The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: GuitarStv on August 08, 2019, 07:51:00 PM
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. . . and now it won't come out. It's a small, round, translucent red piece of lego.
My wife is concerned, but I figure it'll work it's way out after a couple days. I can just barely see it at the back of his nose right now when I look up there with my bike light, but it's too far to reach with tweezers.
Thoughts?
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I have an ENT tool specifically designed for this situation when the parents bring their kid to the ER with something stuck up their nose or ear. If I was local to you, I'd offer to come over and try to pull it out.
If it really is too far for your home tweezers to reach, I'd caution against waiting a few days for it to work its way out. The reason is that your nasal passages are not epithelial tissue, like skin, but rather mucosal tissue which can break down quite easily if a foreign object is pressing against it for a few days. If your son is calm, you can probably let him sleep and see what happens overnight. It'll either come out, get swallowed and eventually passed, or stay in there. Then tomorrow, if it's still up there, take him to get it pulled out. Most urgent cares will probably not have a suitable tool besides standard tweezers. A pediatrician office may, and an ER that regularly sees kids should. Good luck.
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This is the tool I'm talking about.
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I've had several friends of mine deal with this by plugging the unaffected nostril and giving a quick blow into the kid's mouth. (Seal your mouth over theirs, like you're giving CPR, and give a quick puff.) Never had to try it myself, but seems to be successful pretty often.
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The joys of parenthood. Good luck.
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I worked at a peds ER for a while, happens all the time. They have special tools to get it out...they don’t “work” their way out. However I have seen a few kids sneeze them out while we were getting set up for a procedure
I’d advise against an urgent care or a pediatric office, I’ve seen quite a few times where they have done significant nasal and emotional trauma...and the kids still end up in the peds ER and we had to deal with a pissed off kid and parent
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I worked at a peds ER for a while, happens all the time. They have special tools to get it out...they don’t “work” their way out. However I have seen a few kids sneeze them out while we were getting set up for a procedure
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Yeah, I have vague memories of an ER trip to remove a pencil eraser from my nose when I was 3 or 4. It certainly deterred me from doing it again.
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I have a friend who accidentally inhaled a Barbie doll shoe up her nose when she was a small child. Had to go to the ER to get it removed. I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time (like your son’s LEGO up his nose isn’t funny right now) but I always start to chuckle when I think of my friend’s story. Here’s hoping you get to laugh at your son’s LEGO up the nose story some day.
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This is the tool I'm talking about.
Take the kid to the pediatrician. Small objects can cause large problems.
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Hate to be the pest* who points this out but MMM would probably look up a youtube video and then attempt to DIY the nasal procedure to get it out.
*Obligatory I am not a doctor, just posting for shits and giggles disclaimer.
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I've had several friends of mine deal with this by plugging the unaffected nostril and giving a quick blow into the kid's mouth. (Seal your mouth over theirs, like you're giving CPR, and give a quick puff.) Never had to try it myself, but seems to be successful pretty often.
That depends on how serious it is or how hard it stuck to the nose. I mean, it does not work all the time.
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It's probably too late now but my 3 year old daughter once put a pea really far up her nose. I blew into her mouth mouth-to-mouth resuscitation style and it poppped out. Might be different for a lego but worth a shot. I was unable to go to the ER as I had a two week old baby as well as I was by myself with both kids.
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My dear son did this with black beans from the sensory table at school. Before coming in our doc suggested we put the kid in the bathtub and see if he could blow bubbles in the water with his nose for a prize. Beans came down and we assisted with tweezers.
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My dear son did this with black beans from the sensory table at school. Before coming in our doc suggested we put the kid in the bathtub and see if he could blow bubbles in the water with his nose for a prize. Beans came down and we assisted with tweezers.
BeanCounter Does this explain the Origin of your user name or is it just a very fortuitous coincidence? Have to say it made me chuckle.
GuitarSTV hope everything works out ok - do let us know!
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When I was 3, I picked a piece of foam off of my car seat and stuck it up my nose. It stayed there for at least 6 months, and I had a runny nose the whole time (I'm told). It wasn't until they took me to the Dr to try and figure out what was going on with that "cold" that they got it out.
My mom saved it. I'm sure it got compacted over time, being foam, but the piece I saw was more like a 1x2 Lego plate; about twice the size of the round ones.
So yeah, might work itself out, but no guarantee.
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It's probably too late now but my 3 year old daughter once put a pea really far up her nose. I blew into her mouth mouth-to-mouth resuscitation style and it poppped out.
This also worked for me when my son jammed a little ball of playdoh up his nose. It's worth a try before heading to the ER.
Kids, huh? Good luck!
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Be aware that if your kid is anxious or squirms around a lot, the doctor will want to opt for general anesthesia to get it out safely and without too much psychological trauma. Ask me how I know.
