Beans...The Magical Fruit

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You all know the poem...how beans are the magical fruit that make you toot. Anyway, they are more magical than that.

Last Monday night, Colden successfully stuck a dry black bean up his nose. I took him to an urgent care clinic where they attempted to remove the bean. They tried suction. Then they tried forceps (tweezers) with an expander thing. Still no luck. And through all of this, he was strapped to a "papoose" (basically a board with a straight-jacket on it). The doctors said several times that they could get it out if he just stopped moving his head...we've got a strong tike with a strong will. Anyway, during this process, they removed a portion of the black shell...which was quite soft by then. They didn't want to try any harder and said I had two options: go to the ER and have them remove it, or see an ENT (ear nose throat) specialist in the morning. They suggested that I go to the ER so he wouldn't choke/breath in the bean during the night. I chose the first option. When the ER doctor finally was able to look into his nose (which required another papoose cause Colden did NOT want anyone touching his nose), the bean had magically disappeared.

Or so we thought.

The saga continued...
Last Thursday, AFTER Dylan's well-visit with their pediatrician, I finally read the paper stuff the ER sent home with me. One was an info-sheet about foreign objects in noses and what to do if it didn't come out (like the nose continues to run, you can get a sinus infection, ear aches, etc.). The other was a recommendation that I take Colden to his pediatrician...no matter what...2-3 days after the incident as a follow-up visit. His right nostril had continued to run, so Rob and I thought that the bean was still there.
Within seconds, the pediatrician saw what the ER doc couldn't...the bean. She told me that he didn't risk choking/breathing...so I could have foregone the whole emergency stuff if we had called the pediatrician first!!! ARGH!

She knew that she couldn't take it out, so she referred me to an ENT. We went to his office that afternoon. He saw the bean...and he took it out...no suction, no tweezers, not too much trauma...just his special little hook instrument. They kept Colden on my lap and I held his legs and arms down while the nurse held his head. The treatment was so much better...medically and emotionally.

Lucky me...the big, snotty bean landed on my hand (later Rob asked if I kept it...NO! Sorry, no pics).

The moral of this story is...don't put beans up your nose. And call your pediatrician first.