Will digging your ears normally with your hands cause perforation of the eardrum?
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Some mothers know that using a hard earpick to pick out their children's ears may cause injury to their children's ears, so they choose to use a relatively "soft" prop - cotton swabs. As everyone knows, using cotton swabs to clean children's ears will not only fail to remove earwax, but may also cause injury to the children's ears or cause ear diseases.
Will digging your ears normally with your hands cause perforation of the eardrum?
No, the eardrum is located deep in the ear and generally cannot be touched by fingers. Avoid sharp objects entering the ears.
Under normal circumstances, children do not need to pick out their ears, as they will drain out on their own. Children are too young and their eardrums are relatively thin, so picking out the ears can easily damage the eardrums.
In 2017, there was a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics in the United States on ear injuries in children caused by the use of cotton swabs. Data shows that from 1990 to 2010, approximately 260,000 children under the age of 18 were sent to emergency rooms due to ear injuries caused by the use of cotton swabs. Among them, more than 25% of children have perforated eardrums.
How to remove children’s ears?
1. The thumb is much larger than the other fingers. If you always use your thumb to pick out the ears, it may cause damage to the ear skin and may cause the ear hole to become larger. So if you insist on using your fingers to pick out your ears, you can use your little finger.
2. Do not dig with your nails. You may dig through the oily skin on the surface, which will remove a protective layer from the ears.
3. You should use some normal and safe tools for ear removal, such as cotton swabs, etc. Some people like to use their fingernails, hairpins and matchsticks to dig out earwax, which may accidentally scratch the external auditory canal. It can lead to moderate ear infections, which can easily lead to the growth of bacteria, resulting in some unnecessary ear infections.
4. If you find moisture near the mouth of your baby's ear canal after bathing, you can use an ear cotton swab to gently wipe it without going deep. You can use a hair dryer (about 30 cm away from the ear canal opening, weak wind) to dry the ears. Wet a clean towel and wring it dry. Roll the corner of the towel around your finger and gently wipe the baby's outer ear.
5. If you use cotton swabs to clean the ears, be sure not to insert the cotton swab deep into the baby's ears where they cannot be seen. The cotton ball has a small top and a large bottom, which can prevent the cotton swab from going deep into the baby's ears and accidentally damaging the eardrum. There are large-headed cotton swabs specially designed for babies on the market. The cotton balls are soft and strong, and the fibers will not loosen. They are suitable for cleaning babies' ears.
6. You can only choose the earwax near the mouth of the ear canal that can be seen with the naked eye for simple treatment, but cannot remove the cerumen inside the ear. During the operation, a cotton swab should be used, gently rotate it in the external auditory canal, and then pull the ear so that the mouth of the ear canal faces downward to encourage the earwax to come out on its own.
7. Never use nails, picks, hairpins or other sharp objects to pick out your ears.
8.If you find that your baby has too much earwax and it causes discomfort, causing the baby to cry, or if you suspect that your baby has hearing impairment, you should seek medical attention promptly and do not pick out your ears at will.