If the yellowish-brownish substance is visible in the ear, it looks anything but delicious. How to remove stubborn ear wax at home, So some people quickly think of removing earwax.
But the frowned upon ear wax, medicinally cerumen, fulfills essential functions: It moisturizes the ear canal, protects against pathogens and dust by catching and binding the intruders. So ear wax is not dirt but protection. Typically, tiny cilia in the ear move the wax outwards through constant, slow movements. With the help of the soft mass, the ear cleans itself.
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Be careful when removing ear wax. How to remove stubborn ear wax at home
However, this self-cleaning process can be disturbed. Too much ear wax accumulates, and ultimately even a plug threatens to clog the ear canal. How to remove stubborn ear wax at home, So the ear wax has to get out. There are various options and tools for this. Still viral: cotton swabs. But they can be dangerous.
A cotton swab with a warning notice How to remove stubborn ear wax at home
“The ear canal or eardrum can irritat or even injured by the chopsticks, or the wax can – pushed deep into the ear – dry out and become an uncomfortable solid plug,” explains Dr. Doris Hartwig-Bade, Vice President of the German Professional Association of Ear. Nose and Throat Doctors. How to remove stubborn ear wax at home, Therefore, for reasons of product liability. A warning must place on the packaging of the cotton swabs today: “Do not insert it into the ear canal!” Cotton swabs should therefore only use to clean the outer auricle.
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Remove earwax with home remedies and aids.
If used correctly, the following methods of removing earwax yourself are less dangerous:
- Ear cleaner – a metal rod with a loop that works like a lasso design to pull the cerumen out of the ear. However, if you do not proceed carefully, you can injure the auricle and ear canal! So it is better to have a specialist do it – there is more about that below.
- Ear drops or ear spray – they are supposed to soften hard ear wax. After that, it can be removed more efficiently with an ear cleaner. However, these products usually have too little effect on solid plugs.
- Ear candle – the little candles will be burning plugged into your ear (wick and flame outside!). Slight negative pressure was creat on the underside of the candle, which supposes to pull the wax out of the ear canal. Caution: Risk of burns. Wax can also get into the ears. Here, too, you should work better with specialist staff and at least never handle ear candles alone. But always have someone with you who knows their way around and!
- Balloon syringes – they fill with water and rinse the ear.
- Olive oil as a home remedy for ear wax – drip a few drops of high-quality vegetable oil into the ear canal, let it work and then carefully rinse out the slightly softened ear wax under the shower with warm water.
- Steam bath – put hot water in a bowl and hold your head sideways over the rising steam so that it gets into your ear. The water vapor can soften earwax so that it can rinse out quickly afterward. But be careful: not too hot. Otherwise, there is a risk of burns.
However, both of the latter methods – olive oil and steam bath – work far too weakly for an earplug.
Have the doctor remove earwax How to remove stubborn ear wax at home
Therefore, the safest and most successful method is: Let the ear, nose, and throat doctor remove bothersome ear wax and plugs. “Especially people who produce an excessive amount of ear wax should go to the ENT doctor every 3 to 6 months so that the plug does not impair hearing. Children also often produce more ear wax, parents should see an ENT doctor have it checked, “recommends Dr. Doris Hartwig-Bade.
The doctor rinses the ear with water or an ear wax dissolving agent, which should act for a good 15 minutes. How to remove stubborn ear wax at home? Then the ear wax sucks off with a device. And the around hook is carefully removed.
But ear wax causes problems for the ear canal; flakes of skin and the like can also clog it.
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