ear wax

[4Cygnets]

My 6mo old has a lot of earwax (so the dr tells me!!)

What do I do??

[toymama]

The doc told me Andrew did too. She told me just to keep it clean around the outside of the ear and that it is normal for some people to produce more ear wax than other people.

[cobluegirl]

Debrox works well but is very sticky..another good thing is just plain peroxide..if he will let you.

[SueQ]

I heard that ear wax is good. It helps protect against harmful bacteria. I'll try and see if I can find the source of my info and post it here when I find it.

[Havilah]

My 18 month old just walked by with a q-tip in his ear (out of the trash I presume :shrug). He harvested a glob of dark amber goo. :sick

Probably not the method your doctor will recommend ;)

[4Cygnets]

I have a fear of that happening!! ;)

[cobluegirl]

at least it wasn't up the nose...hehe...

[Havilah]

that's probably next :lol

[LadybugSam]

lol! you ladies are too funny!

my son has an abnormally abundant supply of ear wax as well. The best time to clean it is after the bath, its not as hard or as sticky.. I use a baby washcloth to do it (or his baby towel) I don't use q-tips because my docter said that "if you can't reach it with your finger, you're going to far in the ear"

but like PP said its a natural barrier to protect the ear so its not abad thing other than the fact that you have to clean the outside more often.

[cobluegirl]

you know it isn't a bad thing....so why do the drs and nurses always point it out and want you to do something about it...grrr...My kids do too...I think warm water and rubbing outside the ear is supposed to help too.

[findingjoy]

Both my kids had what seemed like a lot of ear wax as babies and toddlers, but my ds's decreased with age. My dd is still a baby/toddler. I agree that ear wax is just a normal and natural substance. Some people produce more than others. It moves out of the ear on it's own so I just keep the outer part of the ear clean as the wax naturally makes it's way out.

[lmgeenw]

From what I have heard, as long as it is coming out of the ear, it is not a problem. If it stays in the ear then it can cause hearing problems. My husband actually had a huge ball of wax in one ear as a child and no one knew until he failed a hearing test in school. He still remembers having his ear flushed out and hearing birds chirp, the wind blow and all sorts of sounds that he couldn't hear before.

[GodisGood]

From what I have heard, as long as it is coming out of the ear, it is not a problem. If it stays in the ear then it can cause hearing problems. My husband actually had a huge ball of wax in one ear as a child and no one knew until he failed a hearing test in school. He still remembers having his ear flushed out and hearing birds chirp, the wind blow and all sorts of sounds that he couldn't hear before.


:wow Poor kid. I'm half tempted to get my 4 year old in to see if that's why I have to :hissyfit at him to get him to do/listen to anything I say :rolleyes

[bostonsmama]

ive always been told to leave it alone too. i use a washcloth on the outside (or my fingernail ;) ) and leave everything else. it is a natural barrier to prevent water from going into and sitting in the inner ear, and helps protect from harmful bacteria, etc. just like the op's have stated.

i took ds in for a checkup to see if he had an ear infection when he was around 6 mos. old. the dr. stuck a long thing that looked like a very skinny crocheting needle into his ear and pulled out some wax, it wasnt that much, but i said, "oh gross" and he said, "no--its totally normal, i just wanted to get a better look...." and then afterwards he said not to worry about and to never ever try to do that at home, he was just trying to get a better view of his ear, yadda yadda yadda....

so--i say leave it :)

[allisonintx]

My dh has problematic earwax. If he doesn't use a product to keep it at bay, it will rapidly fill his ears entirely and become empacted so that we have to have it removed by a physician (at huge expense)

The doc taught us to use Colace drops (yes, the stool softener :grin) a drop or two each day. It makes his dry cakey(yea, I know, tmi) earwax more pliable so that it can work its way out on its own like a normal person.

[Allison]

My oldest has lots of earwax like his father. The doctor says to just irrigate it with a nasal aspirator and peroxide or warm water after a bath.
On a related note, he was misdiagnosed with an ear infection (has never had one) the other day by another doctor in the practice. His ped. looked at his ear two days later and was very upset because there was no way the other doc could have seen past the wax to tell if the ear was infected (it wasn't) and had prescribed antibiotics. :|

[BeckaBlue]

my dh makes a ton of ear wax, he cleans just the outside everyday and cover a full qtip :sick

ds also makes a ton that im constantly cleaning off, today alone was 3 big globs!! abbey makes quite a bit too, but not as much, if she skips a day shes not gonna have it on her earlobes or neck atleast!!

I make a lot, but it's extremely dry and rarely will come out on it's own, i hafta do my ears after a shower and w/ a wet qtip and i still usually can't hear too great cuz i can't get it out enough. drivin dh nuts cuz ill raise my voice what i think is just a lil bit and dh says i was totally yelling :/ but i guess that could be too cuz my hearing was affected from ear infections :shrug

Allison-is that stuff OTC?? sounds just like mine

[Mother of Sons]

My husband lost his hearing for awhile due to earwax. My youngest also has a ton. Most of the time I just wipe the outside but every couple of months I go in there with a q tip just a little bit. For myself, I can't go without my q tips. I have to get that stuff out!

[GodisGood]

My dh has lost his hearing as well due to ear wax. I read recently that if one uses a cell phone a lot, like my dh, it can increase ear wax and cause hearing loss.

[snlmama]

My ds has too much earwax and it sometimes gets hard and balled up and hurts/causes hearing issues (we've been in twice suspecting an ear infection only to be told it was "just wax"). The dr. rec. that we use warmed olive oil or some drops in his ear to soften it up. The drops are called carbonoxamine (sp?) and work really well. The olive oil works also, but the drops are easier to get in a child's ear.
If the dr. didn't suggest doing anything about it, I probably wouldn't worry, though. :shrug It's OK to have ear wax and it's only a problem if it's not coming out on it's own.