FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT

Having foreign bodies in the ear, nose, and throat is a common emergency, especially foreign bodies stucked in children’s airways, which can lead to death. Children can swallow or inhale foreign objects into the lungs, causing prolonged pneumonia or stuffing them into the ears and nose leading to ear and nose infections.

I. Foreign bodies in the ear canal.

Food, insects, toys, buttons, crayons are foreign objects that children can put in their ears and still do not cause any symptoms until ear pain, pus, tinnitus and hearing loss appear before going to see doctors. However, there are a few other cases such as insects (cockroaches) crawling into the ear causing severe ear pain that must be treated immediately.

Otolaryngologists use tweezers or thin, long forceps to put in the ear to remove the foreign bodies.

Magnets are sometimes used to grab metal objects.

Ear suction machine is used to pull foreign objects out.

After removing foreign bodies from the ear, the doctor will usually re-examine the child’s ear canal to see if there is any damage. Antibiotic ear drops are prescribed if there are signs of an ear infection.

II. Foreign bodies in the nose

Most foreign objects in children’s noses appear for many reasons, most of which are intentional actions due to chidren’s curiosity or that they put objects in their noses, or because the child smells or inhales smelly foreign objects. Common things that children from 2-6 years old may put into the nose could be plastic candy wrappers, plastic buttons, buttonholes, peanuts, beans, batteries, magnets, etc.

The most common symptoms of having a foreign body in the nose are pus from one side of the nose and having bad smell. In some cases, the child may even have a nosebleed.

Once a child has a blocked nose due to a foreign body, immediate medical intervention is required. If the foreign body is in a deep and difficult position to remove, anesthesia may be required to remove it. The following are some of the intruments used to remove a foreign body from the nose:

Nasal speculum or nasal endoscope.
Suction source and suction cannula with nozzles of various sizes
Tweezers or alligator clips
Wire loop and scraper with hook
Catheter with ball tip

After the foreign body is removed from the nose, the doctor can prescribe medicine depending on the actual situation of each case.

III. Foreign bodies in the throat

Having a foreign body in the throat causes suffocation and this case requires immediate medical intervention, parents should not try to grab the object, which can cause airway edema and move it deeper. Foreign objects can be obstructed in many places in the airway. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, death by suffocation due to foreign body obstructed in the throat usually occurs in children under 4 years of age.

Common causes:

– Choking by milk, porridge, rice.

– Inhaling small objects such as melon seeds, peanuts, custard-apple seeds, sapotier, coins, paper clips, etc. into their airways.

Signs:

– The child was healthy earlier.

– Infiltration syndrome: bad coughing, cyanosis, shortness of breath.

Although the symptoms listed above will probably go away. However, the foreign body can still be obstructed in the airway. The symptoms listed below still continue.

Wheezing breathing, when a baby breathes, the sound is squeaky
Cough is getting worse
Children can’t speak
Sore throat and chest tightness
Hoarseness
Green lip
Can’t breathe
Children gradually become unconscious

Foreign bodies obstructed in children are very dangerous if adults do not know how to handle them. Here’s how to prevent the worst from happening:

Hard round foods such as popcorn, candy, uncut grapes, peanuts or other nuts should not be given to young children.
Encourage children to stay still while eating and feed them one at a time.
Cut food into small pieces.
Never let your children run, jump or lie down while eating.
Do not let children play with coins.
When buying toys for children, you need to carefully read the notes on the toys
Learn skills to handle situations when children have foreign bodies.

* Children under 2 years old: method of patting back and pressing chest.