ChrissyB
Well-Known Member
Here I was, asking a serious question (or so I thought), and look what they turned it into!!! 
What is everyone's hygiene procedure?
- Thread starter ChrissyB
- Start date
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KnitchyFingers said:
Very good info on the no Qtips! They are evil and should never be used in the canal. Just remember, they push half of it back in there. Ears are created to push the wax out on their own and a cleaning rag at bath time will wash that away from the opening of the canal.
Now, if you do create a lot of wax, you can use one part distilled h2o to one part white vinegar to help keep your ears from making as much wax and keeping things clear. Once a week, take a baby medicine dropper and put 2-3 drops in each ear at night. let it just stay in there. The vinegar is much closer to the body's pH and will not dry like alcohol, but will keep wax from actually being produced at the quick rate. If you are already occluded, probably using mineral oil is the best to soften it back up. That is what the over the counter things like Debrox are mostly comprised of.
Sorry, as an an ear i felt the need to pass on the info. No more hijacking!
~ear
Uhmmm - sorry Chrissy - I promise to behave now.....
starduster
Well-Known Member
You found me
So what paparatzie was sneaking round my castle taking happy snaps of me ?
8) 8) 8)
Lindy said:OMG
So what paparatzie was sneaking round my castle taking happy snaps of me ?
8) 8) 8)
Not even close, as in not even on the same continent.ChrissyB said:
And peroxide is great for rinsing out a wound (soap and water is best but I can't always access water when a kid takes a tumble) - you cannot clean out a cut with ointment. I do use an antibiotic ointment after it's clean though. It also makes a great mouthwash (ok a disgusting one) if diluted with water. And if you wet your toothbrush with peroxide and then put baking soda on it you can (ever so slowly) whiten your teeth.
For ears, our allergist recommends 50/50 white vinegar and peroxide to remove wax (or Debrox), and 50/50 white vinegar and alcohol to dry them out after swimming.
I gotta be honest here & tell you people that I really don't see how a mild acid (vinegar) or an oxidant (H2O2) are going to soften ear wax any better than a thinner viscosity triglyceride molecule would.
I'm no chemist, but from my little bit of chemical knowledge, the chemistry just doesn't support using anything other than a solvent, or a thin viscosity liquid of similar chemical makeup (baby oil or canola oil etc). Since dumping a volatile solvent (rubbing alcohol, for example) into my ear would potentially cause harm, I would opt for something less chemically violent (non drying vegetable oil).
I'm not trying to argue, it just doesn't make sense to me, that's all.
A warm oil (not too hot) poured into an ear (while laying on ones' side) is VERY soothing and loosens the earwax by dissolving it in a chemically similar liquid, instead of an acid or oxidant (neither are naturally found in our ears, but oil is). The loosened bits are then easier to remove. This seems to really work well on earaches too.
By the way, I use Q-tips to clean my years every day. I do this daily because I use ear plugs to protect my hearing from the welding shop noise.
If used with common sense, Q-Tips are perfectly safe. For example, instead of raming the thing into the side of my head like I'm digging potatoes, I GENTLY advance the Q-Tip into my ear canal, feeling for any dirt or earwax, then GENTLY rolling the cotton against the side of the ear canal as I draw the debris out with the Q-Tip.
I aknowledge that Q-Tips can dammage the ear if used improperly, for example, if someone opens the bathroom door & bumps your elbow while you've got the thing in your ear, the pain will send you through the roof...
Losing the little cotton ball up inside your ear would potentially provide a breeding ground for bacteria. For this reason, I try to avoid using poor quality Q-Tips that usually have looser wound cotton balls on the swabs. We use the term "Q-Tip" as a generic term, but it's actually a brand name, like Crescent wrench, whose proper generic term is adjustable spanner wrench. Q-Tip brand cotton swabs are generally better & more expensive than other brands, but I've seen some competing brands that came close to Q-Tips quality.
Another danger related to Q-Tips is using them in the ears of infants. Their ear canals are smaller than ours, so shoving ANYTHING into their ears beyond where we can see what we're doing is VERY dangerous. We use Q-Tips on our toddler about once or twice a month. We are always careful & never put the thing where we can't see what's happening.
I intend no offense with my statements here. I hope nobody takes any.
I'm no chemist, but from my little bit of chemical knowledge, the chemistry just doesn't support using anything other than a solvent, or a thin viscosity liquid of similar chemical makeup (baby oil or canola oil etc). Since dumping a volatile solvent (rubbing alcohol, for example) into my ear would potentially cause harm, I would opt for something less chemically violent (non drying vegetable oil).
I'm not trying to argue, it just doesn't make sense to me, that's all.
