Other than just infection due to the water coming into the ears, some kids might have kidney deficiency or a bit weaker kidney system, which makes them get ear infections easily and repeatedly.

Some commonly seen symptoms of ear infection include severe pain in the ear, high temperature, feeling sick, a lack of energy, difficulty in hearing, discharge running out of the ear, a feeling of a pressure of fullness inside of the ear, itching and irritation in and around the ear, etc.

Your family doctor or pediatrician might tell you that it is due to bacteria or a viral infection around the middle ear, which is the section behind the eardrum. So, normally, he or she will prescribe antibiotics if the tested result shows infection is due to the bacteria. But if it’s a viral infection, antibiotics will not help.

Why does the virus or bacteria survive? Because of the water, and because of the moisture environment. When there is no damp environment, a virus or bacteria will automatically die or disappear.

I want to tell you this very simple and comfortable and much safer way to treat children’s ear infections, which applies to adults as well. But before that, I want to share a story of my son.

• My second son used to easily get an ear infection when he was very young. Whenever he swam or caught cold, he tended to get an ear infection. And we visited the pediatrician several times due to the frequent and repeated ear infections. And we used all kinds of methods as suggested by the pediatrician (by the way, she is a very good, responsible and nice pediatrician), such as cleaning the ear thoroughly after each time of swimming, using mineral oil, cleaning the ear wax and, of course, various testing and antibiotics.  This was many years ago, before I studied Chinese medicine. We were very afraid to have him go for a swim. He took oral medication as well as ear drops several times.
• I still clearly remember the last time he used ear drops (I forget which prescribed medication; similar theory though). Whenever we put prescription drops into his ear, his headache was so severe that he squeezed his head with both hands and rolled on the floor.  I could easily see that the headache caused by the ear drops greatly overtook the ear pain itself. I was so afraid that his brain might be damaged, so I stopped using the ear drops.  It happened that around that time, I already started to explore Chinese medicine, and I self-taught some Chinese medicine theories, thanks to the late, famous Dr. Ni HaiXia. I realized that the kidney governs the ear, and his repeated ear infections should be related to this, as I saw some of his other symptoms. So, I applied the theory and used acupressure around his ear and also points on his kidney meridian, and he immediately felt better.  I totally gave up the ear drops and continued to use acupressure on him.  After that, whenever he felt ear pain, I would just use acupressure. He seldom had ear infections afterwards.

This happened even before I got involved with moxibustion. The reason I want to tell you this story is to advise you not to use those painkillers or antibiotics, or any other type of Western medicine, as they will cause more pain or problems for the kids. I feel so sympathetic toward the anxious moms, and I hope none of the kids will suffer again from such a problem. I will teach you how to treat this easily at home.

After I learned and practiced moxibustion for several years, I realized that moxibustion is even more effective than just using acupressure for ear infections.

• My friend’s kid also easily got ear infections. She is also a practitioner, but not specialized in moxibustion. Two years ago, she called me and told me that her son had an ear infection again, and she was planning to take him to the hospital. I told her that she could easily treat him at home by moxibustion. I taught her how to apply it, which is very easy: Use moxa sticks close to the ear area, and let the unique heat go inside the ear so that it can help move and circulate the water deep inside. And also, I taught her several acupressure points to use.  She called me a day after and told me it was very effective.  Just after one time, her son didn’t feel pain anymore. She didn’t need to take her son to the hospital, and it was very comfortable.

First of all, you have to understand the theory behind this. As mentioned before, when a virus or bacteria can grow inside the ear, it means there is dampness or a moist environment that is suitable for the bacteria or virus to grow. If you use antibiotics, the bacteria might be killed. But the dead bacteria there will contribute to an even dirtier environment. Also, for any antibiotics to work, there has to be a damp environment. I guess you can see the issue now. Whether it’s bacteria or a virus, it makes no difference to Chinese medicine. They are just bugs of different sizes. So, our theory is to clean or remove the environment instead of trying to kill the bugs.

Moxibustion is very effective in removing the dampness and moving qi flow. You can use whichever moxibustion ways you feel comfortable with. You can just light and hold a moxa stick/long roll toward the ear opening and around the ear, and do circulating movements. Or if you have Titan Tian Ai or another kind of big, good quality moxibustion sticker, you can light it and stick it onto the ear so that the warm qi from under the sticker can directly penetrate the ear hole and then go into the ear canal. Normally, a child will feel relieved while you are doing the moxibustion. It’s very comfortable. At the same time, you can do additional acupressure to reduce the meridian blockage related to the ear infection. Several acupuncture points in front and around the ear are all okay, such as Ermen（TE21), Tinggong（SI19), Ting Hui（GB02)，and Yifeng (TE17), as well as remote points such as Xiaxi (GB43) and Yemen (TE2).  If the kid repeatedly and easily gets ear infections, you need to think of a kidney deficiency issue. You can do moxibustion on Taixi (KI3).

• Bonus: As you are lucky enough to read my book, I want to offer you a 15-minute free consultation about your kid’s issue. Just sign in to www.MiraclesOfMoxibustion.com to get your free bonus.