Health's Book

Definition

Foreign bodies can enter the human body by swallowing, insertion, or traumatic force, either accidentally or on purpose. The word "foreign" in this context means "originating elsewhere" or simply "outside the body."

Symptoms

The symptoms of foreign body ingestion or insertion depend in part on the organ or part of the body affected.

EYES Dust, dirt, sand, or other airborne material can lodge in the eyes as a result of high wind or an explosion, causing minor irritation and redness. More serious damage can be caused by hard or sharp objects that penetrate the surface of the eye and become embedded in the cornea or conjunctivae (the mucous membranes lining the inner surface of the eyelids). Swelling, redness, bleeding from the surface blood vessels, sensitivity to light, and sudden vision problems are all symptoms of foreign matter in the eyes.

EARS AND NOSE Toddlers sometimes put small objects into their noses, ears, and other openings. Beans, dried peas, popcorn kernels, hearing-aid batteries, raisins, and beads are just a few of the many items that have been found in these bodily cavities. On occasion, insects may also fly into a child's ears or nose. Pain, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear are symptoms of foreign bodies in the ears. A smelly or bloody discharge from one nostril is a symptom of foreign bodies in the nose.

AIRWAYS AND STOMACH At a certain age children will eat almost anything. A very partial list of items recovered from young stomachs includes the following: coins, chicken bones, fish bones, beads, pebbles, plastic toys, pins, keys, buckshot, round stones, marbles, nails, rings, batteries, ball bearings, screws, staples, washers, a heart pendant, a clothespin spring, and a toy soldier. Some of these items will pass right on through the digestive tract and leave the body through the feces. The progress of metal objects has been successfully followed with a metal detector or x rays. Other objects, like needles, broken poultry bones, or razor blades, can get stuck at various points in the digestive tract and cause trouble.

Most complications of swallowed foreign bodies occur in the esophagus at one of three points: the thoracic inlet at collarbone level (70%); the mid-esophagus (15%); and the sphincter at the lower end of the esophagus where the esophagus joins the stomach (15%). If a swallowed object passes into the stomach, it is unlikely to cause complications unless it is either sharp and pointed in shape or made of a toxic material.

Some foreign objects lodge in the airway. Although children eat small objects and stick things into their bodily openings of their own volition, they inhale them unwittingly while choking. Probably the most commonly inhaled item is a peanut. Items as unusual as crayons and cockroaches have also been found in children's windpipes. These items always cause symptoms (difficulty swallowing and spitting up saliva, for instance) and may elude detection for some time while the child is being treated for asthma or recurring pneumonia.

RECTUM Sometimes a foreign object will successfully pass through the throat and stomach only to get stuck at the juncture between the rectum and the anal canal. Items may also be self-introduced to enhance sexual stimulation and then get stuck in the rectum. Sudden sharp pain during elimination may signify that an object is lodged in the rectum. Other symptoms vary depending upon the size of the object, its location, how long it has been in place, and whether or not infection has set in.