Earwax is a secret secreted by the sulfur glands. Almost 2,000 sulfur glands produce about 20 grams of sulfur per month. Sulfur has several functions: cleansing, protecting and lubricating. But, despite all the benefits, sometimes it is required to cleanse the ears of it. One of the means by which you can do this is hydrogen peroxide. Let's find out if this tool can clean the ears of children.
Why and how do they clean their ears from wax
When a lot of sulfur accumulates, it begins to come out, and due to sulfur plugs, hearing can decrease. This does not look aesthetically pleasing, and it brings inconvenience, therefore, requires intervention. It will not be possible to wash the wax out of the ear canals with water during daily hygiene procedures, since it has a very viscous waxy consistency. It can be cleaned by adults and children with the help of mechanical action (cotton swab) or with the help of special agents that dissolve sulfur plugs.
It is not entirely safe for young children to clean their ears with a cotton swab, because they are fidgets and cannot sit still for a minute. You could accidentally damage your baby's ear. Therefore, it is preferable for children to use solutions. There are ready-made pharmaceutical solutions that are approved for use in children: Aqua Maris Oto, Otipax, A-Cerumen and others. If there are no such drugs at hand, then you can use hydrogen peroxide.
How to clean your child's ears with hydrogen peroxide
The usual care of the baby's ear consists only in wiping the auricle with a cotton swab moistened with olive, peach oil or plain water (for a newborn, boiled is better). It is not necessary to resort to cleaning the ears of children so often and in special cases, when a plug has really formed, and it interferes with the baby. But with regard to the health of children, you always need to be reinsured and consult a doctor, even if at first glance the problem looks frivolous. Therefore, if the child has ear pain, if the cerumen plug is really too dense or there are doubts about the correctness of their actions, it is better to contact an otorhinolaryngologist. After examining the child's ears, the doctor will either carry out the procedure himself or give recommendations to the parents.
The doctors' recommendations for getting rid of dense sulfur in children are usually as follows. For the procedure, hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of 3 percent, a cotton swab and warm boiled water are taken. The child is laid on its side. During instillation, the earlobe is gently pulled down and back. 2-3 drops of a product warmed up to body temperature are buried in the ear. The child remains in this position for several minutes, the instilled medicine should foam a little at this time. After that, the ear is first blotted with dry cotton wool, and then the entire auricle is wiped from the sulfur residues with clean cotton wool dipped in warm water. Everything is repeated with the second ear. It is more convenient to carry out manipulations together, but you can try one. At the time of cleaning, the baby will have to be somehow distracted, you can offer some kind of toy, turn on music, talk to him.
One procedure should be enough to dissolve the sulfur plug. Often and on a regular basis, such manipulations should not be resorted to, because hydrogen peroxide, in addition to dissolving solid sulfur particles, also affects healthy cells, causes minor burns, and dries out the skin at the point of contact. It is worth returning to using this preparation for cleaning the ears only in the event of congestion. If traffic jams are formed often, and unpleasant sensations arise, then it is worth consulting an ENT and finding out the cause of this condition.
It is worth refraining from using this drug in children under one year old, and even more so in newborns. For children from birth, the more gentle medications mentioned above have been developed. You can clean your ears with hydrogen peroxide for children. In this case, the age of the child must be taken into account, and before the procedure, it is advisable to visit a doctor and exclude inflammatory ear diseases.
It is also worth remembering that it is necessary to perform all kinds of manipulations with the ears (cleaning with solutions, cotton swabs and other handy means) as rarely as possible, especially for children. This is not provided by nature. A person needs only to carry out daily hygiene procedures, and they consist in washing the auricle with water during the evening and morning toilet. The rest will be done by nature itself.
