The Washington times., 1917-02-22
POPULAR MEDICINE
BY DR.. HIRSHBERG
Intelligent Observation of Rules
of Hygiene will De-
crease Illness.
By DIR. LEONARD X. HIRsHBERG.


The fat-like, oily material exuded
upon the skin which lines the walls of
the ear, is a lubricant for that canal
II is properly called a wax. because it
congeals like that of the bees honey
comb. whenever it grows cold, dirty,
or doughy.
This lubricant or wax behaves much
the same as the glue on sticky fly
paper" Nature so intends II for the
purpose of catching and holding par
ticles OF dirt, dust, and other foreign
matter which might otherwise reach
and damage the parchment membrane
or drum" of the ear.
There is a curious intimacy between
sore throat, an irritated ear-drum,
and the formation of this wax: When
ever there is an uncomfortable tick
ling or itching of the 'tympanic mem
brane" or a type of dryness in the
throat, you are apt to feel the outer
canal of the ear eject more of the lu-
bricating wax than is its wont.
In fine. you will feel an impulse to
vibrate. the tip-end of your little fin
ger in the ear in order to relieve the
itchy sensation and the oily ooze pres
ent in it. 1t is unwise to give in" to
this impulse, because too rapid a pull
sation in the ear may Create a force
strong enough to puncture the ear
drum.
Some Needed @DOn'ts."
Individuals, of course. differ in the
amount of wax that forms in the ears.
While every ones ears are better off
with ii, because it seizes and traps
particles. which might penetrate up to
and injure or perforate the drum,
nevertheless some have too much and
others too little of ii.
Whenever there is much inflamma
tion of the nose and throat, hence of
the ear vent--the Eustachian tube
you may expect an excess of this oily
stuff. II this accumulated mass does
not melt away and disappear. or IL the
person who has il twists his towels
and handkerchiefs into a tight spiral
pencil in a vain effort to clean and
to dig il out. ten chances to one il will
become packed and hardened deeply
against the drum.
Dirty persons" so-called. often
have clearner ears than those who
use moistened. twisted tips of cloth.
hairpins and toothpicks to clear their
ears. This Is due to THE fact that
this oily material is naturally dis
posed of, If left alone Here We have
another example Of doing too much
and therefore interfering with the
physiological arrangements OF the
anatomy.
Hardened wax should never be dug
out with sharp Instruments or by
force. Frequently a simple remedy
will remove the wax without diff
Guilty. The dangers of tinkering
with the ears are nearly such a mem
ace as germs and infections, infiam-
nation and running ears.
Method of Care.
MARBLES" 'concretions" and
stones" of hardened wax in the ears
are best dissolved or softened by
means of a little baking soda and hot
water This alkaline water syring"i
gently into the ear will break up and
desolYe the tough. dark mass into
little fluffy, soap-like shavings.
which are washed away with the
drippings.
Many times a man suddenly struck
dear can be quickly restored to per-
feet hearing by some such simple
method as this. a successful formula
used in any ear syringe without
much pressure is composed of sodium
bicarbonate. so grains, orange flower
water . drams, and lime water
ounces.
Only a few syringefuls OF this
mixed with equal amounts of hot
water, or il a syringe is not avail
able. an eye-dropper to drop Is
drops of this in the ear every few
hours will dissolve away the hard.
waNy crusts.
Afterward to be on the safe side to
prevent infiammations when the hard
wax has been wholly eliminated,
boric acid water as a mild disinfec--
tant will guard the ear canal against
any damage from microbes or bsc-
terra.
CCopy't, 1917. by Newspaper Feature ServiceJ.