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In the United States, a man who had been bothered by nasal congestion since childhood finally got rid of a toy that had been stuck in his nose for over 25 years.
Sticking an object (or your finger) up your nose at the age of 5 or 6 is a classic. Sticking a Lego in there and living with it for decades is rarer. However, this is the misadventure recounted on Instagram a few days ago by Andi Norton, a 32-year-old American who was half-ashamed, half-amused.
He shoves several Lego pieces up his nose at 6 years old
At six years old, Andi Norton is a little boy who, like many, loves to invent worlds and stories with his Lego. As he relates in his video, one day he had a “creative” idea: to stick a mini coin (the small round ones!) in his nose. But it was too small to be picked up with his finger. To avoid panicking, Andi found a solution:
“I had the brilliant idea of making a Lego man figure and using it to put it in my nose”he recalls.
This one was supposed to clip onto the element already in the nose. But since the nose is not a very accessible playground, it is a failure: the head of the figurine also remains stuck. His mother then comes to his rescue and manages to remove the figurine from his nostril, using tweezers. Without the first piece pushed in.
Freed, blowing his nose in his shower 25 years later
Childish stupidity, ultimately common, is quickly forgotten. But as she grows up, Andi Norton explains that she suffers from discomfort without making the connection.
“Being allergic to cats, dogs, grass, many native trees, and dust, and having always been exposed to one or more of these substances, I lived my life thinking that all congestion problems were simply caused by allergies.”he explains to the media Newsweek.
To give himself a little respite, the young man got into the habit of blowing his nose in the shower in the morning, on the advice of his doctor in order to decongest his nose. But one fine morning, a hard element came out of his nasal cavity.The noise it made made me think at first it was a rock or maybe a tooth.”he remembers.
Of course, it is not a tooth that comes out, but the piece forgotten in the cavity at the age of 6. The relief is immediate. “Honestly, it felt like a cork was being pulled“, says Andi now, who admits that he has been breathing more deeply since then. Nostalgic, he now wants to make a ring from this Lego piece that has accompanied him all his life.
How to spot a foreign body in a child’s nose
Children sticking a stone, a grain of rice or a toy up their nose is a common occurrence. But noticing it is not always easy. According to the Health Insurance website, some signs are unmistakable, but others can be more difficult to detect.
- So, if the child complains of having something in his nose, only one nostril is blocked, and a clear discharge is coming out of that same nostril, you should quickly explore his nose;
- More distant signs may appear and should worry you, such as purulent discharge, difficulty breathing through one nostril, unilateral facial pain, and sneezing episodes. They also raise the question of the foreign body.
If the object is accessible, you can try to simply remove it, or blow your child’s nose. On the other hand, if it is too deep, do not try to remove the foreign body present in the nose using an instrument: the nostrils and nasal passages are narrow in children.
“You could push the object in; it could fall into the bronchi or trachea or be swallowed. You could also damage the nasal mucosa.” recalls the site. It is then necessary to consult an ENT doctor.
The event may also be an emergency: if your child goes into respiratory distress or if he or she has inserted a battery or a chemical tablet into one of his or her nostrils, call for help (15).
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