How deep can you clean your ears. Why can't you clean your ears with a cotton swab. Special preparations for home conditions

»: « Ear hygiene. How not to harm.

Let's talk more about whether you need to take care of your own hygiene, especially your ears. Ear wax - why is it needed? Ear sticks - can they be used for ear hygiene? What should I do to keep my ears always clean and how to properly clean your ears?

It's hard to imagine modern man who would sleep, eat, but not observe hygiene. If such a person, by the nature of his activity, is forced to communicate with a large number of people and his career depends on the opinions of these people, then he carefully takes care of his appearance. Agree, we all feel more confident if, in terms of hygiene, everything is fine with us.

Often people, taking care of their cleanliness, what is called "go too far." And instead of the appearance and hygiene being beneficial, they are harming themselves. This can be said about the excessive passion to wash germs from your body with the help of detergents Yes, even with a hard washcloth. By the way, among these microbes there are many useful ones. Such washing leads to the fact that the skin, losing beneficial microbes, becomes prone to various diseases, its natural hydration is replaced by dryness and irritation.

Ear hygiene. How not to harm

From childhood, we are accustomed to keep cleanliness. If we can see the face, hair, teeth in the reflection of the mirror and therefore are calm, then we cannot see the ears on our own. This is where excessive anxiety arises, but is everything in order there? We are very actively trying to clean the ear canals in the ears. It seems to us that the sulfur that accumulates in the ears is unaesthetic and visible to everyone.

Let's figure it out:

why do you need earwax;
is it possible to use ear sticks for ear hygiene;
how to make sure that our ears are well-groomed and always clean.

The ear, like many hollow organs of our body, is capable of self-cleaning. How does this happen? Skin epithelium inside the ear canal, as elsewhere. slowly grows and dies, moving outwards. And at the same time, the ear is cleansed of foreign bodies, microbes and everything he doesn't need.

In addition to the dead epithelium, sulfur serves to cleanse the ear canal and prevent foreign bodies and bacteria from entering the ear. This substance is formed near the entrance to the auditory canal inside the ear and is secreted through the sulfuric and sebaceous glands.

Why is earwax needed?

Sulfur is needed in order to maintain the necessary microflora inside the ear. It protects our ears from damage and various inflammations. If everything is normal in the body, then sulfur is produced so much that it does not spoil the appearance and at the same time performs its functions well:

protective (pathogenic microbes do not multiply in sulfur),
cleansing (connecting with the skin epithelium, removes foreign bodies from the ear),
moisturizing (retains the necessary moisture, which does not allow the inner ear to dry out),
lubricating.

In this case, there is no need to clean it. When moving the jaws, when we chew or talk, as well as when washing in the shower, it falls out by itself.

If we nevertheless begin to actively clear the ear canal from sulfur, then as a result, irritating the sulfur glands, we contribute to its release in a larger volume, or, conversely, stop the formation of sulfur altogether. If there is a lot of sulfur, then plugs form; if not enough, then itching and a feeling of dryness in the ear canal accompanies us all the time.

Can ear sticks be used for ear hygiene?

When conducting ear hygiene, many of us use cotton swabs, which are sold in a wide range. Do you know what they are for? To apply brilliant green, iodine on the wound, but in no case in order to clean their ears with them. Why ask you? Because they do more harm than good.

What are the disadvantages of using ear sticks:

Tympanic injury. This leads to dizziness and hearing loss.
Injury to the thin skin and infection through wounds. So there is an ear disease - otitis externa.
Creating and pushing the wax plug far into the ear

How to properly clean your ears

From the foregoing, it is clear that the most better hygiene for our ears, it is washing the ear itself and the visible part of the entrance of the ear canal with just water. If we do not interfere with the body, then it is able to maintain its functions in perfect order. Self-cleaning of the ear passages is established and to help it means to harm health.

But what to do if, nevertheless, sulfur plugs have already formed, ears itch, water got into the ears during a swim at sea. We'll talk about this next time in the article: “Surium plug in the ear. Symptoms and Removal".

P.S. In the comments, reproaches were made that this article does not contain specific advice on how to properly clean your ears. I will try to repeat the basic principles and actions, as well as some tips from the next article.

Many of us do not even think about how to properly clean our ears, how often we should do it, and why improper ear hygiene can lead to hearing loss. Ear cleaning is an integral part of everyone's life. Many of us habitually pick up a Q-tip, spit on it, and twist it violently in our ear. This is fundamentally wrong.

What are we cleaning from?

