The Doc Replies

Our expert answers your medical questions

I use cotton buds to clear out earwax. However, last week I noticed it says on the box not to use them to clean your ears.

Those warnings are there for a reason – you should never put one in your ear.

The truth is your ear canal doesn’t need cleaned. We seem to have a societal aversion to earwax but it shouldn’t be thought of as a bad or dirty thing.

It’s there for a reason – to protect your ear canal, which leads to your sensitive listening equipment. The wax has antibacterial and antifungal properties and effectively cleanses the ear canal as it passes out of it.

Sometimes earwax builds up but will naturally fall out at night, and only the outside of the ear should be cleaned.

If there is a bit of a build-up, the last thing you want to do is jam a cotton bud in there.

Some people naturally produce more earwax, or have smaller ear canals and might need a bit of attention.

Eardrops from the pharmacist can soften up the wax. If you still have problems after that, see your doctor for advice. I have a skin tag on my neck. My wife wants to remove it by tying thread around it, but it sounds a bit old-fashioned.

What your wife suggests may well work. Skin tags are just overgrowths of skin and are entirely benign. If you tie something tightly round the base then the blood supply is cut off and usually within a few days the lesions will wither and die.

It may leave a small mark or stump.

There are other ways of managing a skin lesion and your doctor will be able to advise you.

I have a scar on my arm from a cut I received two years ago. The scar is unsightly. Is there anything I can do to help how it looks?

I think the simple answer to your question is probably not. You will probably find that there are a lot of creams and potions which might be advertised as helping wound healing but I am not sure that they will work.

There are some procedures that dermatologists can do with particular steroid injections which sometimes help.