Mullein Earache Relief Oil

The tall, stately mullein plant, with its giant, fuzzy “donkey ear” leaves, is my go-to herb for earaches. The golden flowers have a gentle, neutral to slightly cooling energy, with antiinflammatory, vulnerary, astringent, analgesic, and sedative properties — just what’s needed to ease the pain and inflammation of a minor to moderate earache.

If your young one is prone to earaches, take a look at his or her diet and avoid any mucous-forming foods, such as cow’s milk, butter, yogurt, cheese, nuts and nut butters, white rice, white flour, white sugar, and cold citrus juices, especially in the winter.

Note: See your health care practitioner if an earache gets worse or lasts for more than a few days.

3 cups freshly wilted mullein flowers
3 cups extra-virgin olive base oil
2,000 IU vitamin E oil

EQUIPMENT: 2-quart saucepan or double boiler and candy or yogurt thermometer (for stovetop method), quart-size canning jar and plastic wrap (for solar infusion method), stirring utensil, strainer, fine filter, funnel, glass or plastic storage containers
PREP TIME: 4 hours (stovetop method) or 1 month (solar infusion method)
YIELD: Approximately 2½ cups
STORAGE: Store at room temperature, away from heat and light; use within 1 year
APPLICATION: 3 times per day until the earache is better

STOVETOP METHOD:

Combine the freshly wilted mullein flowers and olive base oil in a 2-quart saucepan or double boiler and stir thoroughly to blend. The mixture should look like a thick, yellow, flower-petal slurry. Bring the mixture to just shy of a simmer, between 125° and 135°F. Do not let the oil actually simmer — it will degrade the quality of your infused oil. Do not put the lid on the pot.

Allow the flowers to macerate in the oil over low heat for 4 hours. Check the temperature every 30 minutes or so with a thermometer and adjust the heat accordingly. If you’re using a double boiler, add more water to the bottom pot as necessary, so it doesn’t dry out. Stir the mixture at least every 30 minutes or so, as the flowers tend to settle to the bottom.

After 4 hours, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. While the oil is still warm, carefully strain it through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a fine filter such as muslin or, preferably, a paper coffee filter, then strain again if necessary to remove all flower debris. Squeeze the flowers to extract as much of the precious oil as possible. Discard the marc. Add the vitamin E oil and stir to blend. The resulting mullein flower oil should be a golden green color. Pour the finished oil into storage containers, then cap, label, and store in a dark cabinet.

SOLAR-INFUSED METHOD:

Place the freshly wilted mullein flowers in a wide-mouthed 1-quart canning jar. Drizzle the olive base oil over the plant matter until the oil comes to within 1 inch of the top of the jar. You may need more or less oil than the recipe calls for depending on the size of the wilted mullein flowers. The flowers will settle with the weight of the oil, so don’t worry if it looks as though you don’t have enough plant matter in the jar. Gently stir to remove air bubbles and make sure that all the plant matter is submerged.

Place a piece of plastic wrap over the mouth of the jar (to prevent the metal lid from coming into contact with the herb) and tightly screw on the lid. Shake the jar several times to blend the herb and oil thoroughly. Place the jar in a warm, sunny location such as a southfacing windowsill, and allow the flowers to infuse for 1 month. Shake the jar every day for 30 seconds.

After 1 month, carefully strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a fine filter such as muslin or, preferably, a paper coffee filter, then strain again if necessary to remove all flower debris. Squeeze the herb to extract as much of the precious oil as possible. Discard the marc. Add the vitamin E oil and stir to blend. The resulting mullein flower oil should be golden-green in color. Pour the finished oil into storage containers, then cap, label, and store in a dark cabinet.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Gently warm 1 teaspoon (½ teaspoon for each ear) of oil to the temperature of comfortable bath water; it should feel just warm on the inside of your wrist, and definitely not hot. Lay the child on his or her side, with the offending ear facing up, and apply a very warm, slightly moist, thick washcloth over the entire ear. Leave it in place until it cools to just barely warm, then repeat. The warmth and moisture help increase circulation in and around the inflamed ear.

Using a dropper, place ½ teaspoon (approximately 50 drops) of the warm mullein oil into the ear canal and insert a wad of cotton to hold the oil inside. Gently massage some of the warm oil all around the outside of the ear to help ease inflammation and move stagnant lymph fluid.

Repeat the process with the child’s other ear, even if it is not infected, as the ear canals are connected and infection can easily spread from one to the other. Repeat 3 times per day until the ear feels better.