Experts warn against applying Earwax on Boils

Medical experts have warned Nigerians against applying earwax on boils, warning that it could cause further complications of the health condition. 

According to the experts, using unconventional forms of treatment for boils is dangerous and could lead to infections.

Earwax, also known as cerumen, is a brown, orange, red, yellowish, or gray waxy substance secreted in the ear canal of humans and other mammals. While a boil is a painful, pus-filled bump under the skin caused by infected, inflamed hair follicles.

Speaking with Newsmen, a professor of public health, Tanimola Akande said individuals who have boils should seek appropriate treatment from physicians at healthcare facilities.

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“This unconventional form of using earwax for a boil is not medically verified. Such people should access modern health care to get appropriate treatment for their ailments.

“Repeated boils may be a sign of diabetes that may not be detected through this mode of treatment,” Akande said.

Also speaking with our correspondent, a Consultant Nose, and Throat Surgeon, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, said it is wrong to use ear wax to treat boils.

“First, you don’t even advise people to clean their ears not to talk of getting a large quantity of ear wax to treat boils. The moment you begin to poke the ears for its wax, you hurt the ears and the patient can come down with serious ear infections or ear injuries. 

“We are against cleaning the earwax because it can cause injuries to the ear and cause ear infection; you can imagine harvesting much to treat or apply on boils, that is unhealthy,” he said.

A medical expert, Dr. Chinonso Egemba warned against using cotton buds and other objects to clean the ears to avoid damage to the eardrum.

Dr. Egemba, popularly known as ‘Aproko Doctor’, said earwax is

not dirt but it keeps the ears free from insects and dirt.

In a thread on his Twitter page @aproko_doctor, he explained that cotton bud pushes the wax inside the ear and does not extract it.

“Use the cotton buds you bought and clean your phone’s charging port. It’s not for your ears.

“Earwax is not dirt. It actually keeps your ear free from insects and dirt for instance! Also, because it is acidic, it prevents fungi from growing in your ear.

“So removing your wax does more harm than good,” he said.