Cotton swab

A cotton swab is about seven inches long rods, having one or both ends of which are wrapped with wool.

Since 1926, the cotton swabs, which were invented by the Americans Leo Gerstenzang, sold under the name Q-tips, but there are also other manufacturers and brands. The "Q " stands for Quality (german quality, " quality ") and " tips" for the ends of plastic or cotton wool (English tip, " top end "). This name has generally naturalized in English for cotton swab.

The rods are usually made of plastic or paper, and less often of wood. The cotton wool is often made ​​of plastic, sometimes made ​​of cotton. Cotton swabs are used for beauty and infant care or make, for example, for the eyeshadow. In the cotton swab technique (often with liquids such as alcohol or water) used to Reinungungszwecken typical example in inkjet printers.

Despite appropriate warnings commercially available swabs are still used by many people for the removal of ear wax is inserted into the ear canals. This makes the lard but sometimes pressed deeper into the ear and can harden into a Ohrschmalzpfropfen which exerts pressure on the eardrum may and can lead to hearing loss. It is assumed that the movements cause the rods a pleasant feeling because the vagus nerve is stimulated. For the ear canal cleaning it is sufficient instead, the ears with clear water, such as in the shower or with an ear syringe to rinse. Although there is a cotton swab for standardization, but this has only recommendatory, not binding.

As so-called sterile swabs is manufactured specifically for this purpose and individually packed swab suitable for swab of saliva samples, such as for the determination of DNA fingerprinting used DNA screening. The use of cotton swabs in criminal investigations, in particular sensitive studies of gene tests in manufacturing impurities can lead to identification errors. The well-known case is the so-called Phantom of Heilbronn. As a simple sterilization is not sufficient to destroy DNA residues, treatment with ethylene oxide or a comparison of the DNA of all persons involved in the production process is recommended.