Many people instinctively reach for a cotton swab, commonly known as an earbud, to clean their ears, believing it to be the best way to remove earwax. However, what seems like a harmless routine can actually endanger hearing health. Improper ear-cleaning practices, especially the use of cotton swabs, can contribute to tinnitus—a persistent ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears that can be both distressing and disruptive.

Hidden Dangers Of Cotton Swabs

Many individuals assume that cotton swabs effectively clean the ears, but they often do more harm than good. Here are several ways in which they can trigger tinnitus.

Eardrum Damage

The eardrum is extremely delicate, and even slight pressure from a cotton swab can potentially perforate it. This can lead to pain, hearing loss, and in some cases, tinnitus. A perforated eardrum requires time to heal and may necessitate medical intervention.

Ear Canal Trauma

The skin lining the ear canal is highly sensitive. Using cotton swabs can scratch or inflame the ear canal, leading to irritation and swelling. This inflammation can impact hearing and contribute to tinnitus.

Impacted Earwax

Ironically, instead of removing wax, cotton swabs often push it deeper into the ear canal, where it can become impacted. A wax impaction can exert pressure on the eardrum, diminishing sound clarity and triggering tinnitus symptoms. This can also cause a sensation of fullness in the ear, dizziness, and temporary hearing loss.

Auditory Ossicle Disruption

The auditory ossicles, tiny bones in the middle ear, play a crucial role in sound transmission. Excessive pressure from a cotton swab can disrupt their function. If these delicate bones are affected, it can lead to persistent tinnitus and other hearing disturbances.

How To Safely Clean Your Ear?

Fortunately, maintaining ear hygiene does not have to involve risky practices. The following are medically approved techniques to keep ears clean without causing harm.

1. Gentle Outer Ear Cleaning: The safest way to clean your ears is to focus only on the outer part. Using a soft, damp washcloth with warm water helps remove dirt and wax from the outer ear.
2. Over-the-Counter Drops: Those with excessive earwax buildup may benefit from cerumenolytic (wax-softening) drops. These drops help loosen stubborn wax, allowing it to naturally migrate out of the ear.
3. Gentle Irrigation: For individuals without eardrum perforations, a soft rubber bulb syringe filled with body-temperature water can help flush out loosened wax. Irrigation should be done cautiously to avoid excessive pressure, which could lead to dizziness or eardrum injury.

When To Seek Medical Help

Some situations necessitate professional ear cleaning rather than at-home methods. Health experts recommend consulting a doctor if you experience:

• Persistent ear pain or discomfort
• Ear drainage or foul-smelling discharge
• Sudden hearing loss or changes in hearing
• A history of ear surgery or eardrum perforation
• Frequent wax buildup affecting hearing

Being the leading cause of death worldwide, cancer has devastated many families throughout the globe with nearly one out of six deaths being attributed it. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the most common forms of cancer are breast (2.26 million cases), lung (2.21 million cases), colon and rectum cancer (1.93 million cases), etc. Characterized by malignant growths on a particular part of the body, this chronic condition can be caused by physical carcinogens such as ultraviolet and ionizing radiation or chemical carcinogens like tobacco or asbestos.

While one may know about the common forms of cancer, it can often affect unlikely places in our body as well. These cases, although rare, have some specific symptoms which if you know, can help you get an early diagnosis and intervention. Liver Cancer UK highlights one such type of cancer which has two distinct symptoms of this rare form of cancer: Bile duct cancer.

What is Bile Duct Cancer?

Affecting about 2000 people in the UK per year, bile duct cancer does not occur due to family history. In fact, early bile duct cancer may not even cause symptoms other than a loss of appetite, making it difficult to diagnose early. This cancer happens when the cell lining f the bile duct multiplies and grows more than it should. These bile ducts are all over the liver, connecting it to the gallbladder, small intestine and are supposed to help release bile for digestion after we eat.

Unusual Symptoms Of Bile Duct Cancer

Some of the most pivotal signs of bile duct cancer can only be seen when you use the bathroom. Two changes to watch out for are pee that is much darker or very pale, and poop that is pale and looks like putty or clay.

Both of these toilet changes can be signs of jaundice, which means your liver is under a lot of stress. When it comes to bile duct cancer, these signs might mean that the cancer has blocked the tubes connected to your liver. This blockage can cause a liquid called bile to leak into your blood and other parts of your body. Another main sign of jaundice is your skin and the whites of your eyes turning yellow, and also itchy skin.

Other Symptoms To Look Out For

Besides the changes in urine and stool, there are other signs of bile duct cancer that you must be aware of. These include losing weight without trying, feeling pain or discomfort in your belly (usually on the right side), feeling like you have the flu with fever and being tired, and also not feeling hungry. Liver Cancer UK says that these signs can also be caused by other health problems, but if you have them, you should still see your doctor to get advice. This is because if it is cancer, finding it early can make a big difference in how well treatment works.

