Posted on 08/17/2019 7:06:25 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A woman's daily habit of cleaning her ears with cotton swabs led to a life-threatening infection in her skull, according to news reports.
The 37-year-old woman, who is identified only as Jasmine, said she cleaned her ears every night with cotton swabs... But over time, she noticed she had trouble hearing out of her left ear, and finally went to the doctor. She was initially told she had an ear infection, and was given antibiotics.
But her hearing problems remained, and she soon noticed blood appearing on the cotton swabs after she cleaned her ears.
After a hearing test showed she had moderate deafness, she was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. The specialist ordered a CT scan, which showed a horrifying condition: Jasmine had a bacterial infection that was "eating away" at her skull bone behind her ear...
Jasmine eventually underwent a 5-hour surgery to remove the infected tissue and reconstruct her ear canal. The surgeons told her that she had cotton fibers lodged in her ear, which had become infected.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
I had a severe ear infection few years ago. Doctor told me to NEVER USER COTTON EAR SWABS. Just use your fingers. Ear is designed to clean itself.
In case of wax build up, see a doctor, he knows how to clean it.
Been doin’ that for about 50 years. The problem is that some people can’t imagine how to do it right. They just push the ear wax into their eardrums. Duh!
The right way to do it is to put the Q-tip deep into your ear in the center of the cavity. Then begin to tun it while scraping the sides and pulling it out of the the canal, thereby removing the ear wax.
That’s why doctors/audiologists tell you never to put Q-tips in your ears: because most people are too dumb to figure this on on their own.
(No real science classes)
Like trying to get that last little bit of mayonnaise out of the jar...
Same here. No problems.
Is a 22 cal bore brush frowned upon?
I find a bobby pin and occasional peroxide are all that’s needed. And no fibers.
You have to stop the Q-tip when there’s RESISTANCE!
lol!
I clean my ears with METAL instruments, so no residue left there - glad to see I’m doing it right.
 "I generally use a baby bottle brush to clean them out."  |
“Been cleaning my ears daily with Q tips for 50 years ...”
Me too. No problems with my hearing or any infections. I think it all depends on how you go about it.
Never stick anything smaller than your elbow into your ear.
And it's best to do so after a shower. If i do not regularly do so at least once a week then i end up with a plugged ear. It may be better to I pull off some of the cotton first.
I buy “food grade” hydrogen peroxide. Usually 35% strength which is almost corrosive it’s so strong.
I dilute for various uses:
To About 1% for our humidifier. Not every fill but probably every other. Only have to wash humidifier a couple times thru Winter as the H2O2 kills the bacteria’s and other colorful weird stuff that wants to grow there.
The cool thing is H2O2 needs to always be capped and not left open to the air as the extra oxygen molecule wants to release itself into the air ... a cool thing for a humidifier as you get 2 uses. Clean your machine and get extra oxy into the air as a byproduct
Ears I mix about a 2% - 3% solution (same as most over the counter dilution but over the counter is Not Food Grade)
... if I feel I’m getting sick I use 3-5 drops each ear about 5-6 hours each treatment. Usually within a couple days the flu or cold has withdrawn.
Also if I feel an itch in my ear or have large wax buildup I use once or twice ... spaced again 5-6 hrs.
My Doctor taught me these treatments.
We use it quite a bit for cooking, sterilizing, cleaning.
Be careful if you don’t dilute to at least 12% as can burn fingers at higher ratios
I use it for cuts, abrasions ... about 4-5%
We mark bottles with dilution ratios for the various uses. Bathroom for tile, counter tops, sink caulking, ha... tooth brush, toilet brush .... very versatile stuff
Prob my most used mix is for my CPAP machine where I mix below 1/4% - 1/2% in the water reservoir if it’s to be breathed in thru the night. Higher levels can actually burn your lungs so Care needs to be taken.
however when I wash the CPAP hoses, filter, mask etc I use about a 12% wash, make about 2-3 ounces of water up and shake up well in the reservoir then discard to a bowl and use to the remaining to rinse the hoses, mask etc.
You can read on line where some people actually ingest it for digestive cleanse. Need to be very careful doing this. I have done very low mix levels. Not sure it helped or not. Read and research before using it that way. You will see many pros and cons. I mostly avoid those uses
I’m very healthy for 70 and think the H2O2 is part of it .... I live on a farm and probably eat / breathe a little dirt every day though too ...Haha. Think that helps too.
I buy the 35% food grade hydro peroxide online but much is sold at 12% dilution. Depends what you’re trying to do. Careful with your math when mixing. The food grade stuff isn’t cheap but is excellent stuff. Great for food processing, cleaning bacteria on cutting boards ... we keep a 3-5 % mix in squirt bottle in kitchen ... of course clearly marked.
Good luck.
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