Ear wax q??

[JulieBaby]

DS1 has a build up of ear wax. Gross. Im not sure why the q-tips are not doing a good enough job.

But anyway, I went yesterday to the pharmacy and bought some drop and an aspirator thingy. The drops are supposed to be in for a 'few' minutes (how much is a few??) Then the wax is supposed to come out quite easily. This is not working.

Anyone know of a safe way to remove it? Anything at home I can use?

[_Gypsy_]

http://www.debrox.com/

[Pamire]

Debrox is what our ped recommended too. Actually, he recommends leaving it alone, but that if it's so nasty you feel you have to do something, use Debrox. It's available at just about any drugstore, Target, Walmart, etc.

[_Gypsy_]

Oh, and you should never put anything bigger than an elbow in a child's ear! Using Q-tips just pushes the wax back and makes it a bigger problem. No more Q-tips!

[Pamire]

Yes, exactly what Gypsy said. DH's best friend ended up with a horrible infection from using Q-tips. He also was unable to hear very well for a few weeks because it was so impacted and he didn't realize it.

[KerryS]

I agree with the others - you should never use q-tips to remove earwax, as it actually pushes the wax in further, causing impaction. When our ped did an ear lavage on Leo, they just squirted some hydrogen peroxide into his ear, left it there for a few minutes, then used a bulb syringe with warm water to repeatedly wash out the ear.

[HammBugga]

Oh, and you should never put anything bigger than an elbow in a child's ear! Using Q-tips just pushes the wax back and makes it a bigger problem. No more Q-tips!


I think you mean you should never put anything smaller than an elbow in the ear.

[dalurker]

Yeah, I muzzle loaded a bunch of gunk down into my ears so that I ended up at the ear doctor (for frequent ear infections) and having them use some kind of archaic instruments to extract what were by then ear rocks. Big 'uns. I actually had to do it in two visits because the stuff was so jammed into one ear, I had to put some goo in there to soften it up so he could get it out. Gross (and kind of cool). No more ear infections since, though.


But q tips feel sooooo good.

Do as I say, not as I do.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I think you mean you should never put anything smaller than an elbow in the ear.
Well, to be fair, you shouldn't put anything bigger than an elbow in the ear, either. ;)

Julie, the ears should clean themselves. When Jacob was younger, I always used a washcloth and washed just inside his ears. Despite his allergies, asthma, respiratory infections, etc., we haven't had issues with ear infections. (Well, he did have an ear infection not too long ago, but I was able to clear it up without taking him to the doctor.)

[Sputterduck]

I had a doctor thank me for using q-tips because my ears were so clean. I have pretty wet eat wax though and it just wipes away. My son, though, he has dry chunks. I am scared to use q-tips on him because I'm sure I'll just push the chunks further.

[_Gypsy_]

I think you mean you should never put anything smaller than an elbow in the ear.

Yep, that.

[Solare]

Oh, and you should never put anything bigger than an elbow in a child's ear! Using Q-tips just pushes the wax back and makes it a bigger problem. No more Q-tips!


I actually just discussed this with an audiologist the other day and it depends how you do it. If you're jamming that q-tip way down in there, don't. But I described how I do it (just putting the q-tip on the side just inside the opening and rotating to get the excess wax out of the opening) and she said that's just fine.

[SingingMom]

I agree that it depends on how you do it and the situation. I have kids who occasionally get blockages all on their own, without any Q-tips involved. For my kids, it makes sense to use a Q-tip now and then. And I find that a drop of oil on the Q-tip keeps the ear wax soft. In fact, I often find that a bunch of wax falls out all by itself the next day or two.

[dalurker]

I still dig with q tips, but I put goop on it now. Apparently, I have some deformed too-small ear canal, but the greasy goop digging is working great so far. I have a freakish love for rooting around in my ears with a q tip. My ear doctor still says not to do it ever, but it just feels sooo good.

[Camille]

My ear doctor still says not to do it ever, but it just feels sooo good.

Yeah, my stepdad fondly calls it an "eargasm". "lol9"

[pawprint]

I still dig with q tips, but I put goop on it now. Apparently, I have some deformed too-small ear canal, but the greasy goop digging is working great so far. I have a freakish love for rooting around in my ears with a q tip. My ear doctor still says not to do it ever, but it just feels sooo good.


I could have posted everything you did except that it was my gp not an audiologist. I still impact the wax about once a year. My GP keeps riding me about it but I can't stop, dammit. I've given up cocaine and rampant sex. Leave me my q-tips for goodness sake.

[JulieBaby]

The stuff I bought was a Walgreens brand but said, comparable to Debrox. I hope it works!