FOREIGN BODIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 October 1938, Page 10

FOREIGN BODIES

CARE IS ESSENTIAL. IN THEIR REMOVAL.. It is not infrequent for children to get various foreign bodies in the mouth, nose, or eye, and such an accident is the cause of serious worry to parents or attendants. All kinds of things have been placed in the nose or ear by children through mischief or curiosity, and great care is necessary in their removal. In the case of the ear, the removal is often difficult, because the passage of the outer ,ear is narrower toward the surface, and there is a bottle neck a little way along the passage. The ear canal is completely blocked by the drum of the ear, and it is impossible for anything to pass into the middle ear unless the drum is ruptured or has been perforated by a previous abscess. It is very seldom that the drum is injured by a foreign body, but it has occurred when a nail, skewer, or similar object has been pushed in by a fall. If the drum is injured, there will be much pain and bleeding. In most cases there is no real damage and no need for panic. Unless there is reason to suspect a hole in the drum, it is quite safe to syringe the ear with luke-warm water. If there is any suggestion of present or past injury to the drum it would be very dangerous to attempt this, and the child should be taken to a doctor. Flies and Insects.

Flies, moths, ants, and other insects quite frequently find they way into an ear and cause severe discomfort by their fluttering. The best immediate treatment is to lay the child on its side with the affected ear uppermost and pour warm water into the ear in order to float the insect to the surface and to drown it. It will usually ■ float up and be readily removed. There is a common belief that earwigs are especially dangerous. They are no worse than any other insect, and have no desire to enter. Do not at any time use metal objects such as a hairpin tb remove foreign bodies, wax, etc. Objects in the Nose. Foreign bodies in the nose are more common, and many children make ahabit of pushing paper, grass, boot buttons, etc., into their nose. They usually cause no symptoms, and in many cases the child’s word, which cannot always be believed, is the only evidence that the object is in the nose. If not known, they may remain a considerable time, and after a while they cause a discharge of pus. A purulent discharge from one nostril is almost always caused by such an object. In some cases the object may be removed by gentle syringing, blowing the nose hard, or other simple means, but sometimes, owing to the swelling of the substance under the influence of moisture, removal may be difficult. A doctor has great difficulty with some objects, such as a bead or button with a rounded, slippery surface. If the object cannot be blown or syringed out it is necessary to get medical aid, as foreign bodies cause inflammation if left for some days. Treatment for Eyes. Many kinds of foreign substances find their way into the eyes, and according to the substance or the method of entry, may be trivial or dangerous in their effects. Lime, caustics, and acids are dangerous. If these enter, the eye should be bathed by plunging the face into water and opening the eye. In the case of an acid, the eye . should be immediately bathed with baking-soda solution in the strength of a level teaspoon to a large cup of warm water. The bathing should be followed by dropping castor oil into the eye. Ash, dust, sand, etc., can usually be bathed out without much difficulty, and castor oil instilled. If not removed by bathing, the upper lid can be pulled down over the lower and released. This uses the eyelashes as a brush, and is often successful. Sparks are very painful, and should be treated as above, but, if the irritation persists, the eyes should be seen by a doctor. Sand blown in by a strong wind ; sparks of steel from an emery wheel or other objects that enter at a high velocity, may become deeply imbedded in the clear front of the eye. These may be dangerous, and, if not removed by bathing, or by using the eyelashes as a brush, should be medically treated. Such an object can usually be seen on the front of the eye with a good light and a magnifying glass. No attempt should be made to remove it by means of a needle or the end of a wooden match. This attempt has often led to infection with great danger to the Sight.