Potato

Potatoes have a soothing effect on earaches, especially through their pleasant heat emission. In order not to burn the ear by cooked potatoes, it is recommended to put potato bags on the ear. A cooked potato is mashed with a fork and wrapped in a thin cloth.

If a pleasant temperature can be felt through the cloth, the potato bag can be placed on the outer ear. The pain relief brings both the warmth itself and the quiet lying on the side for laying on. However, the healing effect is based on the improved blood circulation due to the heat.

If the temperature in the ear canal rises, blood vessels expand reflexively and more blood flows through the structures in the ear. The blood carries urgently needed defense cells to inflamed structures such as the eardrum. The infection can thus be better controlled by the body.

Subsequent wound healing also takes place more quickly, as required substances can be transported to their destination more quickly. The potato does not have an antibacterial or disinfectant effect itself, but rather achieves symptom relief through its heat release. In addition, it supports the body’s own wound healing process without directly influencing the cause of the disease.

If there is a bacterial infection of the ear, the application of heat to the ear should be viewed critically. The increased temperature in the ear offers optimal growth conditions for bacteria. A bacterially caused middle ear infection is therefore not suitable for the application of potato bags.

Salt

Salt is often used in the form of saline solution to treat colds. Above all, nasal rinses lead to improved nasal breathing in the event of a cold, as it causes the mucous membranes to swell. Swollen mucous membranes contain a lot of liquid that can be removed by the salt.

If a solution is gargled with common salt, it can also be used to relieve earaches. The gargling also moistens the mucous membrane of the throat with salt water. The swelling of the pharyngeal mucosa then allows better ventilation of the middle ear, since both structures are connected to each other in the form of the Eustachian tube.

In the case of a cold, the Eustachian tube is often swollen during the inflammatory process. Once the inflammation subsides, the connecting structure is reopened and the pressure in the middle ear decreases. The eardrum relaxes and the ear pain subsides as a result.

However, the direct application of salt in the ear should be avoided.For example, if the eardrum is torn in the course of an inflammation of the middle ear, the fluid would flow unprotected into the ear. The result would be an accumulation of fluid in the middle ear, which could not drain into the throat due to the swollen Eustachian tube. A humid chamber is thus formed, which is an optimal breeding ground for bacteria.

The earache would therefore only get worse. For this reason, salt water should only be used in the form of nasal showers or gargling to support the treatment of earaches. In these applications, the drainage of the liquid is guaranteed and has been proven to lead to a reduction in the swelling of the inflamed mucous membranes.