What alternative health

practitioners might not tell you

 

ebm-first.com

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“Numerous websites sell inexpensive ear candling kits, and some beauty salons and spas offer it as a “relaxation” service. Also called coning, earcandling involves inserting the narrow end of a hollow cone, impregnated with paraffin or beeswax, into the ear canal and lighting the other end.  This supposedly creates a vacuum that draws wax out of the ear. Proponents claim it also treats tinnitus, migraines, postnasal drip, allergies, coughs, and many other ills. There’s no evidence to support any medical benefits of ear candling, however. According to some research, ear candling does not create enough suction to extract earwax—and it can leave candle wax behind. Worse, ear candling can burn the ear canal, perforate the eardrum, and cause infection.  And it’s a fire hazard. Serious injuries have been reported to the FDA and Health Canada, and the FDA has taken legal action against marketers and seized ear candling products. A review in the Journal of Laryngology & Otology a few years ago concluded that ear candling “clearly does more harm than good” and should be banned.” Berkeley University of California health alert (16th July 2010)