Foreign body in the nose: symptoms, first aid

The curiosity of children sometimes has no limits.

During the game, accidentally or unconsciously the smallest are able to shove a foreign body into their nasal passage - a bead, a small detail of a favorite toy, a bone from a berry or a seed.In some cases, this condition at first time may not be accompanied by unpleasant sensations and do not annoy kids.However, if an alien body is not removed in time, complications are possible.

Table of contents: Cause and effect Foreign body in nose: symptoms Diagnosis Removal of foreign body from nose Complications Prevention

Cause and effect

Most small patients diagnosed with a foreign body of the nose not older than 5-7years.Most often, they get to the reception after they have pain, one-sided stuffing and discharge from the affected nostril .After all the necessary manipulations to track a foreign body, the doctor decides to extract it.Typically, the latter is at this point in the lower nasal passage, although medicine is also known cases where one part of the object was in the nasal septum, and the other - in the lower nasal shell.

Please note! Not always foreign bodies fall into the nose as a result of conscious actions.Sometimes they find themselves there due to trauma, at the time of vomiting through the nasopharynx or after medical procedures, for example, when a child is forgotten to remove a tampon from his nose that has stopped bleeding.

All the foreign bodies that enter the nasal passages are divided by the nature of their origin by:

• living organisms - insects, worms, larvae and even leeches;
• organic - pieces of food, bones, seeds;
• inorganic - buttons, beads, cotton swabs, paper, sponges;
• metal - coins, pins, nails, needles.

Also in medical circles there is one more classification, for sensitivity to the X-ray.According to it, foreign bodies can be:

• radiopaque, that is, noticeable in the usual picture;
• X-ray non-contrast - in order to see them in the picture, X-rays are taken with a contrast agent.

Foreign body in the nose: symptoms

The first and most obvious sign, indicating the presence of a foreign body in the nasal passage, is a one-sided nasal congestion.

In addition to it, the problem will also be indicated:

• discomfort, accompanied by a feeling of raspiraniya and itching;
• tenderness in the affected nostril;
• congestion;
• constant sneezing and the appearance of transparent snot;
• lacrimation;
• redness under the nose, indicating that the child is constantly rubbing this area;
• irritability, whims, nervousness;
• nasal sound when talking;
• in advanced cases, possible suppuration, including a lacrimal sac;
• appearance of purulent discharge with blood and putrefactive odor from the affected half of the nose;
• in some cases it is also possible to form rhinoliths - nasal stones, due to the deposition of calcium carbonate and phosphate on the stuck objects, which leads to the development of the inflammatory process of mucous membranes;
• headache, dizziness;
• perceptible foreign body movement when coughing or deep sighs;
• pain giving to the cheek, pharynx or forehead, especially when sharp objects hit.

Important! Doctors do not recommend removing the foreign body from the nose, even if, at first glance, the process seems simple.Due to inept actions, objects are able to enter the nasal septum, the inferior nasal cavity, into the choana, the food or the respiratory tract.Moreover, in this case the situation is likely to be exacerbated by bleeding due to a mucous injury.

Diagnostics

The presence of a foreign body in the nasal passages in the office of the otolaryngologist is confirmed.As a rule, the diagnosis begins with the collection of anamnesis, although you can not completely rely on it in the case of young children.Parents may not notice the moment when the object was in the nose of the child, and the child himself can simply be afraid to say about it to his parents, and after a while and completely forget.

The next step is a rhinoscopy or fibroscopy.They are effective if the localization of the foreign body is in the rear.In this case, the mucous membranes are treated with epinephrine, which helps to reduce swelling and open access to the doctor for examination.Such a procedure allows not only to reveal the location of a foreign body, its magnitude and character, but also to suggest the way of getting inside, and, as a consequence, planning the path of extraction.

Other diagnostic methods may be used at the physician's discretion:

• Introduction of a metal probe for nasal sensation with local anesthesia - it is indispensable in cases where the object was in the nose too long, which caused a strong puffiness of the mucous membranes, Development of inflammation and granulation tissue;
• ultrasound examination;
• computed tomography of the sinuses of the nose;
• bacterial culture;
• Radiography with or without contrast medium.

Please note! It is necessary to go to the doctor immediately after the appearance of suspicions of foreign bodies in the nose. In advanced cases, granulation tissue appears on the lesion site, the purpose of which is to promote the healing of wounds by the type of secondary tension.As a result, the child will constantly have pain in the place of localization of the foreign body.In addition, the process of diagnosing the problem as a result of this will be difficult.

