How cleaning his ear with a cotton bud infected the lining of this man’s brain
Maybe this will put patients off using them in their ears like a battering ram
![MRI](https://www.ausdoc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/must-see-cotton-bud-bmj-1.jpg)
Cotton buds: the fluffy-headed foes of many a GP and ENT specialist.
And this recent case report of a man’s potentially life-threatening intracranial infection is yet another reason why using these to clean your ears will always be an unequivocal no-no.