How future ready are q-tips?

 

Q-tips are everywhere. In contrast to the explicit warning label on each box not to use it for cleaning the ear, the majority of customers around the world are doing so. They are buying billions of qtips each year and the only reason why the consumption is so high is because it is used for removing the earwax. On the first look the procedure looks harmless. The user can remove earwax and won't feel pain. Everything looks fine.

What most newbies doesn't know is, that 700 Million people each year have to visit ENT doctors around the globe only because they have have clogged ear and sometimes an ear infection or more serious diseases. The problem with qtips is that the catastrophic effect will occur over a longer timespan. It takes some months until the cerumen is compressed near the ear drum. Then the person will put his head under water and bacteria will flood into the ear. But the water can't leave the ear canal and an infection will grow exponential.

So if qtips are wrong, what is the recommended alternative? It is called a aspirator bulb. This rubber device is filled with water and the water is pressed into the ear canal. The same technique is used by most ENT doctors to remove the ear wax. It is a but unusual in doing so but it works well enough.

A while ago there was an interesting paper published in which the relationship between using qtips and ear infections was analyzed. the conclusion was that nearly all ear infections are produced by qtips and nothing else. This was determined by two trial groups. The first volunteer group were using qtips, the other not. And then it was compared which persons have to deal with otitis media and which not. Another hint why qtips might be a bad idea to remove cerumen is available if someone analyzes the situation from a technical perspective. Suppose in a small opening there is some dust and somebody moves a qtip back and forth, it is very likely that a remaining fraction of the dust remains in the opening forever and gets compressed at the dead end. And exactly at this location a lot of bacteria can grow.

Suppose somebody feels that his ears are clogged. So it might be caused by compressed earwax. The interesting situation is that a look into the ear canal with a microscope will show, that the cerumen is always located very deep in the canal so that it is impossible to remove it. Deep means, that the cerumen is next to the ear drum and this organ is very sensitive. What wil happen if somebody tries to clean earwax which is very deep in the ear canal? Right, it will hurt the eardrum for sure. Such a situation is not a trivial one but it is serious health condition. The interesting point is, that many people are affected by this issues. 100% of the world population is equipped with ears and all these ears are producing a lot of earwax every day. That means, doing a mistake in this procedure is equal to a global health problem.

Are qtips the number one cause of otitis media?

 

According to a famous academic paper it is the reason. But let us investigate the situation in detail. There is some sort of action sequence which looks natural on the first look but will result into a maximum credible accident which is a technical term for a nuclear disaster.

1. the ear is producing ear wax all the time

2. to remove the ear wax a qtip is used which doesn't produce pain

3. if the qtip are used frequently the cerumen gets compressed near the ear drum and can't be removed anymore

4. Then the patient swims in a lake, bacteria from the water is put into the ear

5. until now no measurable pain is there. Everything looks normal. At the same time there is a great danger for the patient

6. it will take around 3 days until the bacteria behind the cerumen have grown exponential. They have infected the ear canal and the patient will feel a small irrigation.

7. the patient is doing nothing but waits for another day. The cerumen together with the bacteria has become an infection disease and the patient needs for sure an ENT doctor.

8. After another month without investigating the situation in detail the lymph nodes are swollen, the ear infection has become an acute otitis media and the patient is in a life threatening situation.

What we can see is, that the situation starts not very harmful but escalates quickly into a medical emergency. The assumption is that such an action sequence is normal for 700 million patient world wide who are visiting the ENT doctor for acute ear infection.

The recommendation is very simple: monitor your own ear canal and investigate the ear canal of close friends. This will help a lot to prevent infectious diseases.

A cultural history of the cotton swab

 

The q-tip is widely used product. At the same time it is the number reason for many infectious diseases in the world. How can it be, that a simple product has such a paradoxical effect?

Q tips are sold by the industry with the purpose to clean the ear. Sometimes they are used for cleaning mechanical machines but their main purpose is the application in the human ear. The interesting situation around the qtip is, that everybody knows that an ENT doctor doesn't recommend it and at the same time qtips are used frequently. The underlying problem has to do with missing education. There is not a certain instance in charge but it is cultural problem which affects all countries.

Let us analyze the situation from an ENT doctor perspective. The qtip is inserted into the ear, remove some of the cerumen while a small part gets compressed into the ear canals. If the qtip is used frequently the cerumen near the ear drum will become harder to remove And now something interesting happens. If the patient takes a bath and puts the head under water or if the person is diving in a lake water will run into the ear. The cerumen soak up the water and swells up. A compressed swollen cerumen makes it easy for bacteria to grow in the ear canal. This condition is called otitis media.

On the first look this sounds like a minor problem which effects nobody. But the raw numbers make clear that the problem is urgent. Around 700 million people are effected each year by otitis media worldwide. Ear wax removal and clogged ears are the most common reason why patients are visiting an ent doctor. Also a lot of antibiotics is prescribed each year because of this single problem.

Let us try to understand the opposite party. Why are the people using qtips to cleaning the ear. Because otherwise the amount of the cerumen in the ear is growing. The ear is producing ear wax in large quantities every day. The cerumen never runs out by it's own but it has to be removed. If no qtip is used the ear gets clogged and the person can't hear.

The good news is, that there is treatment available which negotiates between both sides (ent doctor and normal users as well). It is the water irrigation method for cleaning the ears. The idea is to replace cotton swab with a small water pump. Warm water is shot into the ear this removes the cerumen very effectively. Also it prevents that the cerumen gets compressed near the ear drum.

There is only a simple problem available. The method is unknown in the public. Only ENT doctors are using water irrigation systems and microsuction systems to remove the ear wax. Normal users at home are preferring qtips. And because of this mismatch many million people world wide are suffering from ear infection.