Foreign Bodies First Aid

photo source: healthmeup.com

Foreign Bodies usually get lodged in our eyes, ears, nose, airways and rectum.  If you've ever gotten a splinter or had sand in your eye, you've had experience with a foreign body.   A foreign body is something that is stuck inside you but isn't supposed to be there. You may inhale or swallow a foreign body, or you may get one from an injury to almost any part of your body. Foreign bodies are more common in small children, who sometimes stick things in their mouths, ears, and noses.

Some foreign bodies, like a small splinter, do not cause serious harm. Inhaled or swallowed foreign bodies may cause choking or bowel obstruction and may require medical care.

Symptoms

In the eyes:

• Swelling 
• Redness 
• Bleeding from surface blood vessels 
• Sensitivity to light 
• Sudden vision problems

In ears and nose

• Pain, hearing loss, a sense of something stuck in the ear 
• A smelly, bloody discharge from one nostril

In the airways and stomach:

• Difficulty swallowing 
• Spitting up of saliva

In the rectum

• Sudden sharp pain during elimination 
• Other symptoms will vary depending on the size of the object, its location, how long it has been in place and whether o not infection has set in.

Causes

• Dust, dirt, sand and other airborne materials lodge in the eyes.  More serious damage to the eyes can be caused by hard or sharp objects that penetrate the surface and become embedded in the cornea or conjunctiva (the mucous membranes around the inner surface of the eyelids)
• Children will sometimes put things including beans, pop corns kernels, raisins, and beads into their noses, ears and other openings.  On occasions, insects may also fly into the ears and nose.

What you can do?

• When treating tour eyes, move to a well-lighted area.  Hands should be washed and only clean preferably sterile---materials should make contact with the eyes.  If the particle is small, dislodge it by blinking or pulling the upper lid over the lower lid and flushing out the speck.  A clean cloth can also be used to pick out the particle.  Rinse the eye with clean, lukewarm water or an ophthalmic wash
• Remove foreign objects in the ears with tweezers.  Pour warm (not hot) mineral oil, olive oil, or baby oil into the ear canal to remove insects
• Apply the Heimlich maneuver to get rid of obstruction in the airways, which commonly occurs when food gets lodged in the throat.

Prevention Tips

• Parents and grandparents should toddler-proof their homes, store batteries in a locked cabinet, and properly dispose of  used batteries so curious preschoolers cannot fish them out.
• Parents should not allow children to eat while walking or playing
• Wear safety glasses while using tools
• Chew food thoroughly, and don't talk while chewing

 

Watch this video about the First Aid of Foreign Bodies

This video will show you on what to do during a child insert small objects into their nose?.

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