The human auditory system consists of the outer shell, ear canal, middle and inner ear. We clean only the ear canal, the rest of the auditory element fortunately not available to humans. The ear passages are covered with skin, which, in addition to sebum, produces a special secret - sulfur. Sulfur is not a useless substance that pollutes our ears. It protects the inner parts of the ear from infection, viruses, infections, protects the skin from drying out.

Together with sulfur, sebum, dust, and the smallest specks accumulate in the ear passages. Normally, the human auditory system is self-cleaning. That is, when you actively move your jaw (chew or talk), all the impurities slowly move “to the exit” on their own. Therefore, the human body does not need internal cleaning of the ears.

How to clean your ears

Ears should be cleaned after taking a shower or bath, when the skin is as steamed and soft as possible.
Take a cotton swab and gently run it over your ear. You can also clean the ear canal from the outside, that is, without penetrating deep inside.
As noted, sulfur is independently excreted. However, it can accumulate in the ear canals if you have increased excretion this secret. Such a factor can be acquired (after an injury) or congenital. Also, wax can clog the ear canals if they are excessively narrow or curved. In this case, you need to regularly clean your ears, but not with a cotton swab, but with a cloth or cotton swabs.
Twist a tourniquet out of cotton and dip it in oil. After that, carefully, with scrolling movements, clean the ear canal.
In no case should you get into your ears with foreign objects - hairpins, pencils, pins. Even the slightest damage can lead to inflammation and otitis externa.
As experts say, you need to clean your ears a couple of times a month, not more often. Excessive sterility deprives the skin natural protection. This can lead to itching and discomfort in the ears.

Why you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton swabs

The fact is that the design of the cotton swab does not contribute to the high-quality cleansing of the ear passages. It pushes the sulfur inside, closer to the eardrum. Frequent and intensive manipulations with a cotton swab tamp the sulfur, which can lead to the formation of a sulfur plug or microtrauma of the ear canal, because the skin there is very delicate and vulnerable.

Frequent cleaning of the ears can upset the balance of earwax production. It becomes too much or too little. Lack of sulfur leads to discomfort and lack of natural protection. And an excess of sulfur inevitably leads to the formation of sulfur plugs.

Sulfur plug

Most people can live without being aware that they have earwax. The presence of this trouble is detected after its swelling. If water gets into your ear while swimming, the sulfur plug increases in size and presses on the eardrum. This leads to unpleasant sensations - a person has dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, discomfort. Also, the presence of a sulfur plug (even if it is not swollen) is indicated by a feeling of resonance from one's own voice. Wax plug often forms in people who constantly wear headphones or hearing aids. In these cases, the wax simply does not find a natural way out and gets stuck in the ear canals.

Sulfur plug must be washed out in time. If you have an increased production of sulfur and a predisposition to the formation of sulfur plugs, the procedure should be carried out once every six months. It is best to do this with a specialist, an otolaryngologist. However, with sufficient skill and knowledge of the principle of action, washing can be done independently at home.

It is not worth rinsing the ear right away, you need to soak the cork a little to make it easier to get rid of it. To do this, for three days in the morning and evening, drip a drop of vegetable oil, petroleum jelly, glycerin or hydrogen peroxide into each ear.
After three days, you can start washing. To do this, you need to take a syringe without a needle, water at room temperature, a small container and cotton pads.
Draw water into the syringe. Never use cold, only warm. Sit on a chair and pull the auricle slightly up and to the side.
Direct a jet of water from a pressurized syringe into the ear canal. If you have ever had a doctor do this, you will be able to handle the procedure yourself.
Along with the water flowing out of the ear, the sulfur plug will also come out. After that, you should carefully wipe the auricle with cotton pads. Put a cotton swab in your ear for an hour.
After washing the ears, you should not go outside at least for a while. If you still need to do this, you need to wear a hat.

How to get rid of itchy ears

It happens that a person, feeling itching in the ear passages, climbs there with sharp objects. Under no circumstances should this be done. If you feel itchy, your ear passages need natural lubrication. Just grease delicate skin vegetable oil and the itching will go away. And in the future, try not to clean your ears so zealously and often.

According to statistics, most otitis in children occurs due to frequent, thoughtless and thorough cleaning of the ears. If you do not have pathologies, simply rubbing the auricle with a towel after bathing is enough. Do not go too far and teach your children proper hygiene to be the key to your health.

