The Great Q--Tip Adventure

 

By now, everyone should know that you shouldn't stick Q-Tips in your ear - they've even put a warning on the packages.  That being said, it is still the most common use of Q-Tips.

My mother used to say "Never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow." That never made any sense to me, but maybe now I know why. I was swabbing out my ear with a Q-Tip yesterday morning and when I pulled the stick out that's what I got - just the stick - the cotton stayed in my ear.

I called Honey, and we tried several things with no luck.  She finally told me to go to the doctor.

I went to my doctor's office, checked in and waited for just over half an hour - they still require masks in the waiting room, but that's another story.  Then the receptionist called me up and said the physician's assistant on duty did not have the necessary implement and that I should go to one of those "Doc in the Box" emergency places a few miles away.

I did, and got seen much quicker.  The doctor first tried flushing it out then broke out a strange looking set of forceps.

After a few tries, he was able to grab the cotton and pull it out.  

I got a mild lecture, and a prescription for an antibiotic.

I got home no worse for wear a little after two o'clock.  That one little dab of cotton had cost me over half a day.