A child has a foreign body in his ear or nose - first aid rules

The imagination of the kids is limitless, so they always need an “eye and an eye”. One of the most frightening situations for parents is if the baby puts something in their nose or ear. It can be a croup, a bead, a small button, a part from the designer or some kind of toy. Theoretically, such situations can be prevented by not leaving the little one alone with dangerous objects and not letting him out of sight for a minute. However, sometimes an insect that crawled into the ear can become a foreign body that has fallen where it is not necessary. In order not to get confused when a foreign body enters the nose or ear, parents need to be aware of how to recognize the situation and what can be done by themselves.

How to “calculate” that a foreign body is in the nose

Even if you are constantly in control of the baby, a foreign object may be in his nose. It takes just a couple of seconds to stick in a nose or accidentally inhale a small object or piece of food. Even if the child speaks well, he still does not understand his feelings well and may himself not notice that there is something in the nose, so the parents themselves have to guess what happened by the following signs:

• in a child lays a nose, but only on one side;
• the skin around the nostril, into which something has gotten, turns red;
• discharge from the nose despite the absence of a cold;
• the child suddenly begins to sneeze and his eyes watery.

Sometimes a foreign body is complicated by some circumstances. For example, if the “object” that gets in is a piece of food and it begins to rot and decompose, or if the parents failed to understand in time that something had hit the nose, and the inflammatory process had already begun. In this case, more "severe" symptoms appear:

• purulent discharge (sometimes with blood) and putrefactive odor appear from the nose;
• there is a purulent runny nose, but only on one side;
• the mucous membrane in the nasal cavity becomes inflamed (rhinosinusitis);
• the head from the side of the nostril in which the foreign object is located may hurt.

What to do when a foreign body enters the nose

First you need to examine the child and assess the situation: whether you can handle it yourself or need the help of a doctor. If the item is not stuck deeply and is clearly visible, you can act on your own:

• drip baby vasoconstrictor dropsto relieve swelling of the mucosa caused by a foreign object entering the nose;
• we ask the child to blow his nose through only one nostril - the one in which the foreign object is located (the second one must be clamped).

If the child bleeds from the nose upon contact with a foreign object, you need to contact a doctor immediately, without even trying to solve the problem yourself.

How to understand that a child has a foreign body in his ear

If in the nose of a child small objects or pieces of food are most often found, then in the ears, especially in the summer, there are creeping insects. The insect can creep into the ear while the child is enthusiastically playing or sleeping, and neither the baby nor the parents can even notice this. You can understand that a foreign body has got into the ear by the following symptoms:

• the child begins to hear poorly;
• earwax begins to separate in an increased volume;
• the ear becomes inflamed and begins to fester;
• the child complains of pain in the ear.

What to do if a foreign body is in the baby’s ear

First of all, you need to calm yourself and reassure the child, because his sensations can be very painful. It is necessary to act very carefully so as not to aggravate the situation.

• We examine the baby’s ear to assess the situation. To do this, slightly pull the ear forward so that the external auditory meatus straightens and is clearly visible. Trying to get the item yourself is possible only if it is located in the external auditory canal;
• If the object is practically on the surface and is clearly visible, try to remove it with a cotton swab or tweezers. In any other cases - only to the doctor.

How to get an insect from the baby’s abalone

An insect in the ear is a common story, but, fortunately, almost always has a good ending. You can remove the insect from the ear yourself. To do this, you need glycerin or liquid paraffin and a cotton swab.

• Glycerin or vaseline oil heated to 37-39 degrees should be instilled into the eye (approximately 3-4 drops). This is necessary in order to close the access of oxygen to the insect. In 3-4 minutes, the insect dies and can be removed. The child at the same time feels stuffy in the ear, which even after removing the insect will remain for some time;
• 3-5 minutes after instillation, ask the child to tilt the child’s head above the table, in fact lie on the table with the ear into which they were instilled. On the table you can lay a napkin or towel;
• In this position, the child needs to stay 15-20 minutes. At this time, oil will leak from the abalone, and with it the insect. Even if the insect does not fall out by itself, it will significantly advance to the very edge of the ear canal, and then it will need to be very carefully removed with a cotton swab. It is very important to act with a cotton swab, and not with forceps or tweezers (this is the case with insects): they can accidentally break off part of the insect, and another part of it will remain in the ear and will be difficult to extract;
• After removing the insect, you need to carefully inspect it to make sure that it comes out completely, to a single limb. Any remaining parts of the insect in the ear will provoke inflammation.

As for the baby’s ears, then mom needs to be careful even with ordinary hygiene procedures. If you clean your baby’s ears with a cotton swab, you can’t calculate the depth and instead of cleaning just push the earwax to the eardrum. From this, sulfur plugs are formed, which in fact become foreign bodies. Poor quality cotton buds can leave cotton in the child’s ear, so it’s best to carry out hygiene of the ears with cotton flagella (see proper baby ear care).

In situations with a foreign body entering the ear or nose, the most important thing is timely diagnosis, so be attentive to children and pay attention to all unusual symptoms. The sooner the problem is identified and resolved, the less health consequences it will leave for the crumbs.

Important!

• First aid for a child who is choking or choking
• What to do if a child swallows a foreign object
• What to do if a child is bitten by mosquitoes, midges, bees, wasps - first aid for insect bites
• First aid for a child in emergency situations

Video: OBJ-Foreign bodies in the ear and nose

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