Video: how to clean your ears

It happens that we suddenly realize that we have become a little worse to hear than before. Perhaps it is too early to sound the alarm, most likely the simple sulfur tubes that have formed in our ears are to blame. How to remove the accumulation of wax in the ears painlessly, efficiently and quickly, without resorting to the help of doctors? The secret is simple enough.

How to clean your ears at home?

To do this, we need a vial of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Try gently putting this remedy in one ear. Don't be afraid to overdo it, pour in a large number of hydrogen peroxide. Then take such a body position that hydrogen peroxide does not flow out of the ear. Wait five minutes. The peroxide will begin to bubble, but don't worry, the product works. After 5 minutes, press sharply on the donkey of the ear, thus pushing out both the cork and peroxide. To completely clean the ear and free it from the sulfuric plug, if necessary, repeat this procedure several times. After you have completely cleaned one ear, you need to repeat this procedure with the other ear from beginning to end.

What's in auricles ah sulfur accumulates, is a common process. Under the influence of moisture and some mechanical factors, sulfur swells, thus blocking the ear lumen and causing partial hearing loss. You can try to remove sulfur plugs from your ears at home, and then consult a doctor.

You will need:

Boric alcohol
soda solution
3% hydrogen peroxide solution

Sulfur plugs can be removed by softening them. Prepare a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and insert a clean syringe without a needle into the ear canal. We do not insert the syringe very deeply, since the jet of liquid itself will reach the sulfuric plug and act on the sulfuric masses. Hydrogen peroxide will sizzle out with pieces of sulfur. We will wait until all the solution has flowed out, for this we will tilt our head in the same direction.

We wipe the ear with a cotton swab, remove the remaining moisture. Twice a day for a week, repeat the softening procedure to completely clean the ear canal and restore hearing. After the procedure, so that the ear dries quickly, we warm the ear with an incandescent lamp. If during the procedure there is pressure, pain, discomfort then you need to stop the procedure and consult a doctor.

Removing the sulfur plug

Let's prepare the ear to remove the sulfuric plug: we drip a weak soda solution into the ear canal for 3 days. Let's soften the sulfur plug by dropping a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide, while straightening the ear canal. We wash the cork with a syringe, pull the ear back and up a little, pour water at room temperature into the ear canal under pressure. Drip the ear with boric alcohol.

Special preparations for home conditions

In order to remove wax plugs from the ears at home, you need to purchase a solution for dissolving earwax at the pharmacy. We drip the emulsion according to the instructions and in five days the usual cork will dissolve and be removed. The ear canal needs to be cleaned twice a day. Similar drugs are used to prevent the formation of sulfur plugs.

If it was not possible to remove the cork

For questions about removing sulfur plugs, you need to contact an otolaryngologist. It is necessary to remove the sulfur plug, as it can be the cause of diseases such as otitis externa, hearing loss, and so on. The doctor will flush the ear with a medical syringe under pressure with a small amount of water. This is a painless and fast procedure. After washing, relief will come, hearing will be restored, pain will go away. Otolaryngologists for the prevention of sulfuric plugs advise after a shower not to dry your ears, but to dry them with a hairdryer or drip a little alcohol into your ears.

Very often, people, trying to maintain maximum hygiene, begin to actively clean their ears, considering the sulfur produced in them to be dirt that needs to be removed. As a result, with the inability to carry out such a procedure, complications arise that can not only cause illness, but also completely deprive of hearing. To prevent this from happening, you should not only know how to clean your ears, but also understand when to do it and when not. Many consider this procedure very simple and can perform it using even sharp wooden or metal objects, which in most cases leads to serious consequences.

Why is wax produced in the ear?

Earwax, which is removed during ear cleaning, is a complex product of the external secretion glands. Depending on gender and age, its composition varies. This product helps to maintain the normal microflora of the ear canal, which is very important for maintaining normal hearing. In addition, earwax provides:

protection of the ear from the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the tissues;
prevention of the development of fungal diseases;
cleansing the ear canal from dust particles;
maintaining sufficient moisture in the ear canal;
lubrication of the ear canal and prevention of its cracking due to extreme cold or heat.

When earwax is produced in a normal amount, there is no need to forcibly remove it, since it does not spoil the appearance and does not cause discomfort. In small amounts, sulfur is released from the ear during chewing and does not form noticeable traces. This is a natural cleansing of the ear that should not be tampered with. Cleansing is possible only when there is too much sulfur, and it not only spoils the appearance, but also threatens the formation of ear plugs, which are a very common problem.