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Former urgent care doc here, I second the method of pinching the other nostril closed and giving a couple quick puffs of air to the mouth like you were doing CPR. When it works it saves a lot of hassle.
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My dear son did this with black beans from the sensory table at school. Before coming in our doc suggested we put the kid in the bathtub and see if he could blow bubbles in the water with his nose for a prize. Beans came down and we assisted with tweezers.
BeanCounter Does this explain the Origin of your user name or is it just a very fortuitous coincidence? Have to say it made me chuckle.
GuitarSTV hope everything works out ok - do let us know!
haha. Total coincidence. Though maybe my son was counting beans like mom does all day. :) It is a fairly easy path to FIRE after all.
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Vivid memory of going to the ER at age 4 or 5 to have an M&M removed. It was the result of an experiment. I'd been sticking them up there and shooting them out and I'd learned that the further up they went, they more distance I could get on the blow out. Found out just how far up was too far. (My dad still says he's shocked I didn't go into science given my propensity for "experiments" like that.)
The chocolate melted in the waiting room and people thought I'd been in some horrible accident. But the shell was so splintered and stuck, they had to remove that bit by bit. The really fun part was that the ER doc was a classmate's father.
And we learned that while M&M's might not melt in your hand as the ad states, they WILL melt in your nose!
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Former urgent care doc here, I second the method of pinching the other nostril closed and giving a couple quick puffs of air to the mouth like you were doing CPR. When it works it saves a lot of hassle.
I'm going to store this one away in my "it's worth a try" section of my brain.
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Lego is still up there, en route to the brain. From what I can see it's been jammed just past a little fold of skin.
So far have tried:
- Tweezers (no good, kid won't sit still enough to get the tweezers close enough to the lego).
- Very thin metal wire with a small bent hook at the end (smaller than the tweezers - same issue)
- Telling kid to block one nostril and blow his noes as hard as possible.
- Blocking one nostril and blowing in kids mouth.
- Laying kid down on his back, pouring water in the nostril, getting him to turn to his side and blow
To try: Getting kid to blow bubbles in tub.
I feel like we'll have to take him to the doctor. Although how the hell the doctor will get him to sit still I don't know.
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Good luck, @GuitarStv
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new thought: Use a straw and try to siphon/suction it out? Just don't swallow it yourself.
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new thought: Use a straw and try to siphon/suction it out? Just don't swallow it yourself.
Ooh! Try a NoseFrida!
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new thought: Use a straw and try to siphon/suction it out? Just don't swallow it yourself.
Oh, I forgot to mention that. Tried that (although my plan was to put the vacuum to the other end of the straw for suction. He won't let me get the straw close enough to the lego in there.
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How old is the little shit, and what drugs do you have on hand?
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He's five and a half, and I don't have any drugs that my wife would approve for use to knock him out.
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Can you see the lego or is it up too far to see it?
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I can see it. It's about an inch into his nostril, resting flat partly behind a flap of skin.
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I can see it. It's about an inch into his nostril, resting flat partly behind a flap of skin.
If you can see it then it might be worth going and getting the long tweezers the ER uses like someone pictured above. Otherwise a quick trip to Urgent Care could fix it pretty quickly.
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This would cost $2000 in the US but you're in Canada. Isn't this shit free at urgent care?
You could always use a wet-dry vac hooked to the nostril. Use it in "low" mode because it could, uh, get a little messy otherwise.*
* Don't do this.
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I've always figured that the ER is for people with emergencies. This doesn't seem like an emergency to me. We'll see what happens tonight.
Really wish that he had jammed some metal up his nose - I've got some neodymium magnets that would easily take care of that.
OK, on tap for tonight:
- Blowing bubbles with nose in the tub
- Pouring something slippery (olive oil or similar?) into nose in the hopes that this will free things up a bit)
- More nose blowing
On the more pleasant side of things, I've totally taught my son the correct way to fire a single barrel snot rocket. Important life lesson. He's all set for winter cycling now.
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The advantage of a clinic is that multiple professionals will be available to hold him down while the LEGO is removed. Urgent care should be able to take care of it.
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I would look up local ENTs and see if anyone can squeeze you in this afternoon. Here is a likely chain of events:
1. Go to UC, pay $300. Can't get it out. Strike fear of the Lord in to you, encourage you to go directly to ER.
2. Go to ER, pay $2000. Can't get it out. Explain that it is not an emergency, can be removed in clinic on Monday.
3. Go to ENT clinic Monday, pay $300. The end.
Or, just skip to step #3.
Many times these can be removed safely and easily in a PCP office, an UC or the ER. But ENTs can always get them out.
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The advantage of a clinic is that multiple professionals will be available to hold him down while the LEGO is removed. Urgent care should be able to take care of it.
If it comes to that I've got some ratcheting straps in the garage . . .
