The only way you should remove earwax
<p>Despite common practice, the last thing you should be doing is popping cotton tips in your ear to clean our wax. Here, all the details on earwax and the right way to get rid of it.</p><p><strong>Put the cotton tips back on the shelf</strong></p><p>Earwax is a combination of cerumen, which is produced by your body’s sebaceous glands to keep the skin in your ear moist, and dead skin cells, which your ear canal sheds just like the skin on the rest of your body.</p><p>Although it might not seem like it, your ears are designed to clean themselves by pushing the earwax out of the canal on its own. So when you use a cotton tip to clean your ear canal, it disrupts your skin’s natural shedding process and can actually cause your ears to make more wax. Furthermore, over time, you could push the wax back in your ear canal and create a blockage that needs to be removed by your doctor.</p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/health/wellbeing/2014/10/natural-ways-to-help-keep-your-blood-pressure-normal/" target="_blank">Related link: Natural ways to keep your blood pressure normal</a></span></strong></em></p><p><strong>How should you clean your ears?</strong></p><p>The safest way to clean your ears is to buy ear drops from the pharmacist. Drip a few into the ear, lie on your side with the treated ear upside for a few minutes, then tilt your head the other way to let the fluid and wax drain out. You may need to repeat this a few times. You can also soften impacted earwax with a few drops of olive oil, baby oil or hydrogen peroxide. </p><p>NOTE: If your ears are really blocked, see a GP, who will syringe the wax out or refer you to a clinician who can remove blockages using a special curette or spoon.</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/health/wellbeing/2014/09/ita-buttrose-reveals-her-secret-for-a-happy-life/" target="_blank">Ita Buttrose reveals her secret for a happy life</a></span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/health/wellbeing/2015/01/is-milk-really-good-for-you/" target="_blank">Is milk really good for your bones?</a></span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/health/wellbeing/2014/07/get-fit-in-your-pjs/" target="_blank">Get fit in you PJs</a></span></strong></em></p>
