Popping out beads as easy as a gentle mother's kiss

Q. A woman came to me today with a common but frustrating problem shared by many parents of toddlers. Her 2-year-old daughter stuck a bead up her nose and couldn't get it out. Mum could barely see it, a bright pink thing wedged deep in the nostril, and there was no way to reach it. The child was upset, and wasn't old enough to blow her nose effectively. Would we need to sedate her child to get the bead out, she asked.
A. This is an almost daily presentation in the emergency department, and this week I want to share a simple trick for removing foreign Nasal bodies in children. With the child sitting up, mum held the child's unaffected nostril closed. She then formed a tight seal with her mouth over the child's mouth. She blew gently. The air had nowhere to go but out the occluded nostril. The bead popped out like champagne cork. The child's Nasal lining looked fine afterwards, and both mum and child left the ED happy.
This technique, called "the mother's kiss", is an easy and child-friendly solution to a bead up the nose. Just remember not to blow too hard (you don't want to injure the child's lungs), and to see your doctor first if there's any concern about injury to Nasal tissues, infection, breathing difficulty, or if the foreign body has been up there a long time.
One special circumstance is button batteries. Kids find these tiny, shiny metallic things appealing, and many end up inside kids, where they give off electrical currents and can leak sodium hydroxide, causing alkali burns when they become lodged in the nose or oesophagus. These need prompt removal (the "mother's kiss" method is fine), but then require a complete Nasal examination by a health professional to identify and treat any mucosal burns or perforation. As always, prevention is easier than cure. Keep small objects out of the reach of little kids, or they'll end up inserted or ingested.
Gary Payinda MD is an emergency medicine consultant in Whangarei.
Have a science, health topic or question you'd like addressed? Email: drpayinda@gmail.com
(This column provides general information and is not a substitute for the medical advice of your personal doctor.)