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Anton Schittek, MD
Columbus, Ohio

JAMA. 1980;243(4):331.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Instantly acting neurotoxic substances, such as those in insecticide sprays, have been used against insects for many years. A patient with a living and moving insect in the ear obviously needs instant help. The conventional remedy is mineral oil instillation. One cannot use the commercially available roach sprays because of technical difficulty and for possible medicolegal reasons. Mineral oil works, but with a delay needed for asphyxiation of the insect; in those few seconds, the insect can move violently inside the ear. The patient may do harm to himself by attempting to remove the insect.

Another drug, to my knowledge not described in textbooks, is 2% lidocaine solution, a technically and legally feasible drug. It acts immediately on the insect by paralyzing it. An added bonus is that the retrieval of the insect is easier from an aqueous solution than from the mineral oil. This method has . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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