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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Is Blood In The Cotton Bud While Cleaning The Ear Suggestive Of?

I was gently cleaning my ear with a cotton bud to remove the wax and now there bis a trace of blood on a clean cotton bud, should I just let this heal without further treatment? There is no pain and I was not pushing the cotton bud in hard or too far.
Fri, 23 Dec 2016
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hi there

From what you described, you have superficially bruised your ear canal. Since there is no pain and only a trace of blood, it is very unlikely that you have ruptured your ear drum. This will heal on its own.

Try to avoid cleaning your ears with ear buds as this merely pushes the wax further into the ear canal and sometimes can cause wax impaction. Wax plays an important role in protecting the ear canal.

Hope this helps.
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What Is Blood In The Cotton Bud While Cleaning The Ear Suggestive Of?

Hi there From what you described, you have superficially bruised your ear canal. Since there is no pain and only a trace of blood, it is very unlikely that you have ruptured your ear drum. This will heal on its own. Try to avoid cleaning your ears with ear buds as this merely pushes the wax further into the ear canal and sometimes can cause wax impaction. Wax plays an important role in protecting the ear canal. Hope this helps.