The marvels of not-so modern medicine

Today my house smells like garlic (no, that isn't me bragging, it is just a statement of fact).

I've been cooking garlic because someone around here has the beginnings of an ear infection.

And (spoiler alert) that someone is me.

If the truth be told, I get a LOT of infections.  A big part of that is the result of the meds I'm on to keep my Crohn's disease in check (nasty freeloader, always hanging around).  These drugs (I love them) keep my immune system suppressed which is good for controlling Crohn's but not so good for fighting off other illnesses.

And so I get a lot of infections, the bulk of them being ear infections, sinus infections, and I scoop up my fair share of strep throat (I really HATE that one).

I really despise having to head to the doctor for every little infection because they come up REALLY often and doctors are expensive, so since Crohn's and I became frenemies six years ago I've learned a few tricks to take care of some of these things.  While I still don't have a solid answer for managing sinus infections and strep, I DO have a good, reliable helper when it comes to fighting off ear infections.

Enter the garlic .
(Thinking out loud, maybe Crohn's Disease and vampires have a distant relation of some kind?)

Now, I am not a medical professional, so I'm not prescribing this treatment for anyone out there, but I have been grateful for this tried and true remedy (which humans have used for a long long time so I'm really just piggy-backing off the smarts of Neanderthals and such) so I'm going to share.  Garlic has helped me wipe out dozens of ear infections and I'm really glad of that.

Should you decide to give this simple trick, here's how I do it.

Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a heaping spoon of garlic to a saute pan.  Over a medium heat stir the concoction CONSTANTLY.  The garlic will slowly get darker and darker while it cooks.

Keep going until the garlic becomes a nearly black, sticky mass (you can't miss it when you get there).  Then filter the tonic through something (like cheesecloth, or a handy dandy paper towel) to separate the garlic hunks from the liquid gold.

Finally, I suck the amber fluid into a syringe and use that to get the goop into my ear to fight the infection.  A few drips three or four times a day for a few days usually clears it up (for me, at least).  

I've done this for years and have conquered many many infections this way, but I make no guarantee that it will work for you.  However, it has been a lovely medieval bit of magic for me.  

Hopefully you do not have an affinity for picking up ear infections, but if you have the talent like I do (seriously, I. Am. Good.) maybe this will be a help.

Plus, you get to smell like garlic for days, and who doesn't love that.