Ways to remove ear wax at home
A few months back, I rushed to the ENT because of unbearable ear pain and what the doctor told me shocked me. I had been cleaning my ears the wrong way and had resulted in a minor injury. After a course of antibiotics, the doctor suggested alternative ways to clean ears and here is how you should clean your ears to avoid injury.
Ear wax is a natural substance that protects the ear, but it also causes discomfort and difficulties while hearing. The ear is a sensitive part of the body and it requires immense care while cleaning. Most people use some pin, key or earbuds (popularly called Q-tips) to clean the wax, but this only creates a bigger problem. These push the wax deep inside the ear and make it difficult to clean. To solve this problem, here are the ways of cleaning ear wax at home.
• Saline water
It is also called saline salt. Mix one tbsp of salt into a ½ cup of warm water. Soak some cotton in it then take out the cotton and pour some drops in your ear and tilt it. Wait for the wax to get soften and clean it with a dry cloth.
• Baby oil
Take a medicine dropper, fill it with baby oil. Tilt your head and pour some drops into your ear, after that place a cotton ball inside the ear to prevent the oil from coming out. After some time remove the cotton ball and drain out the oil.
• Vinegar and alcohol
This is a very old remedy that is used to remove wax from the ear. Mix vinegar and rubbing alcohol in a bowl, soak a cotton ball in the solution. Tilt the affected ear and squeeze 2-3 drops into the ear, wait for few minutes and then turn your ear in opposite direction so that the solution and the wax come out. Then clean your ear.
• Olive oil
Olive oil will soften the ear wax and makes it easy to clean also its antiseptic properties reduce the risk of infection. You have to apply it in the same as mentioned in baby oil. You can also use mustard oil.
• Garlic and oil
This remedy not only cleans the wax but it also helps in reducing earache. Add 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan, heat the oil and crush one garlic clove and mix it in the oil. Add 2-3 drops of this mixture into the ear. Wait for 5 minutes and then clean the ear.
How do you clean your ears?
