/oss/taxonomy/term/596/all en /oss/article/health/bugs-ear <p>You've probably heard this one.  An earwig crawls into a lady's ear while she is asleep on a beach.  She doesn't realize anything is wrong until she starts to have terrible pains.  An x-ray analysis reveals the bug is burrowing through her brain and the poor victim is told the earwig will eventually emerge from the other ear.  And that is just what happens.  The bug comes out and the pain disappears.  Life goes back to normal until the pain returns.  Another x-ray is taken and the patient is given the devastating news.  The earwig was a female and apparently pregnant because she laid eggs a</p> Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:15:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1717 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/what-are-ear-candles <p>Ear candles are regularly promoted by alternative health suppliers and have been getting quite the hype from the media even though there is no evidence to suggest they have any real benefit. The idea behind the “treatment” is that one of these special wax candles is inserted into the ear and then lit. This produces cleaning vapours that penetrate the inner ear and remove impurities and wax, drawing them out by the suction that is allegedly created by lighting the candle.</p> Tue, 21 Feb 2017 16:20:45 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1506 at /oss