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Otolaryngologists On average, 30 ear injuries per day with cotton swabs
It is noted on the packaging of cotton swabs that they should not be used to clean the ears, but this warning is often ignored. This has consequences: According to a study come in the US every day over 30 children due to ear injuries by so-called Q-tips in the emergency room.
Not suitable for cleaning the ears
Earwax is a body-own secretion, which serves the body-own self-cleaning of the ears. It ensures that the skin in the ear canal remains supple and the acid mantle is maintained. So also fewer germs can penetrate. Excess ear wax is transported through tiny hairs from the ear canal to the outer auricle. However, many people try to help with cotton buds, although warnings such as "not suitable for cleaning ears" can be found on the packaging. This can lead to serious injuries, as shown in a study from the US.
Normally, our ears clean themselves. Some people try to help with cotton swabs. That can be dangerous. Who fiddles with the chopsticks in the ear canal, risk injury. (Image: JPC-PROD / fotolia.com) The ear canal and eardrum can be injured
Cotton swabs are not suitable for cleaning ears.
"The rods can irritate or even injure the ear canal or the eardrum," Dr. Doris Hartwig-Bade from the German Association of Otolaryngologists in an earlier release.
That such injuries are fairly common is shown in a US study published in the journal Journal of Pediatrics.
Over 30 injuries per day
For their study, the team evaluated Dr. Kris Jatana from Ohio State University dates from a period between 1990 and 2010.
In these approximately 21 years, approximately 263,000 boys and girls under the age of 18 were sent to an emergency room in the USA to be treated with cotton swabs for an injury. That translates to 12,500 injuries per year - or 34 per day.
The majority of injuries (73 percent) occurred during the attempt to cleanse the ears, according to the scientists.
In ten percent of the cases, the accident had happened while playing, with another nine percent was a fall. The remaining eight percent had other causes.
While injuries were in most cases not too severe so that over 99 percent of patients returned home after treatment, Jatana and his colleagues warn against using the rods to clean the ears.
Ears usually clean themselves
"We advise against using cotton swabs to clean the ear canals," said Jatana in an interview with the portal "MedicalResearch"..
The most common misunderstandings that he encountered in his professional life were that "the ear canals must be cleaned regularly at home" and that you have to use "cotton swabs". "Both are wrong," says the expert.
"The ear canals are usually self-cleaning," said the doctor. "When you use cotton swabs, you not only push earwax closer to the eardrum where it can settle, but also risk injury."
Occasionally, a plug may form in the ear, which can lead to poor hearing, pressure, earache, itching, ear noise and dizziness.
"If parents are worried that too much ear wax is accumulating in their child's ear, they should consult their pediatrician or an ENT specialist and have their individual treatment plan prepared," says Jatana's advice. (Ad)