Why use hydrogen peroxide to clean your ears?

Hydrogen peroxide is a common medicine in life. It has a certain bactericidal effect and many diseases may be treated with hydrogen peroxide. Generally speaking, hydrogen peroxide can also be used to clean the ears. Many times, the ears may experience ear discomfort due to various reasons, and there is also the possibility of ear inflammation. Symptoms like these require treatment to improve. So why do we use hydrogen peroxide to clean ears in clinical practice?

1. Purpose

The purpose of washing your ears with hydrogen peroxide is to thoroughly clean the inflamed wound so that the effect of using anti-inflammatory drugs will be better. It is not recommended to use hydrogen peroxide as a routine ear cleaning agent, as this may affect the balance of the external auditory canal's own flora and induce recurrence of inflammation. Otologists often prescribe 3% hydrogen peroxide to patients with otitis media to use for ear washing. Many patients are handed a large bottle of clear liquid and don't know what it is for or how to use it. Some even worry that the hydrogen peroxide may flow into their brains, which is dangerous. The standard Chinese name of hydrogen peroxide is hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) aqueous solution, which appears as a colorless, transparent liquid with a faint special smell. Hydrogen peroxide has strong permeability and oxidizing effect. It is often used in medicine to clean wounds and for local antibacterial effects.

2. Ear discomfort

Generally speaking, if there is too much earwax, it will be discharged naturally. However, sometimes the earwax is too large and the external auditory canal is blocked, which will cause ear pain, hearing loss, coughing and other discomforts. The ears may also feel swollen, which is more obvious when swimming. Then we can choose appropriate concentration of hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the ears.

3. Note

When hydrogen peroxide comes into contact with wounds, pus or dirt on the skin, mouth and mucous membranes, it immediately decomposes to produce oxygen. This oxygen atom that has not yet combined into an oxygen molecule has a strong oxidizing ability. When it comes into contact with bacteria, it can destroy the bacterial cell and kill the bacteria. The remaining substance after killing the bacteria is water that is non-toxic and non-irritating. No secondary pollution will be caused. Therefore, hydrogen peroxide is an ideal disinfectant for wound disinfection. However, do not use highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide to disinfect wounds to prevent burns to the skin and affected area.