Method to clean Ears for Toddlers

Dear Headspin...this is what i do to clean my DD's ears

when she sleeps,i take a ear bud and clean all the dirt around the corners and the ear flaps(i take care not put the buds inside her ear hole)...i just clean around the corners of the hole

for inside,i take a clean towel and roll it so that it takes the form of a ear bud(keep the end sharp) and then put it inside..this would take small amount of water that might go inside during bath...

A link for you

Can I clean my toddler's ears with a cotton swab? | BabyCenter

Hope that helps

 

To be frank, except for wiping the moisture around the ear (its fine the way you are doing it)...there seems to be no concern to clean the ears. The ears have their own cleaning mechanism and things don't go wrong unless there is an infection and infection is not caused by just moisture.
So there is nothing to panic about cleaning ears....its fine even if you didn't do it so tediously.

Ear buds are harmful for 2 reasons:
1. Unsure of the materials used.
2. You never know how deep you are going when you put it inside. But then again its a harm only when inserted with pressure. Make sure you always do this under supervision and don't let the child do it on his own.

If you are very concerned, just get his pediatrician to look into your child's ear on your next visit, ask him if there is any wax, then you may need to clean....if not...just let it be....its ok!!
Happy parenting!

 

I use moist Johnson earbuds to clean my daughter's ears. It is easier to clean with them. I take care that i dont go too far inside while cleaning. I put her head in my lap and clean while talking with her. I use torch so that i can see where the ear bud is going.

I would suggest not to clean the ears while the kid is sleeping. If the kid wakes up suddenly, you might hurt the ear.

 

Human external ear contains fine hair (technically called, "cilia") inside. These 'cilia' are different from routine hair.......in that cilia, promote movement of the particles sticking to it, by a wavy movement....towards the external opening.

This 'ciliary clearance' is active in every infant's ear. As such, infant's ears do not need periodical cleaning. Nothing should be used, in kids external ear. No Johnson's buds, no cotton swabs. By doping periodic swiping, you would damage these fine 'cilia' and would permanently damage the kid ear's self cleansing mechanism.

Second most important information is, the black stuff, secreted inside external ear , called earwax (technically called, 'cerumen') is NOT a secretory product, meant to be taken out periodically. This earwax, which is extremely bitter in taste contains natural chemicals, which would kill any insect entering the ear. This earwax is created by Mother Nature to protect the thin ear drum inside from insects.

I repeat, the presence of black earwax (cerumen) in itself is NOT an abormality. It is there to protect the eardrum. However in some cases, the normally moist earwax becomes dry and blocks the ear canal, thereby leading to pain. Only when there is pain, it has to be moistened with eardrops containing wax solvents (soliwax), then, the excess earwax can be removed (by a technically qaulified person, a Doctor or an ENT specialist).

Removing the earwax periodically or swiping the external ear periodically by buds or cottom swabs, should NOT be done at all.