Cotton swabs or cotton buds, are commonly used in our daily life. Some of the uses are for make-up, bacterial culture, and commonly for extracting wax and debris from the ear. While they are sometimes handy, they usually cause more harm than benefits. Cotton buds existed from 1920s.

How are they misused?

Cotton buds are made of wood, plastic, or rolled paper, which have cotton stuck at both ends with a round edge. They are used by the general public for ear cleaning, but these hardly remove the outer debris which is stuck near the outer edges. Forcing it inside the ear canal only does damage, by forcing the inner wax further inside. Sometimes extensive force also causes damage to the eardrums. The force applied most often, causes damage to the eardrums, which might cause severe pain, leading to leakage, causing improper balance, even deafness, and certain similar abnormalities.

Simple measures to be considered

We may usually be worried about cleaning our ears. In reality it doesn’t need to be such a concern, since our usual showers allow an adequate quantity of water to enter the ears and clean the accumulated debris automatically. The structure of our ear canal usually assists in cleaning up the extra wax around the ear naturally.

In case if build-up of earwax is suspected, better consult an ENT and get it cleaned under medical surveillance.
Doctors and medical practitioners all around the world have been trying to spread the message of preventing the use of cotton buds for ear cleaning. It is important that the message reach a greater part of the population. Spread it across all your dears and nears!