Babies: 3 - 6 Months

Ear wax - to clean or not to clean?

Do you guys swab your kids ears? My biology-major husband tells me that ear wax is a good thing and we shouldn't clean it. And the general consensus of doctors seems to be that we all "do" too much to our babies - bathe too often, put on too much lotion, etc. So I feel like I don't really need to swab, but then I see a giant piece of ear wax and can't resist removing it with my finger (yes, they can get that big). Which then makes me feel like I need to give her ears a good swabbing.

What do you do? 

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Re: Ear wax - to clean or not to clean?

  • I was just wondering this same thing tonight.  While nursing DS, I looked down and saw a chunk of orangey earwax in his ear and I was compelled to remove it with my fingernail as well. (I know, gross.)

    I haven't swabbed his ears though and I don't plan to.  If you do swab, and this is supposed to go for adults as well, you're only supposed to swab at the very outer opening of the ear, never inside it, and the inside is where the wax builds up anyway.  So basically, you just have to wait for the wax to come out and then just remove it when it's visible.

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  • My pediatrician specifically told me not to ever put anything (even baby qtips) in my LO's ear. Dr. said I can use a washcloth when I do a bath to wipe the outside and visible areas, but that using a qtip  is a major no no.
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  • I'll clean his ears with a facecloth during bath time....I'll also pick a little out with my finger if it's obvious (It's funny when it's your own child you don't find these things gross anymore!!!!!!!!!)
  • imagelbursey:
    I'll clean his ears with a facecloth during bath time....I'll also pick a little out with my finger if it's obvious (It's funny when it's your own child you don't find these things gross anymore!!!!!!!!!)

    I do the exact same thing! It is funny when it's your own child you don't care. LOL Now that's LOVE! Hehe Big Smile


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  • I clean him up nice and good with a washcloth and then pick out whatever I see when he's nursing.  If I ever saw someone else doing this to their baby I would think it's totally gross....haha

    but i totally do it!

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  • imageeatmorecupcakes:

    I clean him up nice and good with a washcloth and then pick out whatever I see when he's nursing.  If I ever saw someone else doing this to their baby I would think it's totally gross....haha

    but i totally do it!

    LOL, me too.


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  • I use a cotton ball to clean any visible earwax. Sticking anything, including a q-tip, inside their ears is a big no-no.
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  • DD get some earwas buildup too.  If it is showing out side of her earhole I'll swab it.  I also swab around her ear in the little folds & nooks & crannies.  I never put the swab inside her ear.
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  • Pedi told me to swab only on the outside or take a warm rag to it at bathtime..never stick anything in the ear.

    He usually takes care of it at her visits though.

  • I don't swab although I do use a washcloth every night to wash his ear.  I just remove the large pieces of wax when I see them.
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  • imagelysetterae:
    DD get some earwas buildup too.  If it is showing out side of her earhole I'll swab it.  I also swab around her ear in the little folds & nooks & crannies.  I never put the swab inside her ear.
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  • imagegenekelly:
    I don't swab although I do use a washcloth every night to wash his ear.  I just remove the large pieces of wax when I see them.

    Me too!

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  • It sounds like I do what others do, with the washcloth... but he also gets some buildup that I can't get off on the outside part of the ear... I think it might be from milk at night spraying him... does anyone else have them?  Sometimes I try to gently scratch it when he's nursing but it doesn't seem to come off all the way.
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  • imagemullenem:

    imagelysetterae:
    DD get some earwas buildup too.  If it is showing out side of her earhole I'll swab it.  I also swab around her ear in the little folds & nooks & crannies.  I never put the swab inside her ear.

    This.

    this.

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  • DH has trouble hearing sometimes because his wax buildup gets so bad, and DD gets big chunks just like he does, so I swab her ears when I see it and I try to check every day. But if I don't see any wax obstructing the ear canal, I try to let it be.
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  • Ok, time to bust the swabbing myth:

    Using cotton swabs in ears cause wax to block the ear canal. It pushes the wax further inside and causes blockage. Wax is the ears' natural way of protecting the ear canal, and when the wax is removed it can actualy predispose to outer ear infections and trauma. Never put anything into baby's ears (or your own ears, either). People have ruptured the ear drum that way. I have seen ears where pieces of cotton from the tip of the Q tip were stuck inside the ear. Resist the temptation! If there is a real blockage of wax, there are drops and such available to loosen it up, but do not stick anything into the ear. When a doctor needs to stick something into the ear to remove wax or a foreign object, they do so usually with a microscope to avoid damage to the ear canal!

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  • My DS seems to have inherited his father's propensity for producing copious amounts of earwax, but like others, I simply have been cleaning the outer folds of his ears with a washcloth during bathtime, then if there are any "ear boogers" visible during nursing, I'll pick them out with the tip of my finger.

    However, I recently took DS to the pedi because I feared he had developed an ear infection after getting over a particularly nasty cold. He was doing a lot of tugging at his left ear, and he seemed a little more fussy than usual. When the pedi took a look, he didn't have an ear infection, but did have a pretty good build-up of wax in there. They irrigated his ears that day (which basically consisted of a nurse shooting warm saline into his ears to try to loosen up what was built up in there). His right ear cleared out ok, but the left one was more stubborn and didn't let go of its wax. So, the pedi has us using Murine drops to help loosen it up naturally. 

    I asked specifically if there was anything else I should be doing to clean his ears to avoid having this happen again, and she simply said to let soap or bubbles from his shampoo go into his ears when I'm bathing him, and then rinse his ears out with water as I'm rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. 

    I'll definitely ask about the state of his earwax when we go in for his 6 month checkup in a couple of weeks.

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  • imageeatmorecupcakes:

    I clean him up nice and good with a washcloth and then pick out whatever I see when he's nursing.  If I ever saw someone else doing this to their baby I would think it's totally gross....haha

    but i totally do it!

     

    ditto all the way!

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