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Nasal Foreign Bodies: A Sweet Experiment
1University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, UK.
Insights
Dissolvable sweets, like candy, dissolve in the human nose in under one hour. This suggests a "watch and wait" strategy may be suitable for paediatric intranasal foreign bodies composed of sweets.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Paediatric Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Intranasal foreign bodies in children typically require emergency removal.
- Management of uncooperative children with dissolvable foreign bodies presents a clinical dilemma.
- The efficacy of a
- watch and wait
- strategy for such cases is uncertain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the dissolution time of common sweets within the nasal cavity.
- To inform clinical decision-making regarding paediatric intranasal foreign bodies.
Main Methods:
- Five popular UK sweets were placed in the nasal cavity of a healthy adult male volunteer.
- The time taken for complete dissolution of each sweet was recorded.
Main Results:
- All five tested sweets completely dissolved within 60 minutes.
- This indicates rapid dissolution of common confectionery in the nasal environment.
Conclusions:
- A
- watch and wait
- approach may be a viable alternative to immediate removal for certain paediatric intranasal foreign bodies, specifically sugar or chocolate-based sweets.
- Clinical certainty regarding the nature of the foreign body is crucial for implementing this strategy safely.
Introduction:
It is generally accepted that paediatric intranasal foreign bodies should be removed in the emergency setting. In the case of a difficult to access dissolvable foreign body in an uncooperative child, the question must be raised regarding whether or not a watch and wait strategy is more appropriate. We ask: How long does it take for popular sweets (candy) to dissolve in the human nose?
Methods:
Five popular UK sweets were placed in the right nasal cavity of a 29-year-old male (the author) with no sino-nasal disease. Time taken to dissolve was recorded.
Results:
All five sweets were completely dissolved in under one hour.
Discussion:
A watch and wait strategy in favour of examination under anaesthetic may be a viable option in some cases. Limitations of the study include the age of the participant and size of the sweets. It is also important in practice that the clinician is able to elicit an accurate history regarding the exact nature of the foreign body.
Conclusion:
It remains prudent to perform an examination under anaesthetic of an uncooperative child with a solid or unknown nasal foreign body. However, if the clinician can be certain the foreign body is a small sugar or chocolate based sweet only, a watch and wait strategy may be a reasonable choice.
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