posted
Hi guys so I suspect I have one or more of Babesia/Lyme/Bart/Ehrlichia. In the last 2 years that I've been sick with symptoms I noticed I dont produce any earwax that needs to be removed, or any excess earwax if you will. When I was healthy and symptom free, I always used a Q-tip after a shower to swab away extra ear wax. Now I have none, zero. Which infections if any cause this symptom or is it a sign of a specific immune problem? Can anything be gleaned from this? thanks!
Posts: 49 | From Texas | Registered: May 2016
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- Likely, no infection causes reduction in ear wax production (though I can see how it might cause more if the ears were infected), however, perhaps hormone issues could mess with the oil glands and it's oil glands in the ear canal that make ear wax.
Now, if you have dryer skin, that might also affect the production of ear wax. Or if you take more showers than baths, some might get washed away in the shower. If your ears do not itch, though, it is not a problem.
It may be that before when you had excess your ears produced more gunk that required wax to move it on out.
You may have enough now and as it ages, it just dries and sloughs away unnoticed. If you had none, you would be in sheer misery.
If you get to the point where you have excessive ear wax that hurts or causing trouble hearing, still, please don't use a Q-tip as it can shove it deeper and also shove the collection of icky stuff it's gathered deeper in.
One drop of a good ear drop should help soften it and help it move out gradually into the outer area where you can wipe it but don't go digging around.
Bottom line, as long as your ears are not in pain or itching, this new awareness is actually good for you to remove the temptation to use Q-tip -- they are not for the ear canal. A habit that many of us had to learn as adults, though I recall one teacher telling us
never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear! -
[ 06-24-2016, 08:32 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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- If your ears seem dry or itch, one or two drops per ear of this oil blend should help. No more than two drops per ear, though. Too much and it can cause build-up.
So there is no link at all between these infections and immune suppression and earwax? It's just a coincidence that for the first 24 years of my life I had small but noticeable earwax every other day and since being sick 2 years I've had none?? Weird...
Posts: 49 | From Texas | Registered: May 2016
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TNT
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posted
I've also noticed that I don't have earwax like I did when I was doing better. I don't know if it has something to do with a specific infection, I think it has to do with how strong the immune system is.
Supposedly one of the factors of how much/what kind of earwax a person has is their genetics, but I feel pretty certain that how much earwax (and perhaps even how liquid-y) a person has is also connected to the status of their immune system.
Posts: 1308 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Oct 2013
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Keebler
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posted
- There are so many variables including doing some things now that improve the ear canal environment such as, perhaps,
now getting better Omega oils (which help prevent excess buildup - see Mercola, below) . . .
Less buildup could mean toxicity levels are better - a result of some of the liver support many with lyme take, perhaps (see BBC article below) . . .
. . . changes in the amount of exercise, different environments - if not out in the world and getting less "dust" or other stuff into the ear for wax to go into action . . .
the use earbuds (not a good idea but they might carry ear wax out without notice), ear plugs, personal care products that dry out the ears more . . . maybe the ears are just cleaner for various reasons and the wax does not need to go into high production?
LOOK TO THE OIL GLANDS - hormone production and the oil glands (that are also inside the ear canal) can change just as oil glands in our faces, etc.
perhaps more showers vs. baths (showers can wash away ear wax without us every realizing it) . . .
dehydration might also come into play in some ways.
Still, if it's not so dry as to signal a problem, it's likely doing its job just fine.
And, if it gets too dry, one drop of the ear oil above should help.
I do not recommend making homemade ear oil. Chance for contamination is too great but if a dropper is as clean as can be and the olive oil is very, very fresh, that could work but I've had major ear infections that went on for years and years and I won't chance that again with some kind of dust or mold that might get into a bottle or dropper that I've got lying around.
I'd want to be sure the bottle and dropper parts are sterile to start with. Oh, boiling water, I can do. But they how to dry a dropper and keep it sterile? That's a puzzle.
Just one drop, two at the very most.
Olive oil can glob up the ears if too much, too often. I found that out the hard way, years ago.
And Olive oil, alone can be irritating. [In the prepared oil formulas, though, there are several ingredients that work together. Muellin is soothing.]
I'd never use garlic, other than in a prepared oil formula such as Herb Pharm. It can be so hard to get the concentration exact so as not to burn. -
[ 06-24-2016, 05:27 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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[Headline is the same but the article is different, a complement to the BBC article above.]
Secretion Secrets: Things You Didn't Know About Earwax
By Dr. Joseph Mercola - March 29, 2014 Excerpts:
. . . Your Ears Are Self-Cleaning: Keep the Cotton Swabs Out
Your ear canals are self-cleaning, and earwax is the self-cleaning agent. . . under ideal circumstances your ear canals should never have to be cleaned.
Excess earwax should move out of your ear canal automatically, as cells there actually migrate naturally.
The removal of earwax is also helped along by movements of your jaw (talking, chewing, etc.), and once it reaches your outer ear it will simply fall out or be removed when you shower or bathe . . . .
. . . Your Genes Determine Whether Your Earwax Is Wet or Dry . . . .
. . . You May Be Deficient in Omega-3 if You Have Frequent Earwax Buildup . . . . -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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bluelyme
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posted
The herbfarm garlic mullen is good .i think it is bart related .and or lipid absorption /utitlizations ...
-------------------- Blue Posts: 1539 | From southwest | Registered: Dec 2015
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