My daughter developed her only ear infection when she was about 18 months old. It was diagnosed by a nurse at a walk-in clinic who told us it was serious and that she needed antibiotics, and that we should simultaneously (but on an alternating schedule) give her Tylenol and Motrin to deal with the pain. I went to Walgreens, dropped off the prescription, bought her some Tylenol and Motrin, gave her some Tylenol, and then phoned our chiropractor while waiting for the prescription to be ready. He said, "Don't give her antibiotics. Most ear infections are viral so antibiotics won't do any good. Do give her some Tylenol or Motrin for pain right away. Then go to the health food store and get a homeopathic called Earache, and also get her some Nettles tincture. That should clear it up." I bought the antibiotics anyway just in case...then dashed over to the HFS and got her the Earache homeopathic. They didn't have Nettles (which I have since found elsewhere and can attest is very, very good for congestion and mixes well with juice). However, I gave her just the Earache medicine and her fever and pain were gone within hours. I kept her on it for a few days just in case. But she was almost totally recovered (no fever or pain) within three hours, and was totally symptom-free (no congestion) within two days. I was amazed. Bear in mind this was supposed to be, according to the clinic nurse, a very bad infection. We threw away the antibiotics without ever giving it to her. When the nurse called to follow up, I explained what happened. She said, "Yes, we know that 80% of ear infections will clear up on their own, so that doesn't surprise me." Well, what did she prescribe the antibiotic for then?!! We now consider (not just because of this experience, but because of countless experiences like it) our chiropractor to be our children's primary care provider (and our insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is fine with that).
Hope this helps!
B.