Foreign matter in the nose

Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

Small children in particular can quickly put a foreign body in their noses, for example a pea, a marble or a Lego brick. The reason is usually pure curiosity and an urge to research. In adults, on the other hand, something like this happens unintentionally, for example when a fly lands in the nose on a bike tour. Find out here how to provide first aid in such cases and when it is advisable to see a doctor.

Brief overview

• What to do if there is a foreign body in the nose Covering the unblocked nostril and asking the victim to snort hard.
• Foreign bodies in the nose - risks: e. B. nosebleeds, restricted nasal breathing, secretion, mineral salt deposits around a foreign body that has been stuck unnoticed in the nose for a long time (nasal stone formation)
• When to the doctor It is best to always have such a foreign body removed by a doctor. This is especially true with sharp or pointed foreign bodies in the nose.

Caution!

• Never try to pull out a foreign object in the nose with your fingers, tweezers, scissors or the like. This tends to push it deeper into the nasal passage and / or injure the mucous membrane. Then it can bleed a lot!
• If a child suddenly has a nosebleed or complains of pain on only one side of the nose, the cause may be a foreign object in the nose.

Foreign bodies in the nose: what to do?

Small children in particular like to stuff something into their olfactory organ that doesn't belong there - for example nuts, rice or pebbles. It is less common for foreign bodies to get lost in adults' noses, for example when a foreign body is inhaled through the nose (e.g. a fly).

If there are small foreign bodies in the nose that have not penetrated too deeply, you can provide first aid as follows:

• Hold the child's unobstructed nostril closed. If an adult is affected, they can usually do it themselves.
• Ask the child / adult to breathe in through their mouth and then forcefully blow out the foreign body through the nostril.

You should leave the removal of sharp-edged or pointed foreign bodies in the nose to the doctor!

Foreign bodies in the nose: risks

If a foreign body gets into the nose, it can impede nasal breathing (on one side), especially if it has penetrated deeper into the main nasal cavity. This can also happen with dried legumes (such as peas): they swell up when they come into contact with nasal secretions. It is then usually more difficult to breathe through the affected nostril.

There is generally no risk of suffocation with a foreign body in the nose - unless the object slips backwards over the throat into the windpipe and obstructs it (foreign body aspiration)!

A foreign object in the nose can also cause nosebleeds if the object injures small vessels in the nose.

Other possible complaints with a foreign body in the nose are:

• itching
• Sneeze
• acute unilateral pain
• Secretions (e.g. foul-smelling, purulent secretion from foreign bodies that have 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 a long time. Doctors then speak of a secondary nasal stone (secondary rhinolith).

Foreign bodies in the nose: when to see a doctor?

If you have a foreign body in your nose, you should always see a doctor (e.g. family doctor, ear, nose and throat doctor, pediatrician). It is particularly important to see a doctor quickly in the following cases:

• 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.
• The child complains of severe pain.

Foreign bodies in the nose: check with a doctor

In the case of children, the doctor will first ask the parents what symptoms the offspring are showing and what they could have put up their noses.

A nasoscopy (rhinoscopy) can be used to determine exactly where the foreign body is located.

Foreign bodies in the nose: treatment by the doctor

The doctor can often remove the foreign body from the nose quickly and easily as part of the nasoscopy, for example with fine tweezers. Local anesthesia is usually sufficient for this.

If the object is very deep in the nose or if deposits (rhinolites) have already formed all around, an operation under general anesthesia may be necessary.

Prevent foreign objects in the nose

• Make sure that small objects such as beads, paper balls, erasers, small toy parts, peas or small stones are not accessible to children under three years of age.
• When eating, be careful that children do not stick something up their noses unobserved.
• Supervise older children when handling pointed and sharp-edged objects (such as tools, scissors, knitting needles).

This precaution will help protect children from a potentially dangerous foreign object in their nose.

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