popcorn kernel up the nose!

The ordeals children put us through! I have a young child; she will be three in May. She loves to eat popcorn. Every day we have popcorn as a snack, air popped with a little bit of butter and salt on it. Last night we were sitting and eating popcorn together while watching a movie, just like any other night. My daughter had her backed turned to me, and I heard her snuffing, like she was smelled something. I asked her “what are you doing?” Of course, no answer from her!

I turned her around to see what she was up to. I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. The evening went on, and I noticed my daughter kept putting her finger up her nose. That is when I decided to investigate the situation. I laid her on my lap, turned on the light overhead, and checked out the nostril she was probing with her nose. Sure enough, a popcorn kernel was lodged in her nose! What a stinker!

Her father did not believe me when I told him, so he was of no help at first. I tried different ideas to get the kernel out, tried to get her to blow (she did not understand that concept as of yet. I tried saline spray, hoping the spray will help move the object. I tried a little Vick’s vapor rub, tried to lubricate the nostril, still no good! Using the tweezers was out of the question, she would not stop squirming! Finally we just went off to bed, figured we would work at it in the morning. It was a rough night, having something in her nose just pissed off my daughter, causing her to wake and cry, often.

Finally, in the morning, it came down to trying something else to get the item out of her nose or a trip to the hospital. I really did not want to go to the emergency room and pay them hundreds of dollars and find out they used something simple that we could have done. We researched on the web, and found another family with the same situation went to the emergency room, and the doctor used the rounded end of a paper clip to remove the popcorn kernel.

We then got a paper clip, and with a little struggling (all right, a lot of struggling, she is a strong little girl!) we got the popcorn kernel out of her nose! Without paying for a hospital visit! Her nose is a little sore from this whole ordeal. I hope she remembers what the kernel up the nose feels like and does not do that one again! What an ordeal!