Garlic does have some interesting properties and may have value in treating or preventing cardiovascular disease or even cancer (much of the work is very preliminary). Even with its reputed antibacterial/antifungal properties, however, it's hard to see how active ingredients are going to migrate out of a clove of garlic wrapped in gauze, not to mention how tolerant people will be of having that stuck in their ear for extended periods. Garlic ear drops have been recommended by some herbalists for ear infections; one problem here (apart from a lack of studies showing it works) is that some garlic products have been shown to contain drug-resistant bacteria - so there's potential for causing infection by using garlic.

another option: i would instead recommend a therapy which would encourage the ear to drain (rather than put oil into a fluid filled ear). garlic oil and other infection fighting herbs could be taken internally and an onion poultice used to relieve pain and encourage the ear to drain. onion poultices occupy an honored place in folk healing tradition being inexpensive, easy to make and use, effective. i have a client handout on making and using an onion poultice i'll gladly share, if anyone wants a copy message me privately from here. This post was edited by kaliaman on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 10:03

"So before subjecting a child to elimination of a large number of items that are part of a healthy diet, it would be a good idea to look at other, well-understood risk factors first." Hmm, I disagree with this. There is nothing in dairy that is critical to human development and health that cannot be found in another source. My children, and this will probably blow your mind, have never eaten any dairy products. They also do not have any kinds of developmental issues. On the contrary, they are above average developmentally according to the regular visits with our pediatrician. They have also never had an ear infection and have never needed any antibiotics or medication of any sort. The only thing they have ever suffered from is mild colds or flu. While this is a small sample size it demonstrates, to me at least, that there are ways to grow healthy children without dairy products. As I understand it the benefit from elimination (or reduction) of dairy is to reduce the production of mucus. There are other foods that can increase mucus production as well (wheat for example). This can help when you get a cold, sinus infection, etc. from turning into an ear infection. Commonly, mucus will get trapped in the middle ear and become a petri dish for bacteria resulting in an infection. I think it is sound advice to recommend removing dairy from the diet as long as any lacking nutrition is compensated with another non-dairy source. This method was used by my parents and grand parents with everyone in our family. So, as far as I am concerned it works.

His ear lobe fell off in his hand?? How strange that must have been. I'd have totally freaked. I have known two people with amyloidosis. One woman's brain was affected and she did not live long. Another man had it another organ (liver of kidney?). He lived with it for quite a few years. He received chemotherapy for it. I think he traveled to The Cleveland Clinic for treatment, but got his chemo locally (Philadelphia). I believe it is a build up of proteins and can affect different parts of the body.