Q-tips should never go in your ear!

[welovedisneyx4]

Gotta use my Q-tips!!!! Myself, DH and the kids. DH will let the kids do it by themselves, but I won't. (I am usually the one to clean their ears out after a bath anyway.)

I do try to be careful w/ them and not poke too far in!

When DD was about 4, she slipped on the snow and fell in an icy cement fish pond at our house. Luckily, she was fine, she was all bundled up in her snowsuit, but you wouldn't believe the junk that came out of her ear! I think her hood came off when she went in the water and it got in her ear. Man, it was nasty and I thought something was really wrong. We called the doctor and he said as long as it didn't get worse, she was fine. She never had any problem w/ it afterwards. We used Q-tips, toilet paper, cotton balls and everything to clean up that mess!

 

[Cindyluwho]

Looks like there's gonna be a LOT of prematurely deaf or hearing impaired people in the future (my DH among them!). No amount of begging, pleading or anything can get him to stop. Even his doctor tried "scolding" him a few years ago when he got hay (yes, I said hay) lodged in his ear. He must've had a small piece near the entrance of the canal, and his daily Q-tip ritual just crammed it in further.

I'm sorry, but this post just screams - "you might be a redneck if..." You're supposed to chew on the haystem, not stick it in your ear!!

 

[CathrynRose]

On another note, I cannot stand to see a person with wax pouring out of their ears, especially kids double It makes me want to run and get them a q-tip

AHHHH! YES!! Ive seen random people who are following the No Q-Tip rule, and SO BADLY I want to Q-Tip their ears clean. And I imagine the satisfaction I would get from a Q-Tip over flowing with gunk!

Yes - completely gross. I say "Go for it" you only live once, and I want to live with wax-free ears.

 

[tiff211]

OP here. I'm surprised by all the responses (and confessions). A few comments...

It is fine to use a Q-tip to clean around the outer ear and the opening to the canal. You just shouldn't enter the canal.

It just isn't possible to enter the canal carefully because you can't see where you are going. And, as disykat mentioned, sometimes stuff happens. One of the punctured drums I saw recently happened that way. Mom was cleaning her ears and her DS bumped into her arm.

So how do you clean your ear canals? The basic answer is you don't. Clean the outer part with a washcloth or a Q-tip. If you build up an exceptional amount of wax inside, use some wax removal drops like Debrox. If that doesn't work, go to the doctor and have him/her remove it. We have instruments specifically designed for that purpose, plus we can do it with well-lit magnification so we can see what we are doing.

It is so weird that I just read this thread. I was away over the weekend visiting friends and My friend's DD5 got ahold of some q-tips and proceed to "clean" DD3's ear. She went screaming to DH ( I was out) and calmed down enough to tell him she hurt her ear. It took them awhile to find out what happened but DD3 seemed to calm down and be okay. The next afternoon, I was cleaning DD's face and noticed dried blood around the ear canal entrance. That's when I found out what happened. She said it didn't hurt and when I whispered "can you hear me" in her ear, she giggled and laughed. I figured I'd call the dr. to be safe but since then she has not complained of any discomfort and seems to be perfectly fine. Should I still call the dr.?

 

[Arielle22]

My 12 yr old dd has always had wax buildup. Her dr said to use hydrogen peroxide in her ears. She lies down and I use a cotton ball to place a few drops in her ear. After it stops bubbling she flips over while holding a towel to her ear. Then I put in some warm water. It is repeated in the other ear.

A few weeks ago I had my nephew (6 months old) overnight. As I was getting him ready for bed I noticed his outer ear had a ton of wax. So I used a Q tip only on the outside of the ear not in the canal. I asked my sister and he has had it since he was born.

I am a Q-tipaholic. I must use one every day or else my ears begin to itch.