Day 413
Mar 19 2008
Another day of studying = another snapshot.
Medical Knowledge Of The Day #1:
Key Word: Qtip
Your external ear canal is a well-known wax producer. Earwax is good. Earwax (cerumen) protects you from bacteria, bugs, and from damage to your EAM (external acoustic meatus). For some reason people have this uncontrollable urge to remove the wax with a Qtip. DON'T DO IT! Earwax is only produced by the outer half of your EAM and it slowly moves towards the outside of your ear. It will get rid of itself. By jamming a stick with a fuzzy end on it into your ear you push the wax (filled with dust and bugs and bacteria) further down the canal in the opposite direction it wants to go. And there it stays. If you keep jamming wax down every day, you will soon end up with a cerumen impaction and you won't be able to hear your ENT doc telling you not to use Qtips. Not only that, Qtips can scratch your EAM, leading to an external ear infection, they can damage your ear drum, leading to hearing loss, and they can leave little/big bits of cotton in your ear, leading to inflammation or infection.
I know it feels good. I know. But you must resist the urge.
Day 413
Mar 19 2008
Another day of studying = another snapshot.
Medical Knowledge Of The Day #1:
Key Word: Qtip
Your external ear canal is a well-known wax producer. Earwax is good. Earwax (cerumen) protects you from bacteria, bugs, and from damage to your EAM (external acoustic meatus). For some reason people have this uncontrollable urge to remove the wax with a Qtip. DON'T DO IT! Earwax is only produced by the outer half of your EAM and it slowly moves towards the outside of your ear. It will get rid of itself. By jamming a stick with a fuzzy end on it into your ear you push the wax (filled with dust and bugs and bacteria) further down the canal in the opposite direction it wants to go. And there it stays. If you keep jamming wax down every day, you will soon end up with a cerumen impaction and you won't be able to hear your ENT doc telling you not to use Qtips. Not only that, Qtips can scratch your EAM, leading to an external ear infection, they can damage your ear drum, leading to hearing loss, and they can leave little/big bits of cotton in your ear, leading to inflammation or infection.
I know it feels good. I know. But you must resist the urge.