We try to make intelligent informed decisions that are in our best interest. But sometimes we fall short.
Take Q-Tips for example. “Cleanliness in next to godliness,” to some, and a cotton swab can help clean all that wax from inside your ear, right? No, says Kelsey Seybold internist Dr. Richard Harris. “When you’re cleaning your ears with a cotton swab all your actually doing is pushing the ear wax further in the ear and it can lead to damage in the eardrum,” he tells KTRH News. He has a better idea. “Mix hydrogen and warm water 50-50, and place a few drops in the ear. It will dissolve the wax, and then just let it run out on a towel on your shoulder.”
You know sugar-filled carbonated sodas are bad for you so you wisely select a diet beverage, right? No, Dr. Harris suggests. “There’s some evidence that diet soda can actually cause more harm than regular soda. There are a lot of phosphates in the diet soda which can actually bind with calcium and lower calcium levels.” That’s not good.
Getting rid of bacteria is always going to be a good idea, one might logically think. But Dr. Harris says that would also be a wrong assumption. He says all you’re doing is selecting the most resistant bacteria to keep on your skin. He recommends Purell or other types of alcohol washes, or just using basic soak and water.
We’ll have to rethink this.