Removal of a foreign body from the nose

An effective way to get rid of discomfort is the rapid removal of a foreign body from the sinuses.It should be performed as soon as possible, because, firstly, the nasal passages are narrowed in children, which complicates the situation, and secondly, they develop swelling and inflammatory processes more rapidly.

Please note! If the foreign body stops near the natural openings of the nose, you can try to extract it yourself by blowing.To do this, it is enough to take a deep breath through the mouth, and then, closing the healthy nostril and mouth, exhale the air through the affected nostril.

For older children who, moreover, can appreciate whether the item came out of the nose completely, blowing is usually enough.

If, for some reason, the situation has not changed since then, the foreign object is removed outpatient in several stages:

• Bleeding nose - at this stage a vasoconstrictive solution is inserted into the nose and after a few minutes the baby is asked to blow his nose.As a rule, large bodies successfully exit in this case.If this does not happen, go to the next stage.
• Using a blunt hook.Manipulations are extremely simple: they apply local anesthesia, then they hook a special hook for the foreign body and, with its help, pull the last with sliding movements on themselves.If necessary, the procedure is repeated several times.
• Surgical removal.It is resorted to if the body has penetrated into soft tissues, as a result of which the process of its removal is difficult.Also, the operation is justified if the object has a sharp end and can injure the mucous membranes.

In the case of the appearance of rhinolytitis - nasal stone, all procedures are performed under anesthesia.Previously, using forceps, rhinolite is crushed into small pieces, and then removed by using a hook.

Important! Do not remove foreign bodies of round shape with tweezers or forceps.At any second they can move into the nasopharynx or deep nose, respiratory tract.

The final stage of treatment is anti-inflammatory therapy.It is used even if the item has been successfully extracted at home.Within its framework, the patient is instilled in each nostril a drop of a solution made on the basis of medicinal herbs.In severe cases, drops with antibiotics are used.

Complications of

Prolonged disregard of the problem and, as a consequence, a prolonged presence of a foreign body in the nose, can provoke an enlargement of the latter and blockage of the nasal passage.Most often, they are diagnosed when you hit peas, seeds, paper.In this case, the child gradually begins to breathe through the mouth.But this is by no means the worst.

Worse, when the foreign body begins to crumble into small pieces directly in the nasal passages.Then some of its parts when sneezing or coughing move, getting into different departments.The only way to save a small patient from a problem is to gradually get them.Such a procedure, as a rule, is carried out in a hospital.

Another unpleasant consequence is the formation of rhinolith.This is the nasal stone that appears as a result of the foreign body's fouling with salts that are in the secretion of the mucous membranes of the nose.

Please note! Small objects in the nose are no less terrible than big ones.They may not last for a long time, then provoke the development of granulation tissue, pain and difficulty diagnosing the cause.

Prevention

It is possible to prevent a foreign body from entering the nose by following a set of simple rules that state that:

1. Do not give small children items that small parts can get into their noses, for example,Beads, sewing accessories, cereals.
2. It is necessary to buy toys for the child strictly by age.This applies to designers with small parts, demountable machines, dolls, in the kit to which are items of everyday use.
3. With children of young and preschool age, you must necessarily talk a lot, explaining the safety rules on the street, away, in the kindergarten.It is extremely important to convey information to them, simultaneously describing the entire danger of the situation.After all, if at home they are in relative safety, then in the street where the same small children frolic, whose fantasy can be developed beyond the years, everything changes.
4. To avoid trouble when working with small parts, such as beads, beads, groats, in particular in the process of making hand-made articles, it is worth wearing a gauze bandage.It is interesting that doctors recommend that this rule be used not only for children, but also for their parents.
5. If the child has worked with small parts without a gauze dressing and there is a risk of foreign body getting into the nasal passage, wash it with a special saline solution.
6. Do not laugh or talk while eating.
7. When poisoning at the time of vomiting, the head should be tilted so that the vomit does not enter the choanal holes.

Foreign body in the nose - this is not the most serious condition, meanwhile, it requires care and accuracy.In order to avoid serious consequences and complications, it is only for medical workers to extract any items from the nasal passages.In case of timely access to them, the procedure, as a rule, takes only a few minutes.

Betsik Julia, medical reviewer