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I echo the sentiments that if you are to go see a medical provider, skip the urgent care (they won't have the proper tool), but go to an ENT if you can. If you must go to an ER, go to one attached to a large multi specialty academic center.
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I would look up local ENTs and see if anyone can squeeze you in this afternoon. Here is a likely chain of events:
1. Go to UC, pay $300. Can't get it out. Strike fear of the Lord in to you, encourage you to go directly to ER.
2. Go to ER, pay $2000. Can't get it out. Explain that it is not an emergency, can be removed in clinic on Monday.
3. Go to ENT clinic Monday, pay $300. The end.
Or, just skip to step #3.
Many times these can be removed safely and easily in a PCP office, an UC or the ER. But ENTs can always get them out.
This is a really good point.
GuitarStv, I kind of think you're past the wait and see period on this. If it was going to come out via blowing, it would have done so by now.
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How about an update - please tell me it's been resolved?
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Long ago my sister put a pea up her nose- my mother had her sniff some pepper and she sneezed it out. The longer the object is in- the harder it will be to get out because the tissues will swell around it.
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How about an update - please tell me it's been resolved?
In a manner of speaker. It moved up into his brain, and we are now trying for a new son. :P
Seriously though, we just took him to our family doctor's office and she used some skinny tweezers to pull it out. Took like 10 minutes. The piece was MUCH bigger than I had thought, which explains why it wasn't coming out. Honestly, I'm kinda impressed that my son managed to cram the whole damned thing up his nose.
Thought it was this:
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/262499968710_/Lego-10-Trans-Red-1x1-round-dot-plate.jpg)
Turned out it was this (shown actual size):
(https://img.brickowl.com/files/image_cache/larger/lego-transparent-red-light-cover-1-x-1-x-1-667-with-bar-28624-58176-30-98197-108.jpg)
I could only see the little base of the damned thing since it was so far up his nose, which is why it looked like one of the little dots. That lego would never have come out without tweezers.
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In a manner of speaker. It moved up into his brain, and we are now trying for a new son.
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Thanks for the update - and best of luck with the new son ;)
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Maybe get the new one some mega bloks.
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Maybe see if the new one can come without a nose.
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There is an old Norwegian poem about this:
""And don't put
peas up your nose
while I'm away",
said our mother and left.
That was something
we had never thought about.
So that is what we did."
-Marit Tusvik, 1984
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My mommy said not to put beans in my ears, beans in my ears, beans in my ears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcvoC3u__xs
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What a relief
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There is an old Norwegian poem about this:
""And don't put
peas up your nose
while I'm away",
said our mother and left.
That was something
we had never thought about.
So that is what we did."
-Marit Tusvik, 1984
This is hilarious. Putting small objects up the nose in childhood is such a universal human behavior.
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Just don't ask why he did it. You won't get any kind of straight answer.
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No need to ask. I suspect that 99.9% of the time when an object becomes lodged up anyone's nose it's because the owner of said nose was being a damned idiot.
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Your son is so lucky! When I was a stupid kid I had to put a button up my nose!
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Glad to hear things were resolved with a minimum of fuss!
The only story I have ever been told about my Great Uncle is when he stuffed a lima bean up his nose and didn't tell anyone until it started to sprout. The doctor had to break it into pieces to get it out. Kids are idiots.
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No need to ask. I suspect that 99.9% of the time when an object becomes lodged up anyone's nose it's because the owner of said nose was being a damned idiot.
My 4-year-old rationale was that I thought it would fit and wanted to see if I was right. I was. Hadn't given much (any) thought to what would happen next.
In a kid your son's age, it's more a bad combo of curiosity and lack of forethought. If he does it again, then yes, he's an idiot. ;-)
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I once lost a dvd player when a toddler jammed a bagel into the narrow opening.
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There is an old Norwegian poem about this:
""And don't put
peas up your nose
while I'm away",
said our mother and left.
That was something
we had never thought about.
So that is what we did."
-Marit Tusvik, 1984
This is hilarious. Putting small objects up the nose in childhood is such a universal human behavior.
And why on earth is it?
You'd think natural selection would've weeded it out millenia ago
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I once lost a dvd player when a toddler jammed a bagel into the narrow opening.
At least it didn't go up his nose. :P
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I once lost a dvd player when a toddler jammed a bagel into the narrow opening.
At least it didn't go up his nose. :P
It was not replaced and did bring an end to mulitple re-viewings of 101 Dalmations, so there was that.
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My daughter stuck an object in her ear at around age 4.5.. It was an arts and crafts googly eye. Try telling all the health staff " I have an eye in my ear"... the confusion abounds. It was round and slick and they needed a tool like a long straw with a little balloon at the end, and we went from the emerg. clinic to emergency at the hospital for the right tool.
There was a 6 hour wait at the emergency department after a 2 hour wait at the clinic, of course.
She got a purple freezie at the end of it.
So the next week she did it again. For a freezie. ARGH!!!