Q-tips

Technally, you are not supposed to use q tips for the reason you mentioned. However, I used the baby safe q-tips that have a large head so they can not go all the way in the ear. You can only clean the outer ear with them. Hope this helps.

Q-tips are for cleaning only the OUTSIDE of ears. You don't want to stick anything into the inside of ears, that's for a doctor to handle. If you see something near the outside you can extract easily okay, but do't go digging.

K.

Ashley, they have those baby q-tips with the little top and fat back so you can't get down into their ears but can get the outer dirt. You can get them at any store like a Wal-Mart but might have to look in the baby aisle, not sure where they're located.

Hi ashley, as young as she is,I would say no not yet. A warm washcloth with a tap of baby wash will work fine for now. Infants have a lot of ear wax naturally, and even though it looks like a lot, according to my ped. he said it was completely normal and would subside over time. I would wait until she is a bit older and her ears will be able to tolarate the q-tip size. The whole part about it pushing the wax back into the ear makes sense if you think of it in terms of the size of the ear canal and the size of the q-tip. Kinda like putting one of "BIG" bottle washers into a little bottle. The stuff at the top moves downward with the washer. Good Luck.

Hi,
Sorry to hear about the little boy. I'm diabetic too and have an 8 year old. We finally made time to try again and I lost it at 6 weeks. I can't imagine carrying for that long and then having that happen. Anyway, if you need a friend, I'm around (Pelham). As far as the Q-tips go, I've heard both too. My pediatrician said that as long as you just clean the outside and what you can see, that it was ok. My mom used the peroxide trick on us and that actually worked too. Just make sure you have a towel ready and then turn them over and let it gently drain out. They also make the 'baby' Q-tips that will bend at the stick part so that makes it harder to do any damage. Everyone makes a really big deal of this topic, but we never really had any problems from it. Good luck and I hope this helps.

they tell you not to. one thing i did was every time we went to the Dr. i would take a few of the plastic things the Dr.s use to get things out of the babies ears (they work great) my husband even usedthem to get dries boogers out (q-tips work great for that too)

Hello Ashley,

I struggled with the same thing. My daughter's peditrician told me no q-tips but she always had alot of ear wax. He would just clean them out with a little spoon device. She doesn't like it but it works. I think the q-tips just push it further and their little ear canals are so small that it is impossible to get it without the doctor's help. Thanks, C.

My mom and my sister are a nurse or and studying to be a nurse, and they both are absolutely adamant that no one use a q-tip to clean your ears. so i wouldn't use it if i were you!

Hi Ashley. My doctor said that q-tips just push the wax further in the ear canal. He said if you have a wax buildup then there are drops you can get that dissolve it. Hope this helps! :)

NO! NO! NO!

Only catch the earwax that falls outside the hole of the ear. My doctor said that not only can you push back the earwax back further, you can seriously damage their eardrums.

I, too, use the baby Q-Tips ... they're designed so you can't push them too far in the ear canal and cause any damage. I have to use them with my son ... he has TONS of earwax every day! As long as you use the safety swabs and don't put the Q-Tip too far in the ear canal, you should be fine.

When my daughter was a baby my Dr said not to put anything in her ears that he'd clean them at her visits.

I use to use baby Qtips on my daughter. She just recently had tubes put in so now we have to be extra cautious. Her doc told me if you cant get it with your finger its ok. Wax and anything else will work itself out. Just keep the outside clean.

I was told not to put them in the canal. After bath time, I use the baby q-tips (with the larger tip) just in the opening of the ear to get out any water. You can use them just in the opening but do not push or put them further in.

Yes, you can use Q-Tips on babies - especially the baby sized Q-Tips. The important thing to remember, and this goes for adults as well, is that the Q-Tip is not supposed to go into the ear canal. Clean the outer ear only and near the canal, but never go in (because it will push the wax back and can cause compacting). The wax inside the canal should make it's way out on it's own. If it isn't, then just make sure you get a little warm water in the ear (just water - no soap!) every time you bathe her. It will help soften the wax and encourage it to come out via the normal processes. If it still won't come out, then ask your pediatrician about it. They can remove it at the office with no risk to the child, and if it is a long term problem, they can offer long term remedies.