I’ve been cleaning my ears with Q-tips for a while, but just noticed that the package explicitly states not to stick them in your ear canal. I don’t actually stick them into my ear, just kinda scrub them around the entrance of the canal to get water and gunk out. Is this a bad thing? Is there a better way to clean out my ears and dry them out after a shower?
I specifially ignore the instructions and stick 'em in my ears.
I’ve heard more than once: “Never stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.”
I’ve heard that you shouldn’t stick Q-tips in your ears although I still do, to a limited extent. I have what could be described as an ear-wax problem and I absolutely swear by a product called “Debrox” (purchased at your local neighborhood Target). You tilt your head, squirt some in your ear, plug up the ear canal with cotton or toliet paper, wait five minutes, and do a quick wipe with Q-tips or the toliet paper to clear out any gunk. It works wonders. My ears are now typically very clean.
It can be, and of course the company wants to insulate itself from any liability. If you look at the marketing, you’ll see that Q-Tips are sold for the expressed purpose of applying and removing make-up.
Its a little bit disingenuous, because 99% of the things are of course used to clean ears, and the things would be a bust if they were only used for the suggested purposes – make-up generally comes with better applicators and there are certainly much better things at hand for removing it.
But ears are delicate and can be damaged by any foreign object. If you fall or are struck while cleaning your ears you can deafen yourself. If your spouse puts their cold hands on you while you’re doing it, you can drive it in there yourself. If you only rarely clean your ears, you can jam built-up wax further down into the canal and make things worse. Depending on the conditions it’s been stored in, the swab may have some nasty on it that causes an infection.
Many people consider these risks slight enough to chance for the benefit of a convenient tool for cleaning the ears out – and assume the liability themselves.
I believe the wisdom of medical authorities is that earwax serves an important purpose for keeping crap out of your ears. It constantly moves out of your head, bring trapped dust and stuff with it, and only the outside of your ears should be cleaned. Ear canals that are free of earwax are more prone to infection, because stuff can get further in without sticking to the sides and being moved back out by the migration of wax.
Myself, I can’t stand the feeling of “excessive” earwax in my ears, so I use the cussed Q-Tips. But then, I smoke, too. People get into habits that aren’t necessarily the best for them. 
All too often, putting q-tips or similar into ones ears just forces the wax further on into the canal. Eventually it fetches up against the drum, or plugs the canal. Then I’m called upon to get the water pik, goggles, and protective gown to do a manual disimpaction.
My patients tend to shove toilet paper into their ears.
Recreationally?
Use a bobby pin. Spread it open a bit so it forms an enlongated horseshoe shape. It works great for scooping out wax and doesn’t pack it in like a Q-tip can. Just don’t dig in too far.
And I’ve been doing this for 40+ years with no ill effects. So spare me the warnings. :rolleyes:
Coincidentally, there was a bit on NPR today about Japanese businesses who clean out ear wax. Apparently they use a small wooden “spoon”. They reported that a “cleaner” has to complete a month of training, before they’re certified.
No ill effects? I’ve read your posts!!
Another q-tip ear cleaner here, though I’ve been known to use my pinky, rolled up toilet paper, the inside of a biro, a paperclip and a host of other things that I really shouldn’t be sticking in my ears.
I understand the warnings, and what they’re there for, but nothing really beats a good q-tipping, especially when it’s hayfever season. For some reason, when I’m having a hayfever attack, if my ears are waxy (and they get very, very badly waxy. I’m like a friggin’ candle making machine here) then they itch abominably. The q-tip cleanout tends to cut down the itching somewhat, and makes me feel so much happier.
One day I’ll get one of those proper ear-cleany-dealy-thingies.
What do you feel about the use of those home ear syringe products? Are they a crock, or a good home solution?
I’m ok with them. They have their uses. Softening drops and bulb syringes are the way to go for folks with problem earwax. Beats coming into the office to have the doc or his nurse dig it out.
And, speaking of solutions, what to use with the syringe if it isn’t a crock? Just warm water? The overpriced carbamide peroxide drops sold alongside the syringe? 3% hydrogen peroxide solution?
(I use the hydrogen peroxide every so often, and listen to my ears bubble for several minutes before flushing them out.)
