Q-tips No Longer Recommended

I think all of us have grown up with Q-tips being used in our ears as kids to clean out the ear wax. However, these days it is definitely not recommended by the medical community and can lead to health concerns such as poor hearing and in rare cases, a punctured ear drum. I know that our pediatrician said "nothing larger than an elbow" should be put in the ear. I have to admit I do use a tissue on my fingertip on the outer part of the ear. However, I have never used Q-tips as there is really no control over how far we can push them in and I just don't want to do any damage. There are also over the counter kits to help with ear wax if there is a lot of build up or your doctor can remove it safely in his/her office. Here is an article from web MD to help provide you with some additional info. But, feel free to do your own research. That is always the best proof! http://blogs.webmd.com/all-ears/2006/01/earwax-good.html