Over-the-counter eardrops may cause hearing loss or damage

[Celebration]

http://www.physorg.com/news120746954.html

A new study, led by researchers at The Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH) of the MUHC, has revealed that certain over-the-counter earwax softeners can cause severe inflammation and damage to the eardrum and inner ear. The results of the study, recently published in The Laryngoscope, suggest that use of these medications should be discouraged.

“Patients often complain that wax is blocking their ears and is causing discomfort and sometimes deafness,” says Dr. Sam Daniel principal investigator of the study and director of McGill Auditory Sciences Laboratory at The Children’s. “Over-the-counter earwax softeners are used to breakup and disperse this excess wax. However, the effects of these medications on the cells of the ear had not been thoroughly analyzed.”

“Because some of these products are readily available to the public without a consultation with or prescription from a physician, it is important to make sure they are safe to use. Our study shows that in a well-established animal model, one such product, Cerumenex, is in fact, toxic to the cells of the ear,” says Dr. Daniel.

...............snip..........

“Harmful effects to many of the cells were observed after only one dose,” says Dr. Melvin Schloss co-author and MCH Director of Otolaryngology. “We observed reduced hearing, severe inflammation, and lesions to the nerve cells.”

[kimmerspixelated]

1. I'm not surprised.

The use of unproven synthetics for anything is just insane. Over and over and over again, we hear about everything big pharma is pushing has proven to have complications or is completely toxic. After awhile, you wonder if these guys are stubborn($$$$) or retarded or both. I'm embaressed that mainstream cutting edge science in this country includes very little natural remedies, all based on protecting profits, while millions go irreversably harmed or killed by the poisons they push, and other millions felt ridiculed because they decided to educate themselves and bought something from the a health food store or the internet and their families think they are only buying snake oil.

[Celebration]

2. I use vinegar/rubbing alcohol combo for eardrops n/t

[DemExpat]

3. I share your embarrassment, Fitzmas.

Shame on them!

Cough medicines "don't work" any better than honey by a latest study, cold meds for babies and little kids are being proven dangerous, now certain OTC eardrops ......the list goes on and on and on.

I feel fortunate that I did educate myself while caring for my 2 children as they grew up! My Homeopathic GP told me how to successfully and quickly treat my kids' earaches with onion and Homeopathy.

With the growing number of recalls and new warnings, one must wonder who is peddling the snakeoil, and for what enormous profits?

DemEx

[trotsky]

4. Again the extremes.

"everything big pharma is pushing" ? Really, EVERYTHING? There's not a single drug that is safe and effective? They're ALL poison? :eyes:

It's the nature of medicine. Products are invented, testing is done, but sometimes you simply cannot know the full impact or ALL the potential side effects until it gets generally released. Does big pharma exist to make a profit? Yes. But so do all the "natural supplement" companies and the health food stores. And the outfits that sell zappers, or push chelation to "cure" whatever ails you, or remove your amalgam fillings. They ALL want to make money. I'm skeptical of any claim, but the regulations and requirements on "big pharma" are so much more strict than those for "natural" products.

The routine bashing of "big pharma" in here can be equally applied to just about any manufacturer or provider of medical products or services. Too bad it isn't.

[cosmik debris]

5. But it is not a level playing field

Homeopaths don't have to report their failures to the FDA.

Homeopaths don't have to account for disastrous side effects.

Homeopaths don't get slapped with a multi-million dollar lawsuit when their patients die.

Homeopaths get to rake in the big bucks with no checks or balances and no requirement to truthful, accurate, or correct.

Big Pharma can only dream of having it so good! And if homeopaths had to live up to the standards of big pharma they would be out of business over night.

[trotsky]

6. Tell me about it.

And if someone eschews their "big pharma" / "big hospital" treatment in favor of woo, then officially it goes down as a failure of the former, not the latter. Must be nice having it both ways!

[Celebration]

8. there are reasons for this

1. Homeopathic medications are not regulated by the FDA. If there turned out to be significant problems with them, the FDA would be called in. (See #2)

2. I thought homeopathic stuff is "just water." Can water really cause disastrous side effects?

3. See above (#2). Who would get sued for water? Can people die from drinking tiny amounts of water?

4. Anybody who has been injured can sue the homeopaths for poor outcomes, fraud or anything else. Furthermore people can choose not to buy the products.

