Cotton swabs actually make things worse and are dangerous. Use this amazing method to get rid of annoying earwax.
The wax of the ear is one such body fluid that we disregard until we put a cotton ear.
But, if you want to get rid of it, the least you should do is put a cotton swab, says Dr. Ana Kim, director of otological research at the Eye and Ear Nursery of New York at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Here are all the dirty details of ear wax and how to get rid of it.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT USE COTONETES
Here’s the thing: the wax of the ear is a combination of earwax, which is produced by the sebaceous glands in your body to keep the skin moisturized your ears and dead skin cells, which produce your ear canal like the skin of the rest of your body, says Kim.
And while it may not seem like it, your ears are designed to clean themselves by pushing the wax out of the canal, explains Dr. María Suurna, a professor of otorhinolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medical College.
This is why, when you insert a cotton swab into your ear canal, you interrupt the natural process of shedding dead skin from your body and in fact cause the production of more wax . Also, over time, you can push the wax back into the canal and form a block that will have to be removed by your doctor, Kim says.
With this in mind, it is important to stop using any other method it yourself to remove wax from the ear . Dr. Surna says she has had patients who claimed to use hair clips and other makeshift removers to clean the wax .
Apart from interrupting the natural process of skin detachment and eventual blockages, putting pointed objects into your ear can cause you to perforate your eardrum.
Other methods to clean the ear that you should avoid are atrial igneotherapy (candles in the ears ) and rinses of water with a syringe.
Kim indicates atrial igneotherapy, which involves inserting a hollow candle into the ear , lighting it, and waiting for heat suction to remove the wax , which can cause more problems than it solves.
? Heat can burn the eardrum and the candle wax may get stuck in your ear causing even more problems? Explain.
Trying to clean the ears with water sounds safe, in theory, but Suurna indicates that the water can get stuck behind the wax or cause it to swell due to moisture.
HOW TO REMOVE THE WAX FROM THE EAR
There is something you can do to get rid of it.
Kim suggests putting one or two drops of hydrogen peroxide in your ear 10 minutes before you take a bath.
The peroxide will dissolve the wax and help it come out during your normal bath routine, Kim says. Doing this once a month will keep your ears open.
Sometimes dry skin inside your ear canals can lead to increased wax production , Kim explains. If you think this is your case, put a drop of mineral oil in your ears daily, this will help moisturize them, he adds.
? It’s like putting cream on your skin ,? he says.
However, if you’ve ever had a perforated eardrum or had surgery in the past, then avoid these options, Kim says.
Having hydrogen peroxide or mineral oil in your inner ear (on the other side of your eardrum) can cause an infection or dizziness. Instead, use a tissue to clean your outer ear (the part you can see).
WHEN SHOULD YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR
If you are one of the people who naturally produces a lot of wax , you can visit an otolaryngologist every six months to have it removed using special tools.