Button gets stuck up 3-year-old’s nose

When Mikee Mae Timpug noticed a slight whistling sound coming out of her three-year-old daughter's nose, she assumed that the child had some mucus or dirt in there and applied a bit of baby oil.

When the noise was back the following night, she took a flashlight and looked up her daughter's nose—and saw a small button lodged up one nostril.

She tried getting it out herself using a hairpin, but the attempt hurt the child. So off to the hospital they went, where doctors were able to retrieve the object.

Timpug said that her child had gotten sick before due to the foreign object, but it went undetected.

"Kahit 'yung doktor, hindi po niya napansin na may botones siya sa ilong niya," she said.

She believes that the button may have been stuck in her child's nose for as long as one to two months.

"Siguro po na-curious siya," she said. "Nilalaro po niya siguro, tapos nung tatanggalin niya po, na-push po dito siguro."

Timpug says this is not even the first time she has had to retrieve something from her daughter's nostril, and cautioned other parents to watch out for similar incidents with their kids. "Kailangan po nating bantayan yung mga anak natin ng triple po, kasi sa edad nila, lagi po lisang naku-curious sa mga bagay," she said.

Children as young as Timpug's child often shove things up their noses as part of their curiosity about their bodies. If your child ends up with a foreign object stuck up his or her nose, try the following steps based on the Mayo Clinic's suggestions for such a situation:

1. Don't probe at the object with a cotton swab or other such item. It may push the object deeper up the nose.

2. Ask the child to breathe through their mouth until the object is removed.

3. If the object is in only one nostril, try gently closing the other nostril and then gently blowing out of the affected nostril to dislodge it. Do not do this repeatedly.

4. If the object is not visible or easily grasped, do not attempt to remove it using tweezers.

5. Seek medical assistance. — BM, GMA News