Cotton buds of death
Apparently the safest way to clean your ears is with your pinkie. How do you get the gunk out? (True, the gunk is probably imaginary.) And what if you have really long pinkie fingernails like bus conductors?
According to this report, a guy in Quebec died after puncturing his eardrum with a cotton swab.Â
I’ve been told that cotton buds are dangerous, but I can’t not use them to clean my ears, I would feel icky if I didn’t. Same way I’ve been told that you’re not supposed to shampoo everyday (In Manila?! Are you kidding?!). My scalp itches just to think about it.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
February 6th, 2008 at 13:04
Cotton swabs only serve to push the cerumen in. Use those bamboo or metal “spoons” the Japanese use. And, as an ORL consultant once told us in a lecture, never dig where you can’t see. Always ask someone you trust to clean your ears for you.
February 6th, 2008 at 14:59
the report just says a little finger–not necessarily your own. ew.
February 7th, 2008 at 14:34
Reminds me of the movie Prime which starred Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman & that cute guy: Thurman turns out to be dating her therapist’s (Streep) son (the cute guy). Cute guy told Thurman there was never Qtips in their house because his mom wont allow it.
I want to stop buying cotton buds but my daughter keeps bugging me about it. So now I worry on how to clean her ears.
February 8th, 2008 at 06:51
nothing wrong with cleaning your ears of wax with your pinky. ask kevin rudd, recently elected prime minister of australia. he even had a taste of it.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_ipvdBnU8F8
February 8th, 2008 at 13:54
There is really nothing wrong with cleaning the insides of one’s ears as long as it is done on a monthly basis, at the most! Hell no! It is quite dangerous to pick on one’s ears everyday specially right after bathing. It will only encourage the growth of bacteria, fungi & or any unwanted infection in the aural canal, a medical condition known as otitis externa. The oily, sebum-like fluid that coats the lining of the auditory canal is called cerumen, & it acts as a curtain of fluid that filters bacteria & other particles out of our ears’ interiors. Cleaning with the use of Qtips or cotton buds depletes the cerumen level such that the ears’ natural force field will be potentially damaged, hereby promoting ear infection.