While researchers aren’t sure why bile duct cancer happens, Liver Cancer UK says it's not always related to drinking alcohol. The charity says that it's not clear if alcohol is even linked to this type of cancer. Like many other cancers, getting older makes it more likely to happen, with most people who get it being between 50 and 70 years old

People expect places like bathrooms, toilets and washbasins to be the dirtiest things in our home. However, there are many things and places in our homes that are much worse than these. According to research done by Philip Tierno Jr., Ph.D., a microbiologist and immunologist, your carpet may contain 4000 times more bacteria than your toilet seats. Other places that have a lot of bacteria and you may not be aware of include your kitchen sink, doorknobs, light switches microwave etc. Something you may have realized is how many of these items are daily use and negligible in most hygiene conversations.

These are everyday use items that can be the biggest reason for one falling ill and one such item that you may be carrying around everywhere is your reusable water bottle. Dr. Myro Figuara, who is an Anesthesiologist and current chief medical officer and co-founder of HealFast, took to social media to share this fact with people. In the video he explained that if you just keep filling up the same water bottle every day without washing it, you should probably stop. He shared a video explained that filling up the same bottle every day without washing is a disaster waiting to happen. The video explained that your bottle can become a place where lots of germs grow. Every time you take a sip, bacteria from your mouth, hands, and even the air can get trapped inside.

Your Water Bottle Can Be As Dirty As Your Toilet

Dr. Myro agreed with this and said that even if you only put water in your bottle, you still need to wash it every day. He even said that your water bottle could be as dirty as a toilet seat! He mentioned a study that found some water bottles had way more germs than a toilet seat. He especially pointed out that the lids of the bottles are a favorite spot for germs to multiply.

A study by a group called WaterFilterGuru found that water bottles with a spout lid are really good at growing bacteria. They found an average of 30 million of these germs' groups in those bottles. Bottles with a squeeze top were much cleaner, with only about three million groups. This shows that not only are there a lot of germs, but they can also grow quickly.

Why Are These Germs A Cause of Concern?

The study found mostly a type of germ called gram-negative bacteria, which can cause infections that are hard to treat with medicine. They also found another type of germ in bottles with straws that can cause tummy troubles. Dr. Myro said it's really important to wash your water bottles every day and clean them deeply once a week. He warned that not doing this can make you sick right away, and being around mold and germy buildup for a long time can cause long-term health problems. Here are some tips to keep your reusable water bottles clean and germ free for health.

Wash every day

Scrub your bottle with warm, soapy water after you use it. Don't forget to scrub the parts where germs like to hide, like the screw threads, the spout, and any rubber seals.

Let it dry

After washing, let your bottle dry completely in the air before you put the lid back on. Germs like to grow in wet places.

Deep clean once a week

You can use things like vinegar or baking soda to clean it well, or just put it in the dishwasher if it's safe to do that.

Don't leave stagnant water in your bottles

Finally, the doctor warned against leaving water sitting in your bottle for a long time when you're not using it. He told people to empty their bottles when they are done drinking.

There has been a rise of many weight loss medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy. This has said to help America's battle with obesity, but has also prompted questions as to where the country is heading. If it really is a health epidemic?

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2 in 5 American adults are obese, and they have a body mass index of above 30. While body mass index (BMI) is not the best and reliable way to consider someone as overweight or obese, it does give insights on healthy lifestyle. The condition is also associated with a host of serious medical issues. If you are overweight or obese, you are more prone to have a stroke, or develop diabetes, experience heart attack or even have cancer. It is also estimated to cost the country's health care system nearly $173 billion a year.

US News, as part of its 2025 Best State rankings has released a list of top 10 obese states in America, based on their reported data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. This is based on a partnership between the CDC and the state health departments.

39 of the 50 states with available data for 2023 posted age-adjusted obesity rates of 30% or more. Three of them has hit a threshold of at least 40%.

Here are the Top 10 States in the United States With Highest Obesity Rates

• At top, we have West Virginia, with an obesity rate of 41.7%
• Then comes Arkansas, at 40.5%
• Next up is Mississippi at 40.4%
• At fourth position is Louisiana at 39.9%
• Alabama is at 39.4%
• Oklahoma is at 39.0%
• Iowa is at 37.9%
• Kentucky is at 37.8%
• Indiana is at 37.8%
• Tennessee is at 37.8%

The top 10 US states with the lowest obesity rates are:

• Colorado at 24.6%
• Hawaii at 26.8%
• Massachusetts at 27.1%
• California at 27.7%
• New York at 27.9%
• New Jersey at 28.5%
• Vermont at 29.0%
• Connecticut at 29.2%
• Florida at 29.7%
• Montana at 30.2%

Other Facts And Figures Around Obesity In US

As per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a person whose weight is higher than what is considered to be a normal weight for a given height is described as being overweight or having obesity.

As per 2017 and 2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), nearly 1 in 3 adults are overweight. The data also states that more than 2 in 5 adults have obesity, while 1 in 11 adults have severe obesity.

The data also notes that about 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are overweight. Almost 1 in 5 children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 have obesity and about 1 in 16 children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 have severe obesity.

As per a 2024 Lancet Study, titled, National-level and state-level prevalence of overweight and obesity among children, adolescents, and adults in the USA, 1990–2021, and forecasts up to 2050, nearly 3 in 4 adults in the US are now considered overweight or have obesity.

Many experts have called this as a silent killer as it leads to bone and joint problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, sleep apnea, cancers and stroke.

The best way to deal with this it to keep your weight in check, check the nutritional levels of food items you buy, and snack smarter.