No specific workup is indicated. X-rays or other imaging techniques may be helpful if considering a diagnosis of tumor or sinusitis. No blood tests are indicated. The need for urgent removal is infrequent, and usually adequate time is available to assemble the correct instruments and provide needed anesthesia and sedation. The physician should not attempt removal without appropriate instruments and good control of the patient.
Parents are often apprehensive, and children are likely to be agitated and uncooperative.
A failed attempt only makes subsequent attempts more difficult. Because nasal foreign bodies have different sizes, shapes, and locations within the nares, the emergency physician should be familiar with several removal techniques. If the object is small and close to the anterior naris, it can be grasped easily with forceps. However, objects that are large, solid, smooth, or rounded tend to be more difficult to grasp and often are pushed further into the naris with forceps. A Fogarty or Foley balloon catheter may be useful for objects that cannot be grasped easily.