What Not to Use to Clean Your Ears

In order not to harm your health in the process of cleaning your ears, it is important to know what things are not suitable for this purpose. It is strictly forbidden to use the following items to clean the ear cavity:

matches;
toothpicks;
needles;
hairpins;
pins;
cotton buds.

If everything is clear with sharp objects - there is no doubt that they can cause serious injury by breaking through the eardrum, then many people have a question about cotton buds, what is dangerous in them. The vast majority of people consider them to be the ideal ear cleansing tool that cannot cause any harm.

The danger of a cotton swab lies in the fact that the user does not always feel the pressure correctly due to the apparent softness of this object, and the wand easily penetrates too deep and, reaching the eardrum, can pierce it. In addition, this cosmetic instrument may cause damage to the skin inside the ear canal. This happens because at the moment rotary motion cotton wool that is too thick for the ear can rub off the top layer of skin. Because of this, a free passage into the tissues opens up for pathogenic bacteria, as a result of which various purulent-inflammatory processes easily occur. Another danger of using cotton swabs is that they do not completely free the ear canal from sulfur, bringing it out, but to a large extent tamp it, and over time, a sulfur plug forms in the ear, which requires separate treatment and in most cases can only be fully removed by a doctor.

Video recipe for the occasion:

Do not use special ear candles for cleaning the ears, which are designed to remove sulfuric plugs. If you use them simply to get rid of sulfur, then this will cause overdrying of the ear canal. As a result, the external secretion glands begin to work too actively and produce an excessive amount of sulfur, which becomes a big problem.

How to clean your ear

Ideally, only the auricle and the entrance to the ear canal should be cleaned. This should be done with damp cotton wool, without exerting strong pressure. Such treatment, ideally, is well carried out with a solution sea salt. To get it in 1 glass boiled water pour 1 teaspoon of edible sea salt without a slide. After complete dissolution of the salt, the composition is filtered through a cloth just in case, in order to clean it in case of remaining undissolved salt particles. Having dipped cotton wool into the composition, the ear is carefully wiped first from the outside, and then from the inside. If you need to wash out the ear plug, you can use the same solution.

If it is necessary to clean the ear canal, then for this you should use cotton turundas, which should not have a thickness of more than 8 mm. They are moistened warm olive oil or hydrogen peroxide. Turunda must be well saturated with liquid, otherwise it can injure the skin of the ear canal when screwed into the ear. During the procedure, there should not be pain, as they indicate that there is an injury to the ear canal.

With special care, you need to clean the ears of young children, so they do it only when absolutely necessary. Due to the mobility and lack of understanding by the child of the ongoing procedure, injury to the eardrum may occur due to the unexpected and sudden movement of the baby.

Why You Shouldn't Clean Your Ears Regularly

Regular cleaning of the ears should not be carried out unless absolutely necessary. The fact is that the constant removal of sulfur from the ear canals, when it is not produced in excessive amounts, leads to the fact that the normal process of its release is disturbed - the volume of sulfur increases many times, and its rollers begin to appear on the auricle. To prevent this from happening, you should not clean your ears more than once a month.

With the right approach to cleaning the ears, the procedure is completely safe and does not lead to negative consequences.

The issue of ear hygiene always causes a lot of controversy: someone believes that the ear canals must be cleaned at least once a week, someone takes the position that it is enough to blot them after a shower with a towel, and someone cleans them once a year in the office at the lore after a sulfur plug forms inside.

So what is the right way to clean your ears? What should be done if a sulfur plug has formed in the passages? What happens if you don't clean your ears?

The mechanism of sulfur production and natural purification

Sulfur is produced in the outer sections of our auditory organs by special glands. This secret is needed for lubrication, protection from mechanical damage, dust and bacterial intrusions, and its natural movement helps to remove dead skin particles from the ear.

The production of sulfur is gradual and just as smoothly it naturally moves to the exit from the auditory canal from the eardrum to the auricle during the chewing process. Nature has laid ideal mechanism cleansing that does not require any intervention. Therefore, you should not wonder if you need to clean your ears - it will be correct to remove the wax directly at the exit from the ear canal.

Possible problems

Perhaps the only problem you may encounter is the formation of ear plugs. They can appear both due to improper hygiene, and due to the use of accessories. In order not to run into painful problems, everyone should know what are the common mistakes and causes of traffic jams.