The idea of putting even dilute peroxide in my ears gives me the screaming meemies, rationally or not.
The way I learned from my dear old dad (after flying in a small plane when I had a head cold pushed a bunch of nastiness out of my sinuses and into my ear) was to put mineral oil in there, block it up with a wad of sterile gauze, give the stuff time to dissolve into the oil, and then drain it. I don’t think it was an ideal way to deal with the problem that I had (although it did seem to help, after a few iterations,) but it’s perfectly-suited way to get rid of built-up wax. Earwax is soluble in oil. You can’t make a hydrous solution of wax, so water isn’t a very good starting point. (Although warm water may help by softening it.)
I am one of those patients Q-tip is weary about.
A few years back I was cleaning my ears with one when the cotton tip came loose and I lost it in my ear canal. Being the smart, sensible person that I am I tried to dig it up with a pair of tweezers :rolleyes: I don’t have to tell you the results. I was soon overcome by a headache and nausea. Luckily there was a clinic nearby with, who had to be the most ancient ear doctor in the world, I showed up and after getting the cotton out, washing my ears with some fluid and charging me a fortune he treated chastized me for what seemed an eternity.
I still use Q-tips for cleaning my ears. You don’t have to be smart to be doper.
Yeah, I understand the feeling, but the 3% antiseptic solution is labelled for use as an oral rinse and mouthwash - they tell you to gargle with the stuff. If it’s supposed to be safe to swish it around in your mouth, it’s probably OK in your ears, too. The carbamide peroxide in the ear drops sold with the syringes is hydrogen peroxide compounded with urea, which works the same way.
On a couple occasions when I was younger I tried to clean my ears with Q-tips and ended up packing the wax in further and having to see a doctor. Since then, I swear by the drop & bulb method, works like a charm. It’s unbelievable the amount of wax that comes out, I could have made an emergency candle.
Earwax is soluble in a lot of things, including water-based things. One pubmed reference found that a solution of sodium bicarb outperformed other ingredients, including oils. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10495532&dopt=Abstract
Another found that docusate sodium, a stool softener, worked quite nicely. Docusate is an emulsifier, allowing more water (or oil) to penetrate a solid. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1725243&dopt=Abstract
Unless we have an ENT doc or RN to an ENT here, I expect I have more practical experience with earwax removal than anyone else here (oh the glory!) Doc_Paprika does more glamorous stuff like save lives, DoctorJ hasn’t been practicing long enough to rack up my sorts of numbers, and KarlGauss, being an academic internist, probably hasn’t aggressively pursued maintaining his clinical skills in this area (apologies if I’m wrong and this is one niche of clinical medicine you’re unwilling to give up, Steve. )
So let me be clear about this. Earwax dissolves nicely in warm water. If the earwax ball is real hard and dense, then softening drops are necessary first. But the softening drops need not be oil-based to be effective. They may need to be used for a few days, though.
If you want to know what earwax is made of, go here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2254469&dopt=Abstract Sadly, they report only the composition of the lipid half of earwax, and don’t tell what the non-lipid half of earwax is made of.
My main goal in clearing the ear is to not blow a hole in the eardrum with the water pik. I hate when that happens.
I am embarressed to admit I tried “candling” once, and seriously thought it had worked wonders when I saw all the “wax” in the leftover tube.
Don’t laugh, but the idea of heat convection causing the wax to be sucked into the tube made perfect sense to me, and I was astonished at the ingenuity of the contraption!
Boy was I bummed when I discovered it was all a hoax!
Oh, and I’d jam q-tips all the way through my head if I could. I love the feeling of gettin’ that wax outta there.
No, it’s fine to do. An ENT (ear-nose-throat doctor) who was also a friend of mine offered to help me once when I had severe wax problems. He took care of them, and told me to use some hydrogen peroxide to keep them from getting that bad again.
I would also advise, however, that you speak with your own physician about how to do it, and how dilute the solution should be.
As for the OP–no, I never use Q-tips any more. But I do have a wife who is an audiologist. She does my ear cleanings for me now. (“koff koff Jeez, honey, watch the vagus [sp?] nerve, willya?” Qadgop will know what I mean.)