Foreign Bodies in the Respiratory Tract
Oftentimes, children are brought to our clinics for unilateral foul smelling nasal discharges.
Most likely, these children may have inserted foreign objects into their nostrils.
Personally, I was able to extract beads, seeds and chicken bones from the nostrils of my patients.
These objects irritate the nasal mucosa so that it becomes swollen.
Foreign objects in the nostrils should be removed as soon as possible otherwise necrosis of the nasal mucosa will develop.
Other areas where foreign bodies may get stuck are in the faucial tonsils.
These can be removed with forceps provided that the patient opens his mouth wide.
If the foreign body is lodged in the larynx, this is an emergency.
The patient will have symptoms and signs of laryngeal obstruction like difficulty of breathing.
If one sees a patient trying to gasp and catch her breath, one should have a high index of suspicion and must do manoeuvres to remove the foreign body to avoid death due to obstruction.
The foreign bodies in the trachea may present clinically like in the larynx .
However, there is one important finding on physical examination of the patient.
There is the presence of an audible slap and palpable thud secondary to a momentary expiratory impaction at the subglottic level.
In the bronchi, the manifestations will depend on the size and nature of the foreign body.
Small objects will produce insignificant symptoms while bigger ones will have respiratory distress.
If the object is sharp then the patient will cough out blood streaked sputum.
If the object does not completely occlude the airway then wheezes can be heard on auscultation.
Bigger objects may cause emphysema and atelectasis and if the object is not removed then infection sets in and pneumonia.
So it is very important that small children should be taken care of fully at all times to avoid these accidents of having foreign bodies lodged in the respiratory tract.