How do you clean you LO's ears?

[dislocator3972]

I know Q-Tips are not considered safe in anybody's ears, and I'm especially disinclined to try them in the small, delicate ears of my baby.

Do you use saline? Peroxide? The last time I had some gunk my Dr. told me to rinse using peroxide (or maybe it was rubbing alcohol). Just let it sit in there for 30 seconds and all the gunk would dissolve and drain out.

I've always wanted to try ear candles, but not on my child.

So how do you do it?

[paxye]

I use a washcloth on the outer ear when we give a bath... nothing else... I don't see the need to clean in the ear at all, if there is a buildup it just works its way out...

[blumooned]

Originally Posted by paxye

I use a washcloth on the outer ear when we give a bath... nothing else... I don't see the need to clean in the ear at all, if there is a buildup it just works its way out...

That's exactly what I do too. If some does work its way out, I wipe it out with my finger, a tissue, or a washcloth.

I once heard, "Never put anything smaller than your elbow inside your ear," & thought this was pretty good advice.

[GreenGranolaMama]

Originally Posted by paxye

I use a washcloth on the outer ear when we give a bath... nothing else... I don't see the need to clean in the ear at all, if there is a buildup it just works its way out...

This is what I do as well.... although my DS seems like an ear wax champ lol

[lifeguard]

Hmmm... I use q-tips. I just use them to remove what I can see. I never put them in his ear canal at all.

[gardenmommy]

I've always used q-tips, since they are small enough and soft enough that they work really well. However, I just use them in the outside, never inside. We've never had a problem, although it doesn't seem like the babies really ever have needed much cleaning anyway.

[Llyra]

I don't clean their ears.

I do clean the visible outside parts of the ear, with warm water, a washcloth, and sometimes a gentle soap, when necessary. But I've never cleaned the inside of any of my kids' ears, at any age. The ear is a self-cleaning organ, and earwax is a natural part of the functioning of the ear. The only time earwax has been removed from any of my kids' ears is when we suspected ear infection and were considering doing antibiotics, in which case enough wax was removed to see the ear clearly.

[fruitfulmomma]

Peroxide? The last time I had some gunk my Dr. told me to rinse using peroxide (or maybe it was rubbing alcohol)

Peroxide... and you can buy a little tool at the drug store to scoop out the gunk, just like the doctor would use, if you want to. It has a ring on the end of it, so it doesn't push stuff back further like something solid would.

[texaspeach]

I use safety qtpis but only on the outside. after they're gone I'll just use a wash cloth. ds is waxy but the wax is doing its job and working its way out of the ear.

[Carhootel]

mostly my finger

[BrittneyMarie]

Originally Posted by Carhootel

mostly my finger

haha! same here, unless they get really bad, then ill use a safety swab. my dd inherited her daddy's excessive ear wax. its gross!

[bajamergrrl]

I use the safety q-tips to remove what's already coming out and to get the build-up that accumulates under the folds on the top of the ear. Sometimes I just use my finger.