How to remove crayon from nose

It is quite common for toddlers to put strange objects up their nose. Children find small parts or objects like toys, little jewellery pieces, pens, action figures and of course crayons to stuff into their noses or ears.

Though exasperating and instantly worrying, you need to first calm down before you can identify what can be done next. Children tend to be fearless and experimental, so before you decide what to do to get that crayon out, calm down. If you stay calm then you can also keep your child calm, and not freak him out by scolding him or shouting at your toddler.

You can try some basic techniques at home like trying to get your child to forcefully exhale. But before you try that, try and pick it out with a pair of tweezers. But to do this, you need to ensure that your child stays absolutely still.

But given that you are trying to extract an object from your child’s nose, it's best if you seek professional help. Take your child to the emergency room where the foreign object will be properly extracted from his nose.

You might ignore the problem immediately thinking the crayon might come out on its own. But this can prove foolhardy. Often leftover objects lodged in noses or ears can cause serious infections. This infection might happen in case you aren’t around to watch the crayon disappear. Your child might say that he put a crayon up his nose but might not be able to tell you when it exactly happened. Your child might not tell you altogether. If you notice foul smelling discharge or your child saying he is not hearing things properly, then you might want to take your toddler for a check up.

If it’s something organic like a bean is inserted into the nose, it could lead to the bean swelling up inside the nose, making it even more difficult to extract it. Beans, peas, berries and other round and shiny objects attract children’s attention and are their favourite things to stuff in their noses.

The doctor will use suction or tweezers-like implements to extract it. The doctor might also use drops or ointment to lubricate the foreign object. If the object is a metallic object like a coin, the doctor might consider using a small magnet to extract the object.

Reference:

1. http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/000037.htm
2. http://www.chop.edu/healthinfo/foreign-bodies-in-the-nose.html

answered by G R

A common sense remedy would be to ask your 3 year old to exhale forcefully through the nose so that the stuck crayon would come out.If this still doesnt help, please take the child to the doctor immediately.

answered by P P