The cotton swab was invented by Leo Gerstenzang in the 1920s , who invented the product after attaching wads of cotton to toothpicks . His product, which he named "Baby Gays", went on to become the most widely-sold brand name, "Q-tip." The term "Q-tip" is often used as a genericized trademark for any cotton swabs.

Etymology

The word "Q-tip" means "Quality tip", with "tip" referring to the cotton tips at the end of the stick. The Q originally referred to "Quilted".

They are sometimes referred to by the British, Indians and South Africans as "ear buds" and are also known as ear-diggers, cotton-wool buds or ear-sticks.

Construction

The traditional cotton swab has a single tip on a wooden handle, and these are still often used, especially in medical settings. They are usually relatively long, about six inches (15 cm or so). These often are packaged sterile, one or two to a paper or plastic sleeve. The advantage of the paper sleeve and the wooden handle is that the package can be autoclaved to be sterilized (plastic sleeves or handles would melt in the autoclave).

Cotton swabs produced for home use are usually shorter, about three inches (7.6 cm) long, and usually double-tipped. The handles were first made of wood, then made of rolled paper, which is still most common (although tubular plastic is becoming popular). They are often sold in large quantities, possibly 300 or more to a container.

Swab stems exist in a wide variety of colors, such as blue, pink or green. However, the cotton itself is white.

Usage

The most common use for cotton swabs is to clean the ear canal and/or to remove earwax. However, medical experts recommend that it should not be used for that purpose as it can push earwax deeper into the ear, making it harder to remove and can be dangerous, possibly causing eardrum perforations and has proven to be fatal in at least "four or five ... cases" . File:Cotton-Swab-Cheek-090105-N-5681S-008.jpg|thumb|right|A U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman (right) using a swab to take a DNA sample from the inner cheek of a U.S. Navy Fireman (left) Medical-type swabs are often used to take microbiological cultures. They are swabbed onto or into the infected area, then wiped across the culture medium, such as an agar plate, where any bacteria from the swab will grow. They are also used to take DNA samples from, most commonly, the inner cheek. They can be used to apply medicines to a targeted area, to selectively remove substances from a targeted area, or to apply cleaning substances like Betadine.