Foreign Bodies in Ears, Eyes and Nose

Eyes: Eyelashes or particles of dust can easily get into the eyes. If your child’s eye seems irritated, but you cannot see anything in it, she may have an eye infection. Usually if there is a foreign body, copious watering of the eye will make it float out.

Do not let the child rub his eyes. Inspect it. If the object is still there and you can see it, try to remove it by sweeping across the eye very gently with a corner of a clean handkerchief or a piece of damp, cotton wool. If you see an scratch, or something embedded in it, take the child to a doctor immediately.

If a child squirts any stinging liquid like soap into his eyes, wash it out with lots of running water. Hold the child under the tap with the damaged eye lower than the other so that the substance is not washed into the unaffected eye. Use force to keep him under the tap for several minutes. Gently open the lids so that every fold is rinsed properly.

When you have thoroughly washed the eye, pause to consider. If it was only soap, things will be fine now. But, if it was acid, lavatory cleaner or bleach, you are in trouble. Take him to the nearest casualty department and take the chemical bottle with you.

Ears: Insects may crawl into your child’s ears. Or, your child may push something into his ears. You will find him tickling his ears, or rubbing and tugging at his ears. If he is old enough, he may complain of partial deafness.

If it is an insect, put a towel on your child’s shoulders. Hold his head to one side, with the affected ear on top, and pour a few drops of lukewarm water into his ear. Then tip his head to the other side, so that the affected ear is underneath. The water may wash out the foreign object. If this does not work, take him to a hospital.

If the foreign object that has got in is smooth and round, like a bead or a marble, which fills the ear canal, do not tarry, take him professional at once. Attempts to remove may push it further into the earand damage the ear drum. If it is an irregular shaped object that can be removed, you could try with a pair of tweezers. If you do not succeed with a gentle try, do not try anymore. Take him to a doctor.

If your child has some thick discharge from his ear that does not look like wax, take him to a doctor immediately.

Nose: Children sometimes stuff small pieces of food or other objects such as beads up their noses. This will make a smelly blood stained discharge to come out of his nose.

If your child is old enough to blow his nose, help him to blow one at a time. If this does not dislodge it, do not try to remove t he object yourself, take him to a hospital.

If something gets into your daughter’s vagina, you will probably know about it only when a foul-smelling discharge appears on her nappy or pants. Take her to a doctor immediately.

And, if you can see the object, you can probably remove it gently.