Little children are curious and naughty.
I wrote 10 Things you should not let your children play with to create awareness about accidental swallowing of objects .
Today I discuss about the variety of things ,that children put in their ear.Things in ear doesn’t sound as scary as those in the food or air pipe .But can be equally bad ,causing lifelong problem.
What can they put inside their ear?
- Small beads
- Muri(puffed rice)
- Seeds
- Button
- Button battery
- Chalk
- Rubber
- Crayon pieces and any thing that catches their fancy ,inside their ears.
- Sometimes insect get inside .
What can happen if an untrained person tries to remove it?
At the least ,laceration in the ear canal.
The object can get stuck or impacted the ear canal.
It can travel further inside the ear canal .
If it’s beyond the isthmus ,it might need surgical removal
It might be pushed into the middle ear, rupturing the tympanic member .
What’s the major problem when this happens ?
The child can have pain in ear.
Feeling of obstruction.
If the ear canal is ruptured , hearing will be affected.
If the object enters the middle ear ,ossicles may be damaged .This can cause hearing loss. If the stapes bone is injured in any way ,severe dizziness and vomiting ,with permanent hearing loss may occur.
If it’s a button battery ,the leaching chemical can destroy the hearing system .It can be also life threatening.
What should you do if your child inserts an object in the ear?
Visit the nearest hospital with an ENT emergency.
Visit your ENT doctor.
What should you not do?
No forcible removal .That’s the first rule.
Do not attempt removal of object by yourself.
Don’t use sharp object to attempt removal.
Don’t take the child to a quack.
Take him or her to the nearest hospital with an ENT emergency.
Foreign bodies in ear should only be removed by a trained ENT doctor.
Do not give water ,oil ,or ear drop in the ear .If it’s a vegetable object like seed ,it may swell up and get stuck .
Do you have any stories of objects put in the ear by kids ?
Comment below to let me know.
#UBC Day 14