On a Q-tip box, one of the warnings is not to use the q-tips in your ear canals. Of course, everyone uses q-tips to clean ears by putting the tip in the ear canal. Do manufacturers actually expect this type of advice to be followed, or is it merely on the box for liability reasons?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: This is, of course, just a disclaimer from lawyers to make sure the cotton swab industry isn’t held liable for reckless use of its product. AP’s ears are naturally low-wax, so I don’t need to deep clean them like this. (What’s that you say?) The medical profession nowadays really does seem to advise against using firm pointy physical probes deep in the ears. The online medical encyclopedia from the National Library of Medicine, in its article “Wax Blockage,” says, “Individuals who suffer from frequent blockages may benefit from weekly irrigations. Never attempt to clean the ear by placing any object into the ear canal (such as a Q-tip). It is better to clean the outer ear canal by using a cloth or tissue paper wrapped around your finger.” http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000979.htm
Be aware that cotton swabs (Q-Tip is a registered trademark of Chesebrough-Ponds) are useful for a million cleaning, polishing, and other applications, so just because they’re out of favor for ear cleaning doesn’t mean they’re not incredibly useful.