Infants and children while playing may insert
objects either in the nose, external ear, or in the mouth, which may go down into the food
pipe or get aspirated into the airways.These
foreign bodies may be
- Vegetable - peanuts, gram seed, tamarind seed
- Metallic - pellets, safety pins, coins, nails, glass
- Marbles
Warning signs:
- Nasal foreign body – local pain, nasal blockade on
that side and nasal discharge which is either blood stained and/or purulent.
- Ear foreign body – earache, blocked passage, one sided ear discharge.
- Pharyngeal foreign body – pain, difficulty in swallowing.
- Esophageal foreign body – acute discomfort, excessive salivation.
- Laryngeal foreign body – choking cough which becomes croupy, hoarseness/loss of
voice, difficulty in breathing, blood in sputum and cyanosis (bluish tinge to skin).
Laryngeal obstruction may prove fatal either due to the object itself or inflammatory
reaction produced by the foreign body.
- Tracheobronchial foreign body – depending upon the size of the foreign body, it may
get stuck in the trachea or get aspirated in the right bronchus. There is history of
choking, gagging and coughing. If this is missed, a long period may pass without producing
major symptoms except a mild cough. dyspnoea, hoarseness, cyanosis, blood in sputum,
metallic taste. A partially obstructing foreign body permits the passage of air during
inspiration and expiration, hence wheezing may be audible.
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