Q: What should you use to clean the inside of your ears?

Answer:

Nothing! While it is safe to gently clean the opening of your ears with a washcloth, cotton swabs can actually do more harm than good. Earwax will slowly make its way out of the body on its own, but by trying to clean the inside of your ears with a cotton swab, you will only end up pushing the earwax back in. If the wax gets stuck deep inside the ear canal, then you’ll need a visit to the doctor to get it removed.

But what’s the point of earwax anyway? Just like the rest of a healthy body, ears have a natural way of taking care of themselves, which includes producing earwax. Earwax acts like a plug to keep water away from the eardrum and to prevent bacteria and fungus from causing ear infections. Some peoples’ ears constantly produce too much earwax that can cause fuzzy hearing, and a doctor can provide tips on removing the wax at home.

Tracy Stell, RN

Activity:

Bacteria can cause many illnesses. Make a list of the ways you can help control bacteria in your school.

• There are many uses for a cotton swab (Q-Tip is one brand that you might be familiar with). You can clean small places like the air vents in a car, you can use them to paint, apply makeup for Halloween or apply glue to model toys. Howmany uses can you think of?
• In 1923, Leo Gerstenzang was watching his wife apply wads of cotton to the toothpicks and came up with the idea of the cotton swab. Mr. Gerstenzang was the founder of the Q-tips Company. They were originally called Baby Gays in 1926, changed to Q-tips Baby Gays and finally just Q-tips. Originally made with wooden sticks, in 1958 paper sticks were introduced.