Uveitis Eye Inflammation Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

What To Know About Homeopathic Remedies For Ear Infection

An ear infection, acute otitis media, is a painful infection in your middle ear. Ear infections can happen in children and adults of all ages, typically after a cold, sore throat, or other respiratory infection. However, they're more common in kids. When ear infections keep you up at night, you may want to try homeopathic remedies rather than antibiotics.

However, if the pain worsens and there's no relief, you should call a doctor. Ear infections that are left untreated can cause hearing loss and other problems.

Ear infection can begin when the tube connecting the upper part of your throat and your middle ear is blocked. The tube, known as the Eustachian tube, can become blocked by mucus and swelling from a cold or when fluids pool behind your eardrum. The pool of liquid makes an excellent place for bacteria to grow and cause an ear infection. 

When infection occurs, fluid builds up. Pressure from the fluid pushes on your eardrum and can be very painful. The pressure makes your eardrum inside red and bulging.  

Ear infection symptoms can come on quickly. Signs and symptoms may look different in children than adults. Depending on their age, you may have to look for certain signs when your child can't tell you their ear hurts. 

Ear infection symptoms in children include: 

Ear pain, more frequent when laying down

Tugging or pulling at the ear

Hard time sleeping

Crying more than usual

Trouble hearing or responding to sounds

Off-balance

Fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher

Fluid drainage from the ear

Headache

No appetite

Ear infection symptoms in adults include: 

Ear pain

Fluid drainage from the ear

Trouble hearing

There are many treatments for ear infections in classical homeopathy. Keep in mind that homeopathic medicine is not regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Homeopathic remedies come from the belief that "like cures like." That means that what causes disease symptoms in healthy individuals will cure the same symptoms in ill people. Most remedies are a combination of a natural substance and a synthetic compound to enhance the therapeutic benefits. You should choose the right dosage with caution, so you don't experience severe effects.

Homeopathic remedies include:

Belladonna (Atropa belladonna). Belladonna works best for ear pain that fluctuates. It is accompanied by a fever, flushing, and sensitivity to light. You should have a quick response to belladonna. Belladonna works by blocking some functions of your nervous system, and the plant itself is highly toxic. 

Dosages vary from 3 drops for young children (ages 0-11) to 6 drops for people 12 and older.  

Ferrum phosphoricum. This remedy is best for ear infections that have just started and don't have severe symptoms. The recommended dosage is 30C GR. Adults can take five granules three times daily, and children can take three granules three times daily. You should consult with your doctor about the right dosage. Taking too much can result in an overdose, and you should contact the Poison Control Center immediately. 

Homeopathic remedies can give you quick earache relief without having to go to the doctor. There's not a standard for homeopathic remedies, and in some cases, you may need to see a homeopathic doctor. Make sure you take note of all the symptoms, as this will help you get the exact remedy you need.  

‌One study backs the recommendation of the American Academy of Publications to use homeopathic ear drops to manage ear infection symptoms. By using homeopathic remedies for an ear infection, you may reduce the use of antibiotics.

Other home remedies for ear infection include: 

Hot or cold compress. Putting a cold or hot pack on your affected ear can help relieve the pain. Doctors advise choosing the temperature you prefer. Make sure it's not too hot or too cold by wrapping the pack in a thin cloth.

Changing sleep position. While this home remedy won't provide full earache relief, it can help prevent discomfort in the morning. Use two or more pillows to keep your affected ear above the rest of your body. If you sleep on your side, rest on the opposite ear. Both of these techniques will help relieve some of the pressure from your ear.

Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Common Name: Red-Eyed Tree Frog Scientific Name: Agalychnis callidryas Average Life Span In The Wild: 5 years Size relative to a teacup: IUCN Red List Status:? Least concern

Least Concern Extinct

Current Population Trend: Decreasing

Many scientists believe the red-eyed tree frog developed its vivid scarlet peepers to shock predators into at least briefly questioning their meal choice.

Colorful Adaptations

These iconic rain-forest amphibians sleep by day stuck to leaf-bottoms with their eyes closed and body markings covered. When disturbed, they flash their bulging red eyes and reveal their huge, webbed orange feet and bright blue-and-yellow flanks. This technique, called startle coloration, may give a bird or snake pause, offering a precious instant for the frog to spring to safety.

Their neon-green bodies may play a similar role in thwarting predators. Many of the animals that eat red-eyed tree frogs are nocturnal hunters that use keen eyesight to find prey. The shocking colors of this frog may over-stimulate a predator's eyes, creating a confusing ghost image that remains behind as the frog jumps away.

Range and Habitat

Red-eyed tree frogs, despite their conspicuous coloration, are not venomous. They are found in tropical lowlands from southern Mexico, throughout Central America, and in northern South America. Nocturnal carnivores, they hide in the rain forest canopy and ambush crickets, flies, and moths with their long, sticky tongues.

Red-eyed tree frogs are not endangered. But their habitat is shrinking at an alarming rate, and their highly recognizable image is often used to promote the cause of saving the world's rain forests.

Red Squirrel

(Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)

From: Saunders, D. A. 1988. Adirondack Mammals. State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 216pp

Order: RodentiaFamily: Sciuridae

Range and Habitat

The range of the red squirrel is from the tree line of North America south into the northern U.S., the Northeast, and continuing in the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. Although primarily an inhabitant of coniferous and mixed forests, it may also reside in deciduous forests, especially the northern hardwoods. In the Adirondacks, the red squirrel is associated with the coniferous and mixed forests at all elevations.

