When bathing a baby, the most controversial issue is washing the ears. Many people say that getting their ears wet can cause them to lose their hearing. Moreover, for a long time, special attention was not paid to the care of this part of the body in infants. This tendency persisted even among community midwives. Today, fortunately, there are many preparations supporting this activity. Learn the facts and myths about cleaning your baby’s ears!
Firstly, it is a myth that the ears can be cleaned rarely, once in a while. It is now known that this procedure should be performed relatively regularly, preferably twice a week. Neglecting this part of the body can lead to the development of ear inflammation. This is because the wax on the pinna and ear canal accumulates dirt and bacteria.
It is true, however, that too frequent care treatments in this place, e.g. every day, can lead not only to the overproduction of earwax, but also to skin dryness. So be regular and moderate.
- Don’t worry if your baby’s earwax is dark in color. It is a myth that this type of secretion indicates a disease – on the contrary, it can have different colors and consistencies: beige, orange, dark brown, as well as a thin or thick form. Keep in mind that baby earwax is different from that of adults.
- If a crust appears behind the baby’s ears, it signals improper care. Sometimes, e.g. during feeding, food will flow down the baby’s chin, drying up around the ears. To prevent this problem, you should clean the area regularly. When a crust forms, it can be removed with a cotton swab or while washing the baby’s head.
- Another myth that can be very dangerous for the baby’s health is the need to remove wax from the entire ear. The only place where we remove it is only the one embedded inside the pinna! This is a natural process, so you must not clean the entire ear and reach too deep, because we can hurt the child.
- Do not scrape cradle cap, which looks like yellow-brown scales and settles on the earlobes and inside the pinna. It appears as a result of too strong work of the sebaceous glands. Neglecting this problem, however, can lead to inflammation, as it clogs the skin. The easiest way to remove cradle cap is to apply olive oil to these places. When it softens, just remove it with a cotton swab. If it occurs often, consider using special preparations to eliminate cradle cap, which naturally soften the skin.
- Do not use cotton buds as you can push earwax into the ear canal. It is best to wash your ears during the bath, soaping and soaking the auricle with your finger. Rinse the soap with water – thanks to these activities, you will soften the wax and its removal will be easier. After bathing, place a gauze soaked in warm, boiled water on your index finger and clean the baby’s earlobe and behind the ear. Then dry the washed areas.
- Care will be facilitated by specialized preparations for removing excess wax. It is enough to apply them to the ears once or twice a week to avoid the problem of manual cleaning. They are not necessary, but certainly convenient to use. It is worth choosing one that additionally moisturizes the skin, and also has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.
- The ban on washing the baby’s ears while bathing, mentioned at the beginning, is also a myth. Such a statement is nonsense – moisture is retained by the eardrum located in the ear, moreover, amniotic fluid entered the child’s ears during fetal life. Protect children from water only if the doctor finds that the eardrum has been ruptured.