Foreign Body in the Nose in Children: The Relationship with the Dominant Hand, Parental Behaviour and Level of Education

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between a foreign body in the nose of a child and the dominant hand, the educational level of the parents and the habits of the mother in cleaning the nose with tissues or tweezers etc.

There is a lack of evidence about the foreign body in the nose in children and association among dominant hand, parental behaviour and education level.

A retrospective examination was made of the records of 136 patients (78 male, 58 female) diagnosed with a foreign body in the nose in the period January 2014 - January 2017. A record was made of age, gender, the type of foreign body, treatment and complications, etc. Patients with a psychosomatic disorder were excluded from the study.

The vast majority of the patients were children aged 2-5 years (N = 124, 91.17%). The most common foreign bodies were a bead, a part of a plastic toy, a button, a safety pin, paper and paper tissues. The foreign body was removed from the same side as the dominant hand in 116 (85.29%) cases. The incidence of nasal foreign body was found to be statistically significantly higher in those with a parental level of education of primary school (P < 0.026).

There was a statistically significant relationship between the localisation of a nasal foreign body and the dominant hand, so the patient’s relatives must be asked about the side of the dominant hand. Taking into consideration that complications are greatly reduced with clinical experience, it is recommended that intervention for a nasal foreign body is made by an ear, nose and throat specialist