Sounds like mealy bugs. The fuzzy is part of the bugs secretion. They suck the juices out of the stem/leaves. When you kill them with alcohol you can sometimes see the brown spots where they were feeding. I use the same technique that you are using for an infestation that I think can be controlled. Sometimes all it takes is a watchful eye and regular diligence with the Q-tips but if the infestation looks pretty widespread, I sometimes resort to systemics which gets incorportated into the plant that bug is feeding on and deters them. Sometimes if the infestation is just in a particular spot, I will cut/prune/remove that part of plant which may stop spread of the bug.
Hope that helps.
