Question: It looks like my three-month-old has a lot of earwax build-up. How can I remove them?

Answer: Most babies will eventually get rid of their earwax naturally. The ear canal is lined with tiny hairs that beat rhythmically to waft the wax towards the entrance. Wax that is visible in the outer ear can be cleaned with a cotton bud (a small amount of moisturiser on the tip of the bud helps).

Never use cotton buds or other instruments to “dig” inside the ear canal. As well as pushing the ear wax further down the canal and causing it to come against the eardrum, it can also cause perforation. Instead, use wax-softening eardrops such as Waxsol (a drop into each ear two to three times per day, for five to seven days) to soften and loosen the wax so that it will flow out naturally.