Written by Editorial Team
Like the adults, your toddler’s ears also produce ear wax. This sticky substance helps to keep your child’s ears clean and healthy by catching dust, dirt or bacteria that can damage her eardrum. The ear wax helps to prevent ear infections, which the toddlers are more prone to. It is a common practice for the parents to remove ear wax from their child’s ear in order to keep it clean. But this ear wax is not something undesirable. Well, this may come as a surprise to you. Continue reading all about ear wax and should it be removed from your toddler’s ears?
Ceruminous glands in the outer ear canal produce ear wax. Ear wax is also known as cerumen. It is a combination of the secretion produced by the ceruminous glands, hair follicles, dead skin, sweat, and sebum. Ear wax usually accumulates, dries, and then travels to your child’s outer section of ear canal from where it drops out. At times it may happen that earwax accumulates quicker than what your toddler’s body can expel. This is when excess build-up can take place.
Here are few ways in which ear wax can be important to your toddler:
Parents tend to go mining for wax in their toddler’s ears even if when the child complains of the pain inside. Here are few reasons which tell you not to remove the wax forcefully from your toddler’s ears:
Sometimes ear wax does not move out by itself and remains in the ears of your toddler. The excess buildup of wax in your toddler’s ear may result in wax pressing against the eardrum or obstructing the auditory canal, which can weaken and interfere with the baby’s hearing ability. This can also:
If you see excessive buildup of ear wax in your toddler’s ears and there are no signs of pus, then you can try the following methods to remove ear wax from your toddler’s ears:
Ear pain and itchiness that is sometimes due to accumulation of earwax can be comparable to the symptoms of an ear infection. But just the earwax won’t cause any fever or the sleeplessness in your toddler. This can be a sign of an infection. So if your toddler complains of an earache or pain which is accompanied by fever, rush him to your doctor.
If there’s an excessive buildup of wax, you may be able to see it outside your toddler’s ears. The normal wax is usually yellow or brown in color. If there is presence of pus or fluid that is bloody yellowish, then this can indicate an infection and you need to immediately take your toddler to a doctor.
As a parent, it is upto you to look after the hygiene of your child. But don’t stress a lot about the buildup of wax in your toddler’s ears. You should be concerned only when it causes any pain and distress to your child. In case of such symptoms it is better to show your toddler to your doctor.
Hope this information is of help to you. If you have anything to add to this, please leave it in the comments section below.
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