5. You are probably right. I would say, though, that someone who recognizes the placebo effect would be very happy with effective placebos being on the market, as they help keep down health care costs overall.

[cosmik debris]

9. Ridiculous.

M.D.s are required to report the failures to the FDA. Homeopaths are not. There is no requirement that the FDA be notified. Period. That's all.

Homeopathic/nutritional/herbal medications don't make claims that can be tested in a court of law. Therefore there is no basis for recovery. Law suits are almost impossible to win.

People die from choosing "natural remedies" over real medicine. Placebos may be effective at keeping down medical costs, but not funeral costs.

[Celebration]

11. waste of money and resources

reporting adverse affects from a couple of drops of water---

If they make no claims, then what is the problem? I buy oregano and all kinds of spices--turmeric, garlic, etc., sprinkle them on food. Why do you care? Am I not allowed to eat what I want?

Do you have evidence that significant number of people die from taking homeopathic medicine over "real" medicine? Do you have evidence that these same people would have chosen "real" medicine had homeopathic medicine not been available?

[cosmik debris]

14. This is like talking to a second grader who needs a nap.

I give up. Now go take your nappy poo.

[kimmerspixelated]

21. Touche'

Exactly! Good comeback!

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kimmerspixelated]

19. I respectfully disagree.

[Celebration]

7. Who makes these things?

Hard to know whether to put these in the category of big pharma or little pharma without that knowledge. I did see a study on ear drops that shows none of them being more effective than saline solution (administered with a Water Pik adaptor). I love the vinegar/alcohol solution I use.

We all pay too much money for things like this. For fun sometime look at the ingredients of a "Swimmer's Ear" (not the actual name) bottle and price it per ounce, compared to just making it yourself.

Anyway, I found reports of contact allergy with this ear product. That would account for the bad outcomes.

[trotsky]

10. Who makes these eardrops is irrelevant.

I'm talking about the double standard at work.

[Celebration]

12. not irrelevant

I wouldn't want to bash "big pharma" for this if it isn't big pharma.

[trotsky]

13. Yup, irrelevant.

When you decide to hold the non-science-based "medical" establishment to the same standards, let me know. Because playing this game of "who makes these eardrops" is silly when we both know the answer.

[Celebration]

15. this can go both ways

1. Big pharma is out to get us and that's why we have these bad eardrops.

2, Oh, we have such a stupid system that lets these little companies come out with products that are untested, and make outlandish claims, and that's why we have these bad eardrops.

I mean, when we don't even know who makes these things, it's hard to know which argument to make. Right?

It sounds like we have bad eardrops, one way or another. I kind of doubt that it was because big pharma held back on publishing research showing the possible damage, as they have done in other cases, but who knows?

[trotsky]

16. Who on earth is saying #2?

I hear #1 a whole lot though.

[Celebration]

17. oh

So you only make that argument when it is marketed as MLM or in a health food store? If it is marketed in a drugstore, that argument doesn't apply?

[trotsky]

25. You keep jumping back and forth, arguing generals vs. the specifics of this ear drop issue.

Decide on which you want to address, and let me know. I was speaking generally. If you don't want to do this but instead play a silly game about who made the ear drops (which, let's not dick around here, of course it was TEH EVUL BIG PHARMA), fine.

[kimmerspixelated]

18. There is also a tremendous amount of natural remedy bashing

at DU. I'm quite surprised the usual suspects(trolls, really) didn't jump my comment the instant it appeared, as usual! Ahhh, they must be giving someone else some crapola for once.

[trotsky]

24. It might just have something to do with the fact that

"natural" remedies aren't always safe or effective themselves. The same critical eye should be applied to them, or else someone might just think you were engaging in troll-like behavior! Oh no!

[knitter4democracy]

22. Hubby always says to just use hydrogen peroxide.

What's in the other stuff?

[lizerdbits]

23. I think carbamide peroxide is in the OTC stuff I've seen

I had my ear irrigated with hydrogen peroxide and water mixture to get rid of wax at the doctors office due to ear pain that wasn't an infection. That was shooting it in with a bulb. One OTC product I saw came with a bulb and one was just drops. Not sure if they both have the same ingredients, I haven't looked at them in a while.

[knitter4democracy]

26. That's all Hubby uses at his office for his patients: water and hydrogen peroxide.

It works. He has one of the aides do his ears every once in awhile (he's terrible about cleaning them himself).