Your baby’s ears are very sensitive, and they might have to be cleaned after some time. This becomes a bit difficult to do. You might have many questions like how to clean baby’s ears? When to clean them? Etc, etc. This article will help you to understand everything about the baby’s ear.
Ears are one of the vital organs of the human body, and dealing with them will require a lot of patience and carefulness. Just like we use baby shampoo we should also pay attention to the baby’s ears. Therefore, it is necessary to know how much to clean them, when to clean them and how to clean them. One mistake while cleaning might lead to bad consequences.
Ear Infections
Not taking care of the baby’s ears or health overall sometimes might lead to ear infections. Ear infections start from the baby getting a cold or having a sore throat. The infections usually get to the ear quite fast for infants than adults.
Another way that babies can get ear infections is if the ear wax is accumulated inside the ear canal. This leads to ear infections and also blocks the ear canal.To avoid these, the baby’s ears must be cleaned out at regular intervals.
When To Clean?
Earwax is normal to a certain amount. However, if you find that it is accumulating inside the ear, then you need to clean it.
If you find your baby often trying to scratch inside the ear or cry while pulling its ears, try to look inside their ear. It could be that the ear wax has accumulated inside and might have stiffened. Too much of that might cause an ear infection.
If you find that the earwax looks different or there is a milky white-colored pus type discharge, there is a high chance of ear infection. Ensure to immediately consult a doctor.
What Is Earwax Build-Up?
A human ear always secretes a certain amount of earwax. Therefore, an ear-wax build-up is very rare, especially in infants.
However, earwax build-up might occur due to these reasons.
- If cotton swabs are used to clean the ears. The swabs push the wax further inside the ear canal, and it starts getting accumulated there.
- If the baby scratches the ear too much. Try to prevent your baby from constantly poking inside their ears. This causes the wax to go further inside.
- Wearing earplugs also causes the wax to go inside the canal. Therefore, avoid making your infant wear earplugs.
In short, you have to prevent the wax from going deep into the canal. If the wax keeps accumulating there, there are high chances of getting a bad ear infection.
How To Clean Baby Ears?
You need not clean their ears by these methods every day. It’s advised that you should clean them once in 1-2 months. Earwax is an essential secretion in the ear, and cleaning too much might defy its purpose.
You will find a lot of ear cleaning products for babies in the market. However, it is safe not to opt for them. Ears usually do not require to be cleaned that much.
There are two ways to clean the baby’s ears.
1. Washcloth
This is the simplest way of cleaning a baby’s ear. You can follow this every day after bathing the baby. All you have to do is take a washcloth or a cotton ball, dip it into lukewarm water. Squeeze the extra water out, and clean outside the ear with this. A bit of water will get in the wax portion. Excessive wax will easily come out.
Make sure not to push the cloth or the ball inside the ear. The water might get inside the canal and cause discomfort to the baby. Or the wax might get pushed inside the canal.
2. Eardrops
Though this seems to be the easiest method to clean your baby’s ears. However, use them only when the pediatrician advises you to. Do not go to a medical shop and buy any eardrops, as this might cause more harm than good.
- If the wax build-up is high, pediatricians usually recommend a specific eardrop that will suit your baby.
- Before applying the eardrops, make sure that your baby is calm. Try to distract them by giving them their toys. Once they are calm, take them in your lap. You should be facing the affected ear.
- Put the drops inside the ear. Make sure to follow the doctor’s recommendation and use only the required amount. Be careful, the baby might get afraid now, as the drops go inside. Try to keep them calm during this time.
- Wait for a couple of minutes, and the built-up wax will come out as discharge. Follow the washcloth method and clean the ear lightly. This will ensure that the wax that is coming out will not accumulate again.
- According to the prescription, keep following the routine for as many days as required. Be careful, do not push the cloth too hard inside, as the wax might end up getting deeper.
Tips For Cleaning
There are certain do’s and don’ts that one must follow while cleaning the ears.
Do’s
- Always use a clean washcloth. Avoid the cotton balls as much as you can.
- If the baby feels extreme discomfort after the eardrops, consult the doctor immediately.
- If you spot any unusual discharge or the baby feels uncomfortable, make sure to go to the doctor first.
Don’ts
- Do not use any earbud or pointed objects to clean the baby’s ears. This would make the wax go deeper or might hurt the inside.
- Do not put water inside the ear by using a spray bottle.
- Avoid cleaning with cold water. Lukewarm or warm water will actually help.
- You need not clean the baby’s ear too often. Also, make sure while cleaning that you are not too hard. Gently clean the ears.
Preventing Ear Infections
Just knowing how to clean baby’s ear is not enough. One must follow certain things to ensure that the baby does not have an infected ear.
- Vaccinate your baby. Ear infections usually come from sore throats or catching a cold. Make sure they are immune to influenza and flu.
- Wash your hands properly with soap before trying to clean their ears. You must make sure that no extra germs get inside their ears.
- Make sure that they aren’t exposed to cigarette smoke. It is clinically proven that cigarette smoke has a high chance of causing ear infections.
- Do not allow your baby to nap and have a bottle with them.
- Make sure to keep them at a distance from anyone in the family if they are sick.
Consult A Doctor
While cleaning their ear, do not try to go too deep with the cloth. Cleaning at regular intervals should be enough for the baby.
However, if you find certain types of discharge or even blood, do not try to handle that on your own. You cannot be sure if it is an ear infection or canal blockage. Maybe something sharp was poked inside the ear. Take the baby immediately to the doctor.
If your baby feels discomfort in their ear, mention that to the doctor. They will look into the matter carefully.
If it’s just a canal blockage or a minor infection, the doctor might just give an antibiotic eardrop for a few days. However, if the case is worse, there might be a small operation.
Taking matters into your hand is always not the best idea. Therefore remember, if there is a problem in the part of the ear that you cannot see, leave that to the doctor.
Take Care!
We understand that having a baby is quite a task. However, you need to make sure that they are always in their pink of health. Giving them nutritious food, some good probiotics, and making them exercise will help them boost their immunity faster. A healthy baby can endure almost anything that will come across on its way.
There are certain home remedies that you can follow to prevent ear infections. One of the most effective ones is the warm oil method. Mild heat a little of coconut or sesame oil and pour it into the baby’s ear. After a few minutes, roll them over and put the oil in the other ear. However, use this method only once a year. Overdoing this might cause certain problems in the ear canal.
Also, make sure to give your child lots of fluid to drink if they have caught a cold. As these infections might rise to the ear canal. If they stay hydrated, the risk of the infections reaching up to the ear will be quite low.
The main objective is to clean the baby’s ear as much is required. Ear-wax is actually helpful secretion, hence, there is no need to be worried about them. If you clean your baby’s ear at regular intervals, you need not be afraid much.
