Oh, your aching head! Earaches are painful ailments usually brought on by an infection and can not only be painful but also cause dizziness. Many times earaches are common childhood complaint caused by allergies; make sure that there are no foreign objects in the ear before using herbs topically.

Some ear infections start with the growth of fungus on the ear drum. This can happen especially in warm, moist climates or when a person swims frequently. The following remedies will help you or your child fight the infection causing the earache and also help fight the fungus or infection locally.

Some infections can be aggravated by excess mucus production, and testing for food allergies is a good idea. Common food allergies involve wheat and sugar, so it will be helpful to eliminate these foods completely from your diet while fighting an infection.

Mucus and ear wax can hidden in the ear canal, leaving you vulnerable to earaches, infections, and dizziness. Sometimes a lack of essential fatty acids is the culprit in the excess production of ear wax. Consider supplementing with an Omega-3 oil, lecithin, or flax seed oil supplement to help emulsify some of that wax build-up. A capsule or two daily of any of these is useful.

We have already talked about Echinacea being a great remedy for colds, allergies, and other ailments. This is just one of those all-around safe herbs that is helpful for all types of infections. Echinacea can dry up excess mucus and can serve to heal earaches that are due to excess mucus in the sinus cavities.

Other herbal combinations you can take with your echinacea to help fight infection include garlic and mixture of parthenium, yarrow, myrrh, and capsicum. These all work synergistically to kill infection and lessen mucus; the capsicum acts as stimulator to increase the effectiveness of all herbs.

After infection is over, an herbal calcium supplement will aid your body in rebuilding tissue that need healing. Think of calcium as the "knitter" in the body; it helps wounds heal by supplying the ingredients your body needs to rebuild. Herbs rich in calcium and silicon (silicon is also food for the structural system) include oatsraw, horsetail, dulse, and rosemary.

Going right to the source with herbal infection fighters and pain relievers can speed up the healing process. Two to three drops directly into the earusing lobelia, garlic, mullein, or tea tree oil has been used with success for earaches for adults and children alike.

However, please avoid placing any drops in ears that have had tubes surgically inserted. Warm the oil up slightly by placing the oil bottle in a hot pan of water for a minute or so first. This makes it feel better and makes the oil less viscous, helping it slide easily into the ear canal.

This will all serve to soothe the canal and fight infection locally. Another home remedy helpful for ear pain involves a large onion. Here's the remedy:

1. Bake the onion until soft.
2. Cut the onion in half.
3. Let the onion cool until you can stand to place your finger into the center.
4. Lay the flat side of each half on each ear, and wrap the onion snugly around your head (you can do one at a time if you keep the other half of the onion warm.)
5. Keep on until the onion cools.

Not only does this help to relieve pain, but it can clear mucus congestion, too. Eliminate toxins from the body with bowel cleansing to help any ailment. Enemas for both children and adults can bring relief fairly quickly. Add some garlic to the enema water to give an extra bacterial-fighting boost to the body and speed recovery time.

Ear coning is used by some to get sinus and ear ache relief. Do not attempt ear coning alone, however. It is wise to have an experienced practitioner do this for you, or have someone teach you and your partner how do it for each other.