Why do Q-tips feel so Good?

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Why do Q-tips feel so Good?

Q-Tips or cotton swabs (cotton buds) is a small piece of cotton wrapped around the end or both ends of a small wood or plastic rod. Contrary to the popular belief that they are only used to clean our ears, they are used for first aid purposes and even cosmetics. It was popularly called Q-Tip and became the trademark for cotton swabs in the USA.

People like to stick Q-Tips in their ears and clean up all those wax that builds up on it. The truth however, is that we are not doing ourselves any good in the process. Believe it or not, ear wax is a protective coating that protects our ears from itching and traps dirt, bugs and bacteria even debris from reaching our ear canals.

The main reason why we feel good in cleaning our ears with Q-tips is that, there are nerves on the ear canal that is directly linked to our internal organs. Since our brain recognizes touch, the sensation we feel whenever we clean our ears is practically a good thing at times. The nerves in our ears are so sensitive that touching them can make you feel different sensations. Sometimes when too much ear wax is removed, we start to feel an itch on our ears. This itch provokes us to use the Q-tip to reach that itchy area and scratch it. Too much of this ‘scratching, may irritate our ears and can lead to ear infection.

We should keep in mind that we should only remove ear wax if it causes symptoms like pain or loss of hearing. If you made a mistake while cleaning your ears using Q-Tips it could lead to dire consequences. So be on the safe side and avoid cleaning your ears with the use of a Q-Tip. You may feel better knowing that the wax that you are ‘itching, to remove is the one that protects your ears the most.

Author: maureen

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