Thermo Auricular Therapy
June says: “The traditional ear candles have been very useful and important in my life, since I first discovered them in 1993. It was a colleague who was attending a course with me on children’s acupuncture who recommended them to me, and we made a collective order from Revital to try them out.
I had not experienced them myself; I mainly used them at first with my children, especially my daughter who had chronic ear infections for a few years. I found them to be extremely helpful in preventing the infections recurring and eventually helped them to clear up altogether, alongside some acupuncture and homeopathic treatments. They also seemed to help calm my son and let him sleep better. I then used them with my father in Canada when I went to visit him and he loved them.
People have found results such as: relief of neck stiffness, reduction in cough and catarrh, easing of sinus tension, headache tension, and digestive symptoms. This has been one of the more surprising benefits: People have felt beneficial effects in their abdomen during treatment, and I think this must be because of the stimulus of the lymphatic system, with the glands in the abdomen being stimulated as well as the ones in the neck, armpits, etc.
In the years since doing the training with Linda Stokes in 2002, I have had many very happy patients. The course was very thorough, taking a full day – whereas other courses are shorter and possibly less thorough. I would like as many people as possible to be thoroughly trained in applying Thermo-auricular therapy, and I am now offering their type of training, as they have now retired.
The idea behind the ear candles (which are tubes of flax cloth soaked in honey, beeswax, sage and chamomile and rolled with a small cross piece filter) is to soothe and relax the ear canal and to give an overall sense of well-being.
They are suitable for use in all ages, but with reduced length of burning for the younger child. So, if a child between birth and four is to be ‘candled’, we suggest only use about one – two inches of each candle and save the rest for a second, and possibly a third candling. Over age four, they can have a bit longer, depending on the child’s ability to lie still. After age seven, they can generally take the whole ten minutes required for each ear.
They have a good effect on glue ear, deafness, tonsillitis, headaches, toothaches, coughs and colds, blocked eustachian tubes, migraines, and anxiety, tension.
It is a good idea to give a gentle massage around the ear and the neck and shoulders, to free up any adjacent tension that often goes together with many of these conditions. It is surprising to a lot of people how tense small children’s shoulders can be, but it is important to realise they won’t need strenuous massage to relax them.”
