Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Handy Earache Relief

Hubby, my pillar of strength and manly man, has had a horrible ear infection lately. (Yes, adults can get these, too! I have had several this year myself.) He never gets sick or gets even so much as a headache, so this has really thrown him for a loop. The pain has been nearly unbearable for him (the doctor said he'd caught it just in time; his eardrum was about to burst). He feels as though he had been hit in the side of his head with a baseball bat. The pain kept him awake at night, but one thing that brought a little relief was moist heat. I wet a washcloth, wrung it out and zapped it in the microwave for 20 seconds, and it was just right.

As well as this worked, by the time I performed all these steps I was wide awake. I came up with a solution to keep warm washcloths handy - the Crock Pot! Put the washcloths in with just enough water to saturate, then cover and put on the lowest setting. The "keep warm" setting is ideal, but be careful, as they will still be very hot! If your only choice is "low" or "high", put it on low and keep some tongs handy. You can get one out with the tongs and shake it until it is cool enough to handle. An empty bowl can be placed next to the bed for the used washcloths (or, if you're not a germ freak, you can just toss the washcloths back in the Crock Pot to reheat them).

I think it might be even more soothing to add some lavender essential oil to the washcloths, but I didn't try it.

P.S. If you didn't get a chance to check out LTDCHix.com for the t-shirt giveaway, there's still time! We've extended the contest to Friday, April 11th! Click here to see how to enter.

For more great tips, head over to Shannon's blog!

12 comments:

Victoria said...

Hey good idea! Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Oh great idea!

Kate said...

That is a great idea!

Shari Ellen said...

So sorry about your husband's ear ache. It must have been really bad if the ear drum was about to burst. This is good tip you came up with.

Anonymous said...

That stinks that your husband is sick. What a great tip for how to relieve the pain. Thanks for sharing!

Kelly @ Growing.Learning.Playing. said...

That is actually a really good idea. Another reason why I love my crock pot . . . :-) Hope your hubby feels better soon!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! I had a very bad ear infection last year and could have used this tip!

Britni said...

They use crockpots to keep stones hot for massages... this sounds like a great idea!

mom_of2boys said...

What a great idea!

Saw your ticker at the bottom - good luck on your weight loss goals!

Anonymous said...

Moist heat has helped my pains (ears, back, head) in the past too.

Also a great idea about keeping the cloths in the crockpot.

Anonymous said...

Warm moist heat solution #2: take a disposable diaper, add some water, heat in the microwave. It retains the water and heat very well & it can be used again and again and again.

The (Almost) Amazing Mammarino said...

A diaper - what a hoot! The mental image this conjures up is a riot. Sounds like a great idea - thanks!