Greetings.
Eric Bakker, New Zealand naturopath.
Right.
I've got a question here about ears now.
Constantly itchy ears, can it be candida?
Itchy ears we call otomycosis generally, which is like a fungal kind of infection of the
ear.
Fungal is very common with the ear with some people.
Otomycosis is often caused by aspergillus, a type of yeast, or candida.
There are different species of candida that can affect the ear.
Have you seen people who are always doing this?
My mum used to do this, but I'd come up to ask her for pocket money.
But that wasn't really itchy ear was it?
That was more like I don't want to hear.
Itchy ears are not that uncommon in children.
My dad had itchy ears all the time, used to drive him crazy.
It was always itching his ear and scratching his scalp and adjusting things around down
here somewhere.
But in Dad's case, it was because he liked cookies.
My dad would eat a whole packet of 20 cookies in one sitting.
And the he'd have a cup of coffee with three sugars in it.
And then after an evening meal, he'd have five scoops of ice cream in a bowl.
My dad was a sugar addict, a chronic sugar addict, who had serious candida.
You can read about my dad in my book Candida Crusher.
My dad always had his finger in his ear, itching his ear.
I've got that memory as a child.
And [inaudible 00:01:22] the big ballpoints and then he would put the ballpoint in his
ear and insert it.
Mum would say, "Don't put that pen in your ear.
You're teaching the kids bad habits."
But always itching his ear.
Itchy ears often mean fungal infection.
Fungal infection often means you've got an ear where the conditions are just right for
fungal, fungus to really take off.
Swimmer's ear, or athlete's ear, is not uncommon.
I had a friend once who used to have swimmer's ear all the time.
The doctor gave him these fungal drops to put in the ear.
And if I'd known about tea tree oil back then, I would've said, "Make sure the ear's dried
out with a Qtip and then just put one or two drops of tea tree oil in your ear."
Tracy, my partner's dog, it's a black Labrador.
It always go like this in summertime, it flaps its ears around.
And it's got itchy ears.
So I'll often pull the ear open, have a good look inside it, and get a Qtip and clean it
out a bit and then put a few drops of tea tree oil in there and rub it around there.
And then several days later it stops.
Tea tree oil is very very effective for this particular type of condition.
Itchy ears is often a fungal infection.
If you suffer from itchy ears regularly, and you're a swimmer or surfer for example, make
sure that you tilt your head sideways, always, when you come out of the water, to get the
water out of the ear.
And every now and then put a couple of drops of tea tree oil in these ears.
It's tea tree.
T-E-A T-R-E-E.
Make sure you get a tea tree oil, you get the Australian tea tree oil.
It's the best in the world, Melaleuca alternifolia, tea tree.
Tea trees grow in New Zealand and Australia.
We've got different types of tea tree in New Zealand.
We've got one called manuka.
You might've heard of manuka honey?
Manuka is a type of tea tree.
We've also got carnuka.
Carnuka is also a kind of tea tree.
In Australia, I think there's over a hundred types of tea tree.
They're called Melaleucas.
But the Melaleuca alternifolia is the Australian tea tree where the best oil comes from.
The best oil in the world grows in this particular region in New South Wales, in this swampy
kind of region.
The best brand, in my opinion, is called Thursday, as in the day Thursday, Plantation.
So if you're going to buy tea tree oil, buy Thursday Plantation.
It's a bright yellow fluorescent kind of color in the label.
It's the best in the world, and it's an outstanding product to have in your kit when you go traveling.
If you go to Costa Rica or the Bahamas or India, or any kind of country that's hot or
sweaty, do not leave without tea tree oil.
To me, that's like taking traveler's checks with you or cash, or credit cards.
You wouldn't leave without those.
You wouldn't think of it.
And in my opinion, you wouldn't want to go to any of these countries without tea tree
oil.
To me it's a godsend, so I always carry it with me.
I have tea tree oil toothpaste and I wash my body every day with the Thursday Plantation
tea tree oil soap.
I love it.
It's got a very fine hint of tea tree.
They make shampoos, they make powders.
They make all kinds of stuff.
But their oil is exceptional.
Just one drop or two drops in each ear.
Try not to poke things in the ear, because you can get damage to the eardrum by doing
so.
But the oil is very safe to use.
Itchy ears, candida.
Think about the diet, think about what you're eating.
Are you eating sugar?
Are you having ice cream or candy or stuff like that?
Think carefully.
And if you're doing that, you've got to stop that and great the ear with the drops and
that should solve the problem.
Thanks for tuning in.