Man's Death Linked to Cotton Swab Use

A Quebec coroner is calling for stricter product warnings from Health Canada after linking the death of a Montreal man to his use of cotton ear swabs.
Daniel St-Pierre, 43, died from meningitis last year after an infection from his outer ear migrated through his perforated eardrum and killed him, the coroner concluded.
Mr. St-Pierre had been a frequent user of cotton swabs, which probably ended up giving him an ear infection through overuse and repeated rubbing, coroner Jacques Ramsay said.
He then used a swab "with maybe a little more vigour than usual," which perforated his eardrum, letting the outer ear's infection travel into his inner ear, the coroner said.