If I use glycerine - isn t that a prebiotic (glycerol)? Will glycerine kill beneficial bacteria in the ear or feed any pathogens? Is glycerine painful to use with garlic oil on ear infections? My daughter uses garlic oil, but there is pimple in her ear and wet wax doesn t seem to move, no matter how much olive oil I use. I can see the canal is swollen where the pimple is and slight redness near the ear wax which also may be trapping the infection. (I have already been to the doctors, but they want us to use antibiotics with steroids oral antibiotics, which I am against).