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Comment by haberman | Hacker News Reader

The whole story sounds like a huge case of selection bias.

Doctors encounter lots of people whose ear injuries are attributable to Q-tips. They therefore conclude that Q-tips should never be used to clean ears.

But people who know how to clean their ears without damaging them don't go to the doctor to complain about their healthy ears.

For example, pushing the wax inwards is obviously a bad idea, but this can be avoided.

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Did you read the article? You don't need to, and in fact aren't supposed to, clean your ears.

Yeah but you might also say that about getting your tongue pierced.

Yes I read the article. Did you read this? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10943097 Our bodies don't always fit into people's preconceived notions of how things are "supposed" to work.

A couple years ago, one of my ears had wax buildup that made it hard to hear; the nurse who treated me didn't use a Q-Tip, but rather a syringe filled with warm water. She basically said the same things as the article, that removing wax Q-Tip style causes ear infections and risks other damage because wax protects the ear. I think she suggested that people with chronic wax issues might consider getting the syringe thing for home use.

You don't need to floss or wipe your butt either, but not everybody is a Tarzan.

I could use a fact check from a medical doctor here, but my recollection is that you do in fact need to wipe or otherwise wash your butt. If you didn't, the result would be skin irritation, rash, eventual sores, sepsis, and suppuration or abscess.

As a pragmatic matter, flossing your teeth will help to improve both the quality and duration of your life.

I'd guess that this depends on your pooping technique and diet. If you squat to poop and have enough fiber in your diet you should stay fairly clean even without wiping. Most animals seem to manage with only occasional cleaning of their private parts.

It sounds like you're in agreement. You do need to clean your butt, just as animals do. Just not necessarily every day or with toilet paper...

Gotta love this comment. Only on HN :-)

flossing your teeth will help to improve both the quality and duration of your life

Apparently not:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2013/10/17/dentists-...

Can speak from experience with small children freshly potty trained that, indeed, you do need to wipe your butt or you will get infections there.

I have no idea what you mean. Doctors have been recommending flossing one's butt since forever. Bi-weekly at the least.

Flossing is last season, interdental brushes is where it's at, at least according to my dentist.

I went to the doctor with a bunch of buildup in my outer ear. She told me I wasn't cleaning my ears well enough and gave me a big syringe for use with water.

Of course, she had misdiagnosed me and I had to go to another doctor to treat the infection with antibiotics.

Can we really know if doctor #1 was wrong in not prescribing antibiotics?

Yeah, I had been putting up with a bad external infection for months. I had been cleaning it out regularly, but held off a few days so the doctor could see what was going on.

It started clearing up after just 48 hours with topical antibiotics.

When I was a kid, I had ear infection problems along with too much wax build up. One day, I went to the otorhinolaryngologist, who shook her head, grabbed these large metal spikes, wrapped cotton around the tips, and cleaned out my ears.

In any case, I paid very close attention to the technique she was using.

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