Brief overview
- What to do if you have a foreign body in your nose? Hold the unblocked nostril shut and ask the affected person to snort firmly.
- Foreign body in the nose – risks: e.g. nosebleeds, restricted nasal breathing, secretion, mineral salt deposits around a foreign body that has been stuck in the nose unnoticed for some time (nasal calculus formation)
- When to see a doctor? It is always best to have such a foreign body removed by a doctor. This applies in particular to sharp or pointed foreign bodies in the nose.
Attention!
- Never try to remove a foreign body in the nose with your fingers, tweezers, scissors or similar. This is more likely to push it deeper into the nasal passage and/or injure the mucous membrane. This can cause severe bleeding!
- If a child suddenly gets a nosebleed or complains of pain on only one side of the nose, the reason may be a foreign body in the nose.
Foreign body in the nose: what to do?
Young children in particular like to stuff something into their nostrils that doesn’t belong there – such as nuts, rice or small stones. Foreign bodies are less likely to get stuck in the nose of adults, for example if a foreign body is inhaled through the nose (e.g. a fly).
For smaller foreign bodies in the nose that have not penetrated too deeply, you can provide first aid as follows:
- Ask the child/adult to breathe in through the mouth and then sniff vigorously through the nostril with the foreign body.
The removal of sharp-edged or pointed foreign bodies in the nose should be left to the doctor!
Foreign bodies in the nose: risks
If a foreign body gets into the nose, it can obstruct nasal breathing (on one side), especially if it has penetrated deeper into the nasal cavity. This can also happen with dried legumes (such as peas): They swell up in contact with nasal secretions. Breathing through the affected nostril is then usually more difficult.
A foreign body in the nose is generally not a choking hazard – unless the object slips backwards over the throat into the windpipe and blocks it (foreign body aspiration)!
A foreign body in the nose can also cause nosebleeds if the object injures small vessels in the nose.
Other possible symptoms of a foreign body in the nose are
- itching
- sneezing
- Acute pain on one side
- secretions (e.g. foul-smelling, purulent secretions if the foreign body has been stuck in the nose for a long time)
In addition, mineral salts can be deposited around a foreign body that has been stuck in the nose unnoticed for some time. Doctors then speak of a secondary nasal stone (secondary rhinolith).
Foreign bodies in the nose: when to see a doctor?
- The foreign body in the nose is sharp-edged or pointed (e.g. shard, paper clip, needle)
- Bloody or purulent secretion comes out of the nose
- Breathing is difficult
- Severe pain
Foreign body in the nose: examination by a doctor
In children, the doctor will first ask the parents what symptoms the child is showing and what they may have stuck in their nose.
A nasal endoscopy (rhinoscopy) can be used to determine exactly where the foreign body is located.
Foreign body in the nose: treatment by the doctor
The doctor can often remove the foreign body from the nose quickly and easily during the rhinoscopy, for example with fine tweezers. A local anesthetic is usually sufficient for this.
If the object is very deep in the nose or if deposits (rhinoliths) have already formed, an operation under general anesthesia may be necessary.
Preventing foreign bodies in the nose
- Make sure that small objects such as beads, paper balls, erasers, toy parts, peas or pebbles are not accessible to children under the age of three.
- When eating, make sure that children do not stick anything up their noses unobserved.
- Supervise older children when handling pointed and sharp-edged objects (such as tools, scissors, knitting needles).