Within these habitats, red squirrels build nests 3-18 m (10-60 ft) above the ground inside a natural tree cavity, abandoned woodpecker nest, or on a branch. Exposed nests are usually near the trunk on a large branch, occasionally in a witch's-broom.

The nest is 20-50 cm (10-20 in) in diameter, and made of a coarse outer layer of bark or litter from the forest floor, and an inner layer of finely shredded bark, often from yellow birch or white cedar. A single entrance, opposite the side nearest the trunk of exposed nests, leads to the inner chamber. Red squirrels may also build nests in an underground chamber which they excavate. These chambers are approximately 23 cm (9 in) long, 10-13 cm (4-5 in) in diameter, and 30 cm (12 in) beneath the surface of the ground. Buildings, logs, stumps, log piles, bird houses, and rock walls are other locations.

Food and Feeding Behavior

The seeds of conifer cones form the mainstay of diet of this rodent. To get these cones, the red squirrel clambers about the branches of balsam fir, larch, white cedar, pines, and spruces, cutting green cones. A dozen or more may fall to the ground before the squirrel descends to retrieve and bury the cones in one or several chambers in its territory. By cutting only green cones, the red squirrel ensures that the seeds are still present. Middens mark the presence of the red squirrel. The term midden in the case of this species refers to both food cache, and to the debris that accumulates over months and even years from stripping cones on a nearby log, branch, or stump.

Other important foods include the buds, inner bark, sap, nuts and seeds of deciduous trees and shrubs. Fungi, even some species of the toxic genus Amonita, and fleshy fruits may form a large part of the summer diet with the surplus carried aloft to dry among twigs or wedged between branches. Red squirrels also consume invertebrates such as insects, and some vertebrates, for example, small mammals birds, and birds' eggs.

Activity and Movement

The red squirrel is diurnal and arboreal, its activities in the trees often unnoticed because of the dense foliage. During the warmest days of mid-summer, activity peaks at twilight. Midday activity is typical of cold winter days when red squirrels leave the protection of their nests to visit food stores, sometimes digging elaborate snow tunnels to reach there stockpiles.

Red squirrels navigate trees with ease, running up and down trunks, or along branches, bounding up to 2.4 m (8 ft) through the air from one branch to another to reach different trees, occasionally falling to the ground unscathed. On the ground, they walk or run, and when alarmed, they may attain speeds of 22.5 km/hr (14 mph) for short distances.

Reproduction

The courtship which precedes mating between a pair of red squirrels is brief and relatively unritualized. One to 10 males may pursue a female during her one day estrous period, the dominant male eventually approaching the female while giving quiet vocalizations, and then mounting her. Copulation is brief, but may recur several times before the female becomes aggressive. Some females may mate again with different males. After a gestation period of 36-40 days, the female bears her young in a nest of shredded bark and leaves. A typical litter contains 3-5 young, but can vary from 1-8. Blind, naked, and pink at birth, the young develop slowly, their eyes not opening until 27 days of age. By day 30, they are fully furred, and they begin to venture from the nest. They are weaned soon after. By 9-11 weeks of age, they establish their own territories.

Some females produce litters in both April and August, but others produce just one litter annually during one of these periods. Sexual maturation of the young occurs the winter following their birth. Red squirrels may live 10 years, although 3-5 years is the average life span for adults.

Predators

Raccoons, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, weasels, minks, fishers, hawks, owls, and martens are predators of the red squirrel.

Social Behavior

Social System - Pugnacious, fearless, timid, saucy, curious, and loquacious are terms early naturalists used to characterize the red squirrel. While more descriptive terms are used today, these older words do capture the personality of the red squirrel. The red squirrel is sedentary, solitary, and promiscuous, and defends a territory of 0.4-3.2 ha (1-8 acres). During breeding season, males wander from their territories. While in estrous, a female permits their encroachment on her territory.

Communication - A resident red squirrel gives a long, rattling buzz, the notes slowing and fading, when another red squirrel enters its territory. At the highest intensity, tail-jerking and foot stamping accompany the call. Neighboring red squirrels may respond with similar calls, producing a chorus. This call functions to advertise an occupied territory and to increase the distance between individuals. A slowly repeated "whuuk" occurs as an alarm call. Motor patterns, posturing, and chemical signals convey information among red squirrels, but are not as specialized as vocalizations, a consequence of the lifestyle amidst concealing conifer.

Additional References

Fitzwater, W.D., Jr. 1941. The red squirrel: territorialism, activity, census methods. M.S. Thesis, SUNY CESF, Syracuse NY. 117pp.

Hatt, R.T. 1929 The red squirrel: its life history and habits, with special reference to the Adirondacks of New York and the Harvard forest. Syracuse Univ. Press, Syracuse, NY. 146pp.

Layne, J.N. 1954. The biology of the red squirrel, Tamias sciurus hudsonicus loquax (Bangs), in central New York. Ecological Monographs, 24:227-267.

Robbins, C.T.1971. A study of red squirrel activity. M.S Thesis, SUNY CESF, Syracuse, NY. 117pp.

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