A warm oil (not too hot) poured into an ear (while laying on ones' side) is VERY soothing and loosens the earwax by dissolving it in a chemically similar liquid, instead of an acid or oxidant (neither are naturally found in our ears, but oil is). The loosened bits are then easier to remove. This seems to really work well on earaches too.
By the way, I use Q-tips to clean my years every day. I do this daily because I use ear plugs to protect my hearing from the welding shop noise.
If used with common sense, Q-Tips are perfectly safe. For example, instead of raming the thing into the side of my head like I'm digging potatoes, I GENTLY advance the Q-Tip into my ear canal, feeling for any dirt or earwax, then GENTLY rolling the cotton against the side of the ear canal as I draw the debris out with the Q-Tip.
I aknowledge that Q-Tips can dammage the ear if used improperly, for example, if someone opens the bathroom door & bumps your elbow while you've got the thing in your ear, the pain will send you through the roof...
Losing the little cotton ball up inside your ear would potentially provide a breeding ground for bacteria. For this reason, I try to avoid using poor quality Q-Tips that usually have looser wound cotton balls on the swabs. We use the term "Q-Tip" as a generic term, but it's actually a brand name, like Crescent wrench, whose proper generic term is adjustable spanner wrench. Q-Tip brand cotton swabs are generally better & more expensive than other brands, but I've seen some competing brands that came close to Q-Tips quality.
Another danger related to Q-Tips is using them in the ears of infants. Their ear canals are smaller than ours, so shoving ANYTHING into their ears beyond where we can see what we're doing is VERY dangerous. We use Q-Tips on our toddler about once or twice a month. We are always careful & never put the thing where we can't see what's happening.
I intend no offense with my statements here. I hope nobody takes any.
Yay for hearing protection! Yes, you probably are working against the normal process of the ear having a job where you use protection daily, thus having to be more careful of buildup. And you are correct, a nice mineral oil is best for softening. I have seen a man that the elbow incident actually happened to and his eardrum was destroyed and not replaceable.....and the pain is intense! Using the vinegar/h2o solution is actually most equivalent to the body pH and used to actually keep the ear from creating wax at the same pace. As with you, I would not put alcohol in the ear unless i was trying to dry it out for some reason.
I am not an ENT, but have worked with many in my years as an Audiologist. As with anything else, you have to really have an actual doctor check your ear to know its status. For example, putting any fluid in your ear could be very dangerous if you had any type of fistula or hole in your ear drum. Just sayin....
I am not an ENT, but have worked with many in my years as an Audiologist. As with anything else, you have to really have an actual doctor check your ear to know its status. For example, putting any fluid in your ear could be very dangerous if you had any type of fistula or hole in your ear drum. Just sayin....
ChrissyB
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for joining in this discussion.
And Lindy and Digit...I was just joking!
I think it's funny how off course discussions can become!!
I was talking about my kitchen counters and we have ended up talking about peoples ear holes!
And Lindy and Digit...I was just joking!
I think it's funny how off course discussions can become!!
I was talking about my kitchen counters and we have ended up talking about peoples ear holes!
starduster
Well-Known Member
Ear ear
And without which you would never be able to hear your soap whisper sweet nothings as you unmold it.
ChrissyB said:
And without which you would never be able to hear your soap whisper sweet nothings as you unmold it.
Hey ChrissyB - sometimes these threads develop a life of their own - and this was one of them....
starduster
Well-Known Member
Organic
Yes quite organic actually :shock: even the scientists on the edge of chaos couldn't have predicted the life of it's own it has picked up.
Don't start to worry until you see one thread answering another and then actually starting a new subject of it's own without human intervention and at that stage it's starts talking about making us it's soap slaves.
:roll: :roll: :roll:
Lindy said:Hey ChrissyB - sometimes these threads develop a life of their own - and this was one of them....
Yes quite organic actually :shock: even the scientists on the edge of chaos couldn't have predicted the life of it's own it has picked up.
Don't start to worry until you see one thread answering another and then actually starting a new subject of it's own without human intervention and at that stage it's starts talking about making us it's soap slaves.
:roll: :roll: :roll:
topcat
Well-Known Member
Re: Organic
:shock: Mary!
Tanya
starduster said:Lindy said:Hey ChrissyB - sometimes these threads develop a life of their own - and this was one of them....
Yes quite organic actually :shock: even the scientists on the edge of chaos couldn't have predicted the life of it's own it has picked up.
Don't start to worry until you see one thread answering another and then actually starting a new subject of it's own without human intervention and at that stage it's starts talking about making us it's soap slaves.
:roll: :roll: :roll:
:shock: Mary!Tanya
