It's a good visit for me and the patient. Flushing wax out of a child's ear is far from glamorous, but I find it satisfying when a big ball of wax emerges and suddenly the child says, "Oh, my gosh, I can hear again!" The parent is usually a little disgusted to see how much wax can emerge from the child's ear; invariably she asks what she can do to prevent the wax buildup. Relax, I say, God made ear wax for a reason; it helps to keep the pH of the ear canal balanced, and it helps to prevent infections of the ear canal. If wax builds up such that a child is complaining he can't hear well, a parent can use an over-the-counter solution that softens the wax, which will work its way out of the ear. If not, it takes about two minutes at the pediatrician's office to flush out the wax. I do caution parents not to use Q-tips to go digging for wax. Q-tips cause too many ear canal abrasions from forceful probing by parents. In fact, Q-tips usually push the wax in further.
So ear wax is your friend, I always tell parents. It's a good thing; don't do battle with it, and certainly not with Q-tips. In the not-so-common instance when the buildup actually prevents a child from hearing well, a pediatrician will find it very gratifying to flush it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment