How to safely remove earwax without using cotton buds
When imagining someone cleaning their ears, most people would naturally think of using a cotton bud to clear out any excess earwax., despite it clearly saying on the packaging of all cotton buds ‘do not insert into the ear canal’ (ours including). Despite this clear warning from manufacturers and doctors, this is the most common association and well-known use for cotton buds.
The problem with cotton buds
The convenient shape and size of cotton buds might seem like the ideal tool for removing ear wax or relieving that annoying itch, but cotton buds can do more harm than good. Inserting cotton buds into the ear canal can cause far more severe problems than a little bit of annoying wax.
Ruptured eardrums, compacted wax, painful infections and in some extreme cases, permanent hearing loss, are just some of the consequences medical experts warn of from using cotton buds to clean inside the ear. The risk doesn’t just come from sticking the cotton bud too far into the ear, tiny fragments of cotton can come away from the cotton bud and become stuck deep inside the ear canal. These small fragments can irritate the delicate skin in the ear and cause painful infections.
If you’re guilty of using cotton buds to clean your ears, you’re not alone — in 1920 the Q-tip® was invented for ear-cleaning. Ignorant to the consequences many people turned to the trusty cotton bud to dig away annoying excess earwax or relieve annoying little itches deep inside the ear. Today doctors and manufacturers strongly warn against inserting cotton buds into the ear canal, but the practice continues to persist despite the apparent dangers associated in doing so.
The reason for this may be that people want to relieve annoying itches inside their ears or get rid of little bits of excess earwax at home. What most people don’t realise, is that there is a tool available for doing precisely that but without the risk of compacted wax or painful ear injections that come with using cotton buds.
A safer alternative for removing ear wax
It’s time to put the cotton bud down. Instead, pick up one of our Safe and Sound Health Ear Cleaners. Unlike cotton buds, these have been specifically designed for cleaning inside the ear. The unique double-ended tool has been designed to clean and remove excess earwax without damaging the ear.
One end of the ear cleaning tool has a small scoop, perfect for reaching small bits of earwax and gently removing it from the ear. Both ends have clear indications on the device that let you know how far you can enter into the ear without the risk of going in too deep and damaging your eardrum.
The other end of the ear cleaning tool is a small, ribbed exfoliator. The exfoliator gently scrubs away dead skin from inside and outside of the ear, helping to relieve and prevent annoying itches as well as removing earwax that can build up inside the ear.
Unlike cotton buds, these ear cleaners will not run the risk of causing painful infections by trapping small fibres of cotton deep inside the ear. This is because they are made from flexible plastic. As well as eliminating the risk of infection, the flexible nature of the plastic means they are gentle around the delicate skin and folds of the ear.
Better for the environment
Cotton buds are not only bad for your ears; they are disastrous for the environment. Plastic cotton buds flushed down the toilet find their way through the filter and into the sewage systems, polluting our beaches and destroying marine life. Paper stem cotton buds (like our paper stem cotton buds) are the perfect replacement for plastic ones, but you still shouldn’t use them for cleaning your ears. Our Ear Cleaners are dishwasher safe and have been designed to be washed and reused many times before they need replacing, helping to reduce the amount of use-once and thrown away plastics in landfills or our oceans.
Leave the cotton buds for what they are meant for, applying make-up and cleaning babies toes. Instead, choose Safe and Sound Health’s Reusable Ear Cleaners for cleaning your ears. Your ears and the environment will thank you for it.
