The advice from doctors is clear: Don’t use cotton swabs to clean your ears. But people continue to use a soft-tipped plastic or paper stick to dig out the wax from their ear canals – and it ...

For decades, physicians have cautioned against using cotton swabs like Q-Tips to clean out the ears ("nothing smaller than an elbow" is a popular refrain). For one thing, they simply don’t do a ...

Injuries related to cotton tip applicators sent more than a quarter of a million children to emergency rooms over about two decades, according to a new study. "This study only captured injuries ...

One area that may feel a little trickier? Your ears. As ear wax accumulates, it may be tempting to stick a cotton swab in your canal to clear it out. But the medical experts we spoke to said that ...

Cotton swabs may feel the most satisfying, but there are safer and more effective alternatives. Credit...Eric Helgas for The New York Times Supported by By Caroline Hopkins Q: I know I’m not ...