Off another email
Subject: Cottonbud
Just a piece of information for everyone ~ a truth too many people do not realize. Please read on...
My husband had ear pain for a very long time, sometimes he would just visit a private doctor and get some antibiotics and eardrops and after applying it over a few days, the pain would be gone. He got a habit of using cottonbuds to clean his ear canals everyday after his bath ~ just normal cottonbuds that we can purchase at any shop at 3 for $1.
Lately, the problem became quite serious to the fact that he couldn't sleep at night and one day, unable to control the pain even after taking his medicine, he went to see a doctor in the middle of the night and was referred to the Alexandra Hospital where they prescribed stronger antibiotics and an appointment to see a specialist.
Upon visiting the specialist, he advised my husband to never use a
cottonbud to clean his ears again, after using a special equipment to remove whatever dirt was remaining very deep in the ear as a result of using the cottonbud. The doctor said that cottonbud was never invented to clean ear canals but to clean superficial items or just surface wounds and to apply medicine. Small pieces or particles on the cottonbud tend to remain in the ear canal and that gives opportunity for bacteria to breed and by using a cottonbud, the dirt in the ear is actually being thrust further into the ear canal, hindering its self-clearing process. Some people tend to thrust the
cottonbud very deep into the ear and this may result in the damage of the eardrum and an operation may be needed to correct the problem.
The doctor's advice was to use olive oil, just one or two drops into
the ear once a month and the ear will actually cleanse itself, thereafter to use a tissue paper to clean just the outermost part of
the ear.
My husband has since stopped using cottonbuds and has fully recovered.