I don't know if I'm in the minority here but I don't think I've ever cleaned my kids ears. If I see ear wax I'll just use my finger and get it but for the most part I don't mess with their ears much.
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Nope. Our pediatrician told us to never stick anything in his ears.
She has taken a couple chunks of wax out during well baby visits though.
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I do, every so often I use a wet washcloth during bath and wipe their ears. It's always waxy!
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I wonder if anyone on here uses those Asian ear cleaners? This image is from Google. I've used this a couple times on my daughter. My brother used to clean my younger sisters' ears all the time! I remember my parents using the ear cleaner on me (when I was a small child) and it was very relaxing. My non-Asian husband thinks these are disgusting.
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@tofuwad: I have but wouldn't on my kids. The ones I use don't look like that though!
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@tofuwad: I use this exact one! I'm Korean, and my mom always cleaned out my ears as a kid. Maybe TMI, but I have to clean DH's or else he'll get impacted ears. DS seems to take after Dad, so I've cleaned his ears a few times. It's hard, though, and of course the pediatrician and all of Western medicine says not to so... Yeah.
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@ineebee: westerners have a different type of ear wax. I wonder if that recommendation is based on the wet ear wax type.
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/what-your-earwax-says-about-your-ancestry -
I use a wash cloth every so often. If I see a hunk of wax I don't let it stay there but I don't ever use Qtips or anything like that.
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@oliviaoblivia: mind. Blown
I have dry flaky ear wax (Chinese) and my girls both have yellow sticky earwax and it is stinky! -
@regberadaisy: since I've learned about this I've pretty much made it my mission to educate the world.
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@oliviaoblivia: wow. Who would have known??
I do not clean out there ears, other than gently scraping with my pinky nail if I can see anything (especially while nursing since I'm just sitting there...) I rarely clean my own ears with a qtip- I have an aunt who is deaf in one ear because she slipped while doing that!
Eta: we are all white and all have yellow sticky ear wax. I never noticed it smelling but I believe them.
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@oliviaoblivia: haha thanks. Because really, who talks about ear wax LOL
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No. The pediatrician said only to get out what I can see with a wash cloth or my finger, but to be careful not to push it in. Q-tips are so bad, but I can't help but use them for myself!!
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@regberadaisy: this was the first opening I've had in years!
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Not with q tips, but sometimes I'll rub coconut oil behind his ears to get some of the crusties out!
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Just a washcloth externally.
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@oliviaoblivia: Woah, I'm Korean and I definitely have the dry white/pale yellow flaky earwax and can get away with not wearing deodorant outside of summers!
DS has lots of earwax and its definitely stickier and a darker yellow/orange color. Probably because I'm Korean, I definitely am pro-ear cleaning. I use Q-tips and go around the lobe and just inside - nothing too deep - and I still get plenty out. DS enjoys the sensation because he sits perfectly still. Then I use Aquaphor and a dry washcloth to clean behind his ears and keep the weird crusty skin away.
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@oliviaoblivia: I have heard this too but it is not true for us. I have the dry, white colored ear wax (Asian per article). However, both of my girls, who are 100% Asian have the wet, darker colored type wax. Their ear wax is very different from both mine's and DH's, so could it be related to diet somehow?
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@oliviaoblivia: I'm Asian with wet earwax and smelly armpits. This makes me sad. DH and the kids have dry earwax. I asked my sister, and she has dry earwax. What is wrong with me??
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Omg I am so weird and loved cleaning LO's ears when she was a baby, she would get dry skin all around the top half and it was very satisfying to clean out
Her earwax would also kind of clump up in the middle of her ear opening and so I would actually carefully pull it out with tweezers. I didn't have to stick them in her ear or anything and yea I still know I prob shouldn't have done that! But this was when she would stay still for things like that. Now I just use coconut oil or aquaphor to get the stuff off behind her ears (what is up with that anyway?!) and I will wipe out her outer ear with a washcloth or tissue if it looks gunky.
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I will wipe where I can see but that's it.
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@petitenoisette: @MoonMoon: coconut oil for behind the ears is brilliant! DD2 gets that too and it drives me crazy because it's so hard to get off!
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I have to clean her ears or you can see it coming out! Yuck! I use the baby qtips that are thicker so you can't go deep at all, just barely in the ear. They work great and get out a ton of wax.
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@oliviaoblivia: fascinating. I'm pretty darn white (well, was adopted so I know I'm a 1/4 Mexican but otherwise know nothing about my ancestry) and have drier wax and haven't worn deodorant a day in my life because I don't stink at all, even if I sweat a bit!
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@yin: did you get the sparse body hair at least. I'm a furry monkey with stinky armpits.
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@oliviaoblivia: I lucked out with sparse body hair.
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I clean them with a Q-tip a couple of times a week. I just clean the outside of the ear, and right where the water likes to sit at the opening of the canal. I don't stick it in the canal unless there is a giant chunk of wax . He's really good about lying absolutely still when I clean them.
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@coopsmama: I'm jealous
this was really interesting "Today most East Asians and nearly all Koreans lack a chemical in their armpits that bacteria munch on to make body odor, because they carry this variant of the ABCC11 gene."
both my kids are wax monsters so I have to clean out their ears or else they smell and are disgusting.
I also totally have the "wet" kind of ear wax and stink so I guess I'm mostly related to a Neanderthal lol
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@oliviaoblivia: I was LOL ing at your early comments in thread... you probably saw the title heading and were like yes! Finally!
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@Foodnerd81: So much cleaning of the ears while nursing at first! I was always picking at something. His nails were kept so perfectly trimmed!
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@oliviaoblivia: I've talked about this with friends and they look at me like I have 2 heads.
I have the flaky kind and my brothers have the waxy kind. My mom used to clean my ears with the Asian ear pick.
Both LOs have the waxy kind and I just wipe the outside of their ears with a washcloth.
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@junebugsmama: it's my day in the sun!
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I'm asian and have yellow sticky wax. My eldest and youngest have the same wax and I clean them with a qtip after every shower. The middle one, however has dry cakey wax and nothing has ever come out with a qtip. I finally took a look inside his ears and there's a lump in there. So gross and I want to pick it out with an asian pick but I know he won't stay still long enough for me to do it. The pediatrician recommends using Debrox but again it won't stay still long enough for it be effective so I have to catch him when he's asleep with his head tilted in the correct position.
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@oliviaoblivia: @yin: haha I think the girls got DH's body hair gene. I can see back hair already; poor things!
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