The Pleasure of Knowing Yourself
Ingested foreign bodies are a problem not only for children but also for adults. It increases during the New Year holidays.
“The scientific literature suggests that the frequency of ingestion of foreign bodies increases during the holidays. In adults, this is because they drink alcohol, which reduces the speed of all reflexes. Also, due to alcohol, people may swallow something for courage. In the literature, for example, a case is described in which a citizen under the influence of alcohol broke a glass and swallowed a piece. Children, on the other hand, are often left indifferent in the New Year’s rush. Therefore, control of the amount of alcohol consumed is absolutely necessary, ”said VI Academician IP Pavlova, Candidate of Medical Sciences Evgeny Semionkin at the Ryazan State Medical University polyclinic.
Still, the main victims of foreign objects are children who can not only swallow something, but also breathe it, and also “hide” it in the nose or ear, and then forget about it. For them, this behavior is a kind of cognitive process. It is up to the parent to ensure that the child does not have to experience the “pleasures” of endoscopy or surgery prematurely.
“Foreign bodies in the upper respiratory tract are common in children under the age of five. Most often this is due to an adult supervision.
A child can put an object in his mouth for research purposes and then breathe out, as a result of which a foreign body enters the upper respiratory tract – larynx or trachea. Such situations require immediate intervention.
A few years ago, a boy came to me on New Year’s Eve. His family noticed that something black was coming out of his nose. My mother was sure it was a bead. As a result, it turned out that the tire of a toy car is a foreign object. It’s a mystery how a small child fits in his nose, Anna Tishanskaya, an otolaryngologist-surgeon, founder of the Yuzhnaya clinic in Novorossiysk, told socialbites.ca.
You should not panic: most stories are positive and end with a slight fear. According to Tishanskaya, one day a three-year-old boy came to her with complaints of discomfort in his ear. Other doctors suspected a tumor in him and even did a CT scan of his temple bones, but no one could accurately assess it.
“Finally, I looked into the boy’s ear and saw a piece of foam. Other doctors did not notice him, as his color changed from white to grayish flesh, ”Tishanskaya shared.
But there is one category of products that are especially dangerous for children – these are batteries.
“Children under the age of three often swallow toy parts, magnets, batteries.
Lithium batteries are particularly dangerous and can burn the gastrointestinal mucosa and even disrupt the integrity of the stomach.
To reduce the risk to your child, use certified toys with the minimum recommended age. And of course keep all dangerous objects away from them,” Semionkin explained.
Fathers and Sons
Although the desire for self-knowledge weakens with age, adults also run the risk of swallowing anything non-zero. Most of the time this happens unintentionally. As Semionkin explains, foreign bodies in this condition can “sit” in the gastrointestinal tract for a long time without symptoms. There was a case in the doctor’s office where a woman swallowed a piece of toothpick and a few months later it turned out to be an intestinal perforation.
“Foreign bodies can stay in the human body for a long time. There was such a situation in my practice: the patient quietly swallowed a 3×3 mm piece of prosthesis and spent 18 months in his gastrointestinal tract without manifesting itself in any way,” he said.
The doctor added that swallowed foreign bodies can leave the body naturally. However, if this does not happen within 2-4 days, a doctor should be consulted.
“Sometimes people swallow objects on purpose. I remember a case where a female prisoner swallowed at least a dozen hooks from the spring mattress in protest. A few days later she went to the doctor. We had to perform a laparotomy on her to remove the hooks that had entwined in the form of a lump from the stomach,” Semionkin said.
Another way to get into trouble with a foreign object is to use the objects for other purposes. Accidents can occur in the most unexpected situations: sewing or construction. As Semionkin said, sewing needles, nails, and pins that people hold in their mouths while working are dangerous, but there are more extraordinary situations.
“At dinner, an old woman felt an itchy throat, picked up a fork and scratched her throat with the blunt end of it. The fork slipped and fell into the stomach. The object had to be surgically removed as it would not be possible to retrieve it with an endoscope.
The woman didn’t have dementia or any other mental disorder, but that’s what happened. Remember that the fork should only be eaten, not scratched. The best prevention for adults is food culture. You can’t rush, you can’t talk while eating. You have to chew your food thoroughly, and if you eat fish, be careful not to swallow a fish or meat bone or a bone from a fruit,” Semionkin summed up.
However, sometimes a foreign body can be found in the body of an adult person through no fault of his own. For example, this sometimes happens during dental treatment.
“During the deep treatment of tooth roots, the filling material may escape into the sinuses. The maxillary sinuses are located near the upper jaw, so the roots of the teeth often grow there. They are separated from the sinuses by a very thin mucous membrane, which is usually torn during treatment. Over time, over months or years, the filler can cause sinusitis. But you should not be afraid of this: a good dentist using X-rays is unlikely to allow this, ”Tishanskaya explained.