Dave Krishna
Q What's the best way to lessen my child's ear pain during an airplane flight?
A When the air pressure changes as you go up or down in an airplane or on a drive in the mountains, it creates a difference in pressure between the middle and outer ear. Equalize the pressure by encouraging your child to swallow, yawn, or closing his/her mouth, pinching the nose, and blowing. Chewing gum or a lollipop can help children swallow. If you take a baby on an airplane, nurse her or offer a bottle during takeoff and landing.
If your child has a cold or sinus congestion, a decongestant (such as Sudafed and many others) can help open the sinuses to prevent ear pain. Consider using EarPlanes pressure-regulating earplugs. They can be particularly helpful for children who have sensitive ears, a cold, or mild to moderate sinus congestion. EarPlanes have two parts, a silicone plug that seals the ear canal and a ceramic filter that allows air to flow slowly into or out of the ear. Ear pain occurs when cabin pressure changes suddenly. EarPlanes let the pressure in the ear change more slowly so that your child's ears have time to adjust to the change.
Dispose of the EarPlanes after each round-trip flight. Pollen, dust, and moisture that get trapped in the filters make them less effective over time.
Q Why do we have earwax? What's the best way to clean it out?
A Earwax, or cerumen, helps lubricate the ear and protect the eardrum from debris. Glands in the ear produce the "wax" and the little hairs in the ear canal push it out in a self-cleaning process. Clean your child's outer ears during bathing or showering, but avoid putting cotton swabs (Q-Tips) or anything else into the ear canal to scrape it out. Doing so can push the wax further into the ear and pack it in. Generally, there's no need to remove wax from the ear canal.
If your child seems to have a wax buildup, over-the-counter wax removal kits (Murine Ear, Debrox, Similasan) can help. Don't use them if your child has ear pain, an infection, or a broken eardrum. These problems require medical evaluation. If the removal kit doesn't work within four days of use, your child's doctor can use warm water or a special tool called a curette to carefully remove the wax.
Dave Krishna, R.Ph., is a clinical pharmacist for the drugstore.com online pharmacy. For more information about these and other health-related conditions or to ask Dave a question, visit the drugstore.com Ask Your Pharmacist service at www.drugstore.com/ayp.
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