Using earplugs and ear plugs that push wax back into the ear canal and prevent it from migrating naturally.
Long-term wearing of hearing aids also provokes the accumulation of wax and the formation of plugs.
Infection and swelling of the ear canal can cause accumulation of sulfur masses and blockage of the passage.
Too intense secretion due to beriberi, in which sulfur does not have time to be completely excreted, can lead to blockage.
Most often, wax plugs form when improper cleaning of the ears with cotton swabs occurs. If you enter them too deeply, instead of extracting the secret, you can help to compact it in the canal. That is why accessories with a limiter are produced for babies - it does not allow you to insert it deep into the ear.
Strong pressure with cotton swabs when trying to clean the ear on the walls of the ear canal can lead to traumatization of the glands and start their intensive work. With such an excessive release of sulfur, it does not have time to move towards the exit and accumulates at the eardrum.
Intense secretion also occurs in people who are accustomed to frequently cleaning their ears with cotton swabs. Daily removal of sulfur helps to increase its production, not having time to be removed, it accumulates at the eardrum.

Proper hygienic cleaning

How often you need to clean your ears is up to you. The main thing is to ensure that too many sulfur masses do not accumulate at the outlet of the channel. And in order to do without sulfur plugs, you need to know how to properly clean your ears:

Do not use cotton swabs to clean, or at least do not insert them deep into the ear canal. It is enough to hold the tip of the accessory at the exit, cleaning off the accumulated masses.
In the bathroom, when washing your hair, do not forget about the hygiene of the ears. They also need to be lathered and rinsed thoroughly with water.

All young mothers are concerned about how to properly clean the ears of babies. In infants, hygiene should be done with a damp gauze or napkin. Wipe the exits of the auditory canals and the "labyrinths" of the auricle once a week after meals.

Ways to remove traffic jams

If the sulfuric plug is nevertheless formed, you should sign up for a professional cleaning of the ear canals. It is possible to determine that there is too much secret in the ears and it can no longer come out on its own, according to specific signs:

you will feel a feeling of ear congestion;
tinnitus, which appeared due to the pressure of sulfuric masses on the eardrum, will be added to congestion;
as sulfur accumulates in the passages, hearing can deteriorate significantly or even disappear altogether;
the pressure of sulfur masses on the walls of the passage and the eardrum leads to pain inside the ear.

If it is not possible to get to the lore, you can wash your ear with a sulfur plug yourself. Only such a measure will help get rid of the problem that has arisen, so there is no need to think about whether it is possible to clean the ears with cotton swabs, thus trying to get rid of accumulations inside the ear.

Dissolution

An easy way to clear your ears when a wax plug starts to form is to dissolve it. In pharmacies, there are many safe ready-made formulations that should be instilled into the ear canal. After applying these drugs, the soaked secret should gradually move towards the exit from the canal.

Promotes the dissolution of sulfuric plug and the usual 3% hydrogen peroxide. It is also instilled in a small (4-5 drops) volume directly into the auditory canal, where it softens accumulations of secretions. This technique can be applied both by itself - to combat initial stage blockages, as well as preparatory stage for washing.

Washing

Immediately before the washing procedure, the sulfur plug sometimes has to be soaked a little - it is easier to wash and clean out the accumulations. The patient should lie on their side with the blocked ear on top. Then hydrogen peroxide is instilled into the ear canal. After 5-10 minutes, you can try to press on the donkey of the ear, provoking the discharge of the cork from the eardrum and canal walls. After that, the patient needs to roll over to the other side so that the liquid flows out of the diseased ear.
If the first step did not improve your hearing and clear your ears of plugs, you can proceed to a more serious procedure - flushing. Draw a warm 3% hydrogen peroxide solution into a syringe without a needle. Slightly tilting your head, begin the introduction of the drug into the canal. No need to insert the syringe too deep - just place its nose at the entrance, the peroxide itself will pass well to the right place.
After the liquid in the syringe runs out, tilt your head so that its remnants flow out of your ear. Repeat the procedure until pure hydrogen peroxide without sulfur flakes flows from the auditory canal.

You can clean your ear at home from sulfuric plugs not only with hydrogen peroxide. Suitable for this and saline solution and just warm water.

To prepare the first composition in 100 grams of warm water, dilute 1 tsp. regular salt. This solution can be used both for washing and for preliminary (before cleaning the ears with a syringe) softening of the sulfur plug by instilling it into the ear canal.

To clear the passage, you can use and soda solution. Dilute the powder in warm water in a ratio of 1:8 and use the resulting composition to soften the sulfur plug and rinse. Baking soda is very effective in cases where you have to clean your ears at home to remove plugs.