Why can’t you clean your ears with cotton buds?

Do you clean your ears with cotton buds? If so, stop immediately. For many years, scientists and doctors have been saying that cleaning your ears with cotton swabs and other objects is harmful. However, many still use cotton buds for other purposes. So, the habit of brushing your ears with a cotton swab every day turned into a deadly threat for a young woman: doctors discovered a dangerous infectious disease in the skull of a native of Australia that led to hearing loss.

Content

• 1 To clean your ears is harmful?
• 2 Who said that you need to clean your ears?
• 3 Why is it bad to clean your ears with cotton buds?
• 4 What are cotton buds for?

Is it bad to brush your ears?

Whoever says it, but the ear canalthe only place in the human body that is not exposed to dirt and infections cannot be reached with your finger. So maybe not worth it? But what about the sulfur plugs that can accumulate in the ears if not cleaned?

In fact, earwax is natural"Lubrication" of the ear canal. Sulfur is a viscous bond of sebaceous and sweat secretions. Earwax is necessary in order to clean dead skin cells from the ear canal. Therefore, sulfur does not accumulate in the ear, everything is exactly the opposite - a layer of sulfur protects against bacteria and eliminates debris.

This is interesting: Scientists come up with a hearing aid for reading lips

But cleaning your ears with a cotton swab is justleads to the formation of sulfur plugs. When cleaning, the sulfur layer is clogged into the depths of the ear, where a cork forms, which you can’t pull out without a doctor. Moreover, the more often you clean your ears, the more sulfur will form. This is because the skin inside the ear canal is very delicate and with any damage the amount of sulfur will increase to protect the skin.

Man's ears tend to be cleansedindependently - when the jaw moves, for example, when chewing food, sulfur is pushed out of the ear canal, accumulating in the auricle, which can be easily cleaned.

Do you know how to clean your ears? Share your stories here.

Who says you need to clean your ears?

Today, otolaryngologists around the world are of the same opinion - you do not need to clean your ears. But why then do we do it?

Perhaps the reason lies in our hygienichabits. We brush our teeth, nose, wash our face, so why not brush our ears, because some kind of sticky thing accumulates there? At all times there were lovers to clean their ears with a variety of objects. Probably some people do this because of the frequent formation of sulfur plugs. This happens with previous diseases, structural features of the ear canal or secretion of the sulfur glands.

Why is it bad to clean your ears with cotton buds?

To stop stuffing cotton once and for allsticks in the ear canal, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the creepy story that happened with a 37-year-old Australian named Jasmine. Every night before going to bed, a woman not only brushed her teeth, but also her ears. Of course with a cotton swab.

In the United States recorded 12.5 thousand cases of injury from cotton swabs

Over time, she noticed that she became illhear with your left ear, and finally went to the doctor. At first, doctors suggested the presence of a common infection and prescribed Jasmine antibiotics. However, hearing problems did not go away, and while cleaning the ears on cotton buds, blood began to appear.

After a hearing test that revealed moderatedeafness, Jasmine was sent to the otolaryngologist’s office. The specialist ordered computed tomography, which revealed the true picture: the woman had a bacterial infection that “corroded” the skull bone behind her ear.

According to experts, due to regular cleaningcotton buds in the ears, cotton fibers got stuck in the ear of Jasmine, which led to the onset of infection. In the end, Jasmine underwent a 5-hour operation to remove infected tissue and reconstruct the ear canal. However, the rumor did not return to her.

Read even more interesting stories on our channel in Yandex.Zen

And in March of this year, already British doctors reported a case of cranial infection after a cotton swab stuck in the man’s ear canal.

What are cotton buds for?

But if cotton buds, as they themselves saymanufacturers are not designed to clean the ears, why then are they needed? In fact, there are many ways to use cotton buds. They can remove the excess of any cosmetic product with a limited surface. It is also convenient to treat small wounds in the event of a cut or skin damage.

Cotton buds

In general, cotton buds appeared due tothat their creator, named Leo Gerstensang, saw his wife cleaning their son’s face from dirt with cotton wool wound around a toothpick. So the Gerstensang family got the opportunity not to work, and the world - cotton buds.

Be that as it may, despite the popularity andthe attractiveness of cotton buds, you should still think about their use. The fact is that if earlier cotton buds were made of wood, today plastic has replaced it. Using a cotton swab once for its intended purpose, we ourselves, without noticing it, harm the planet.

Do you use cotton buds?