As much as you might want to have eyes on the back of your head, it's just not possible to watch your curious, adventurous toddler every second of the day, and there will be times when your tot takes advantage. At this age, they are testing their limits and exploring all kinds of places — including their noses!
While an object stuck in your toddler's nose is usually not an emergency, you may need medical help to get it out.
Here’s what you need to know if your young child lodges something in his nostril, plus symptoms to watch for if you aren’t exactly sure.
What objects can get stuck in a child's nose?
Don’t blame yourself (and try not to panic). If your toddler sees you upset, it could make him scared to tell you what he put into his nose. You need all the information you can get, especially if you didn’t see it happen.
Here are some common objects that tend to get stuck in a child’s nose (and some of these are choking hazards too, so they should be kept out of a toddler's reach anyway if you have them at home at all):[1]
- Small toys and accessories. Put all those Barbie shoes up, up and away for now.
- Beads, sequins and other small craft supplies. Even stickers can be bunched up and shoved up a little nose.
- Tissues, napkins, tissue paper and cotton balls. A great fine-motor activity for toddlers is rolling tissue paper into balls and gluing them onto paper, but watch for any that might go MIA.
- Clay, crayons or Play-Dough. If your child suddenly has rainbow-colored mucus, you may want to check the crayon box.
- Game pieces. Those little bones from the game Operation or the houses from Monopoly are all possible culprits.
- Erasers. This one might be more common among children in day care, preschool or elementary school, but can happen anytime a little one has a little detachable eraser around. Keep an eye on your toddler when he's drawing or coloring with colored pencils.
- Food. All things are possible when it comes to toddlers at mealtime. Cheerios and other finger foods can easily wind up in the nose (and other places).
- Medication. All medications need to stay out of sight and out of reach of your child.
- Button batteries. If you think your toddler has a button battery up his nose — which are found in some remote controls, thermometers and small toys — consider it an emergency and head straight to the ER. Button batteries can cause severe tissue damage and burns in as little as two hours. The higher the voltage of the battery, the faster the injury.[2]
What are symptoms of a foreign object stuck in a child's nose?
If you saw your child “in the act,” you may already know something is stuck in his nose. But toddlers can be sneaky, and unfortunately they may not have the vocabulary yet to tell you when something is wrong.
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Be on the lookout for these common symptoms in your toddler:[3]
- Foul-smelling discharge from only one nostril
- Nose pain on one side
- Bloody nose, especially one that won’t stop
- Bad breath
- Nonverbal pointing at their nose in an attempt to communicate pain or discomfort
How do you get a foreign object out of a toddler’s nose?
Don’t panic, and don’t pretend you’re an expert. Make only one attempt to remove the object from your child’s nose on your own.
Here are some tricks you can try yourself:[4]
- Have your toddler blow his nose if possible. If your toddler understands how to blow out his nose into a tissue, you can have him blow while you gently press on the nostril that isn't runny. This may loosen the object enough for it to come out.
- See if you can (carefully) remove the object manually. If you can see the object, try removing it with your fingers if you can reach it easily. Don't probe or use tweezers (or anything else) that could push the object further into the nasal canal or injure the nose if your little one were to move suddenly.
- Try the "mother's kiss" method. It’s somewhat like performing mouth-to-mouth, but is backed by research as a great at-home strategy for removing an object from a child’s nose. Start by placing your mouth over your child’s mouth. Hold the nostril that isn’t blocked closed with your finger, and blow gently into your child’s mouth. That force can sometimes do the trick.[5]
Remember, the more times you try, the more scared and uncooperative your toddler may be when a doctor tries to remove it. So keep your efforts to a minimum.
When should you take your child to the hospital for an object stuck in their nose?
If you tried once to remove the object from your child’s nose unsuccessfully, it's time to get help.
Don’t wait too long. Pediatricians and emergency room doctors can see what they're dealing with more easily early on. Some objects, like a bean or a popcorn kernel, can swell and become harder to get out the longer you wait. Plus, infection could occur.
Here’s when to leave removal to the medical professionals or seek medical care even if you think you’ve dislodged the object in your toddler's nose:
- You can’t see or remove the piece of food or toy yourself
- Your toddler continues to have nasal discharge running out of the nostril even after you think you've removed the object
- A resulting nosebleed in your tot lasts more than 15 to 20 minutes if the object is still in there
- You're not sure whether you've gotten all of whatever was in your toddler's nose
- You suspect your toddler may have stuck a small battery or other chemical-containing object up his nose, which can burn the nasal passages and usually requires a trip straight to the ER
If it's after-hours at your pediatrician's office, you'll probably have to go to the emergency room or urgent care.
How do doctors remove an object stuck in a toddler’s nose?
How a doctor removes an object from your child’s nose depends on a number of things. Toddlers may need to be sedated to properly examine their nostrils with a nasal speculum, which is a small tool used to hold the nostrils open.
Here's what might happen at the doctor's office, urgent care or ER:[6]
- If your toddler’s nose is barely bleeding, the doctor will likely put a solution in the nostril to shrink the blood vessels. This will stop any bleeding and make it easier to see what’s going on.
- The pediatrician or pediatric urgent care doctor will attempt to remove the object if he or she can do so safely using various instruments, such as special forceps. That's often enough to get it out, but if not, your little one will be sent to a pediatric ENT doctor or to the ER.
- If those methods fail, or an X-ray shows something concerning, surgery may be needed to remove the object.
Once the object is safely out of your toddler’s nose, there’s not much else to do, other than give your little one lots of extra TLC and maybe some acetaminophen (Tylenol) if his nose hurts. The doctor may also check your child's ears to make sure there is nothing else stored away.
The nose may bleed for a little bit (after all, it’s been poked and prodded), so be sure to ask the doctor to tell you how to stop a toddler nosebleed.
How to prevent toddlers from putting objects in their nose
Kids will be kids, and as much as you may try, you’ll never be able to control all variables. But here are some strategies you can try to reduce the risk of a foreign object getting stuck up your toddler’s nostril:
- Supervise toddlers while they eat, and clean up food that may have fallen on the floor.
- Give your child some nose care tips and model the behavior you want him to follow.
- Teach older siblings to work on their craft projects with small pieces on a table away from your toddler.
- Clean up any small toys and game pieces, as you would when babyproofing your house.
- Always keep an eye out when your child is playing outside. Rocks, sand, bugs and other small objects are all capable of ending up inside a nose.
- Store button batteries and medicines out of sight and reach of children.
If you catch your child trying to stick something in his nose, stay calm and explain that we keep things out of our noses and other parts of the body. You may have to repeat this safety lesson more times than you'd hope, but it may sink in eventually.
Rest assured that pediatricians are very accustomed to calls and concerns from toddler parents about something “possibly” stuck in a child’s nose. It’s a common problem and one that's usually easily treatable. So seek medical care as soon as possible and your toddler will be back to having a clear nose in no time.
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