There are few things more frustrating for a physician than trying to look into a screaming child's ear and finding the canal block with wax. There are many ways to try and remove the wax -- drops, flushing with water or peroxide, using a WaterPik, or, as a last resort, using an instrument called an ear curette to scrape the wax out.
Cerumenex is a commercially-available product that's used to help soften earwax. But there are many products not intended for wax softening that are frequently used for this purpose. One is Colace -- a stool softener.
To compare the effectiveness of these two products, physicians working in an emergency room tried one or the other product on 50 patients with ear canals blocked by wax. The drops were put into the ear and then the patient laid on his/ her side with the affected ear facing upward for 10-15 minutes. Then the patient turned over allowing the contents of the ear canal drain.
Immediately after treatment, enough wax was removed in 19% of those treated with Colace and 9% of those treated with Cerumenex to allow the doctors to adequately see the ear drum. After irrigation with 50 milliliters of water, the drum was seen in another 10 patients treated with Colace and 4 treated with Cerumenex.
Although a small study, it definitely supports the folklore among health care providers that liquid Colace is good for softening up earwax.
Annals of Emergency Medicine, 9/00, pp. 228-232.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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