Do Koreans have dry or wet earwax?
Dry earwax, typical in East Asians and Native Americans, is light-colored and flaky, while earwax found in Caucasian and African groups is darker, wetter and, a new study shows, smellier.
Earwax comes in two types, wet and dry. The wet form predominates in Africa and Europe, where 97 percent or more of the people have it, and the dry form among East Asians, while populations of Southern and Central Asia are roughly half and half.
Dry earwax is found in 80-95% of people of East Asian descent, but in less than 3% of people of European or African descent. This distinct geographic distribution of earwax type provides clues about early human migration patterns.
White and grey earwax (dry)
Dry cerumen is the most common cause of white earwax, which comes out in flakes. However, in some cases, it can also be a sign of infection or atopic dermatitis (eczema). Consult a doctor if you have white or grey earwax flakes with itchiness, inflammation, and pain.
As it turns out, a percentage of the population lack the gene that prevents stinky pits. According to researchers from the University of Bristol, that special gene is called ABCC11.
If you have dry earwax, it's because both of your parents passed a "dry" version of the gene on to you. Wet earwax is a dominant trait, and dry is recessive. Scientists think the dry earwax type became common in ancient northeast Eurasia and spread to East Asia and the Americas.
The researchers also found that earwax type and armpit odor are correlated. Populations with dry earwax tend to sweat less and have little or no body odor.
The answer is partly in your heritage. A new study reveals that the gene responsible for the drier type originated in an ancient northeastern Asian population. Today, 80 to 95 percent of East Asians have dry earwax, whereas the wet variety is abundant in people of African and European ancestry (97 to 100 percent).
The are two main ear wax types found in Japan: wet an dry. Students at Nagasaki High School were able to isolate the gene that determines ear wax type and with that knowledge collected samples ear wax from all over Japan and put together an ear wax map and found that dry ear wax is more common in western Japan.
East Asians, Southeast Asians and Native Americans are more likely to have the dry type of earwax (gray and flaky), while African and European people are more likely to have wet type earwax (honey-brown, dark orange to dark-brown and moist).
Should ears be dry or wet?
The skin in the ear should be dry, but not too dry. The ear canal should be clean and free of all debris. Even a single hair in the canal can cause itching. The tissue should be lubricated naturally by ear wax or by oils, creams, or glycerin.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a common inflammatory skin condition. It causes flaky, white to yellowish scales to form on oily areas such as the scalp, face, or inside the ear. It can occur with or without reddened skin.
What is soju? Soju is a clear, low-alcohol, distilled spirit that is the most popular liquor in Korea. If you haven't heard of it, well then you've got a blind spot, because it's been the best-selling liquor in the world, according to CNN.
You may also noticed that some stalls in Korea also have trash cans next to them, which is another holdover from the past. People are often discouraged from flushing toilet paper, especially in public restrooms in older buildings. Instead, you throw it into the trash can near the toilet.
Since ancient times, Koreans have only used natural, harsh-free ingredients for their skincare routines: green tea, “snail slime”, bamboo extracts, propolis, and honey are just some examples of the elements they used and have passed through generations.
The frequencies of the A and G alleles vary markedly across different ethnic groups. The A allele is very common in East Asians, and as expected, most people in this population don't need to use deodorant. And so they don't use it—it's estimated that only 7% of North East Asians regularly use deodorant.
While not all these bodily substances provide ideal DNA samples, testable DNA can often be extracted from all of them. In every case, what is being tested is the DNA contained in cells of human tissue, whether found on their own or carried by another substance, like earwax, sweat or mucus.
While cotton swabs are the norm in the West, in many parts of East Asia, it's common to use ear scoops – a long, thin tool with one tip flattened into a little spoon – to tease out excess ear wax.
Also mentioned in the study: "Africans" have "wet, yellowish-brown wax," and Native Americans — similar to East Asian folks — typically have "dry, white wax."
The underarm body odor has been linked to a gene called ABCC11, which encodes a protein that transports molecules across cellular membranes, including molecules in the sweat. If the ABCC11 gene is non-functional, sweat molecules are unable to cross the membrane barrier to reach the armpit.
What do Japanese people use to clean their ears?
Mimikaki are instruments mainly used in Asian countries to remove ear wax. A typical one (easily obtained in Japanese convenience stores) is a often roughly 8 inch bamboo stick, having a small scoop on one end and a tuft of cotton on the other. It looks a bit like a toothbrush, with a scoop replacing the brush portion.
- Soften the wax. Use an eyedropper to apply a few drops of baby oil, mineral oil, glycerin or hydrogen peroxide in your ear canal.
- Use warm water. After a day or two, when the wax is softened, use a rubber-bulb syringe to gently squirt warm water into your ear canal. ...
- Dry your ear canal.
Contact with common irritants such as hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, water, ear drops (both prescribed and over-the-counter), or excessive ear cleaning can all cause dry, itchy ears. Some skin and hair products can irritate the skin. So can certain metals in jewelry, especially nickel.
East Asians, Southeast Asians and Native Americans are more likely to have the dry type of earwax (gray and flaky), while African and European people are more likely to have wet type earwax (honey-brown, dark orange to dark-brown and moist).
Dry, flaky ear wax is a lot more usual in people from East Asia, while sticky or wet ear wax is more common in Caucasian individuals and also people of African descent.
Your ethnicity may also play a role in what type of earwax you have. People of East Asian descent are more likely to have dry earwax, while wet earwax seems to be more common with everyone else.
Several years ago ago, scientists discovered that a gene called ABCC11 determined whether people produced wet or dry earwax. Interestingly, people who produce the "dry" version of earwax also lack a chemical in their armpits that bacteria feed on to cause underarm odor.
While not all these bodily substances provide ideal DNA samples, testable DNA can often be extracted from all of them. In every case, what is being tested is the DNA contained in cells of human tissue, whether found on their own or carried by another substance, like earwax, sweat or mucus.
The answer is partly in your heritage. A new study reveals that the gene responsible for the drier type originated in an ancient northeastern Asian population. Today, 80 to 95 percent of East Asians have dry earwax, whereas the wet variety is abundant in people of African and European ancestry (97 to 100 percent).
TIL, Scientists found that Asians (East Asians) are more likely to have the variant of the gene (ABCC11) that codes for less apocrine sweat glands than other racial groups like Whites and Blacks.
Do Japanese people have ear wax?
The are two main ear wax types found in Japan: wet an dry. Students at Nagasaki High School were able to isolate the gene that determines ear wax type and with that knowledge collected samples ear wax from all over Japan and put together an ear wax map and found that dry ear wax is more common in western Japan.
