First aid - Foreign object in the ear

A foreign object in the ear can cause pain and hearing loss. Usually you know if an object is stuck in your ear, but small children may not be aware of it.

If an object becomes lodged in the ear, follow these steps:

• Don't probe the ear with a tool. Don't attempt to remove the foreign object by probing with a cotton swab, matchstick or any other tool. To do so is to risk pushing the object farther into the ear and damaging the fragile structures of the middle ear.
• Remove the object if possible. If the object is clearly visible, pliable and can be grasped easily with tweezers, gently remove it.
• Try using gravity. Tilt the head to the affected side to try to dislodge the object.
• Try using oil for an insect. If the foreign object is an insect, tilt the person's head so that the ear with the offending insect is upward. Try to float the insect out by pouring mineral oil, olive oil or baby oil into the ear. The oil should be warm but not hot. As you pour the oil, you can ease the entry of the oil by straightening the ear canal. Pull the earlobe gently backward and upward for an adult, backward and downward for a child. The insect should suffocate and may float out in the oil bath.
• Don't use oil to remove any object other than an insect. Do not use this method if there is any suspicion of a perforation in the eardrum — pain, bleeding or discharge from the ear.

If these methods fail or the person continues to experience pain in the ear, reduced hearing or a sensation of something lodged in the ear, seek medical assistance.

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First aid - Foreign object in the eye

If you get a foreign object in the eye, try to flush it out with clean water or saline solution. Use an eyecup or a small, clean glass positioned with its rim resting on the bone at the base of your eye socket.

To help someone else:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Seat the person in a well-lighted area.
3. Gently examine the eye to find the object. Pull the lower lid down and ask the person to look up. Then hold the upper lid while the person looks down.
4. If the object is floating in the tear film on the surface of the eye, try flushing it out. If you're able to remove the object, flush the eye with a saline solution or clean, lukewarm water.

Caution

• Don't try to remove an object that's imbedded in the eyeball.
• Don't rub the eye.
• Don't try to remove a large object that makes closing the eye difficult.

When to call for help
Seek emergency medical assistance when:

• You can't remove the object.
• The object is imbedded in the eyeball.
• The person with the object in the eye is experiencing abnormal vision.
• Pain, redness or the sensation of a foreign body in the eye persists after the object is removed.

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First aid - Foreign object in the nose

If a foreign object becomes lodged in your nose:

• Don't probe at the object with a cotton swab or other tool.
• Don't try to inhale the object by forcefully breathing in. Instead, breathe through your mouth until the object is removed.
• Blow your nose gently to try to free the object, but don't blow hard or repeatedly. If only one nostril is affected, close the opposite nostril by applying gentle pressure and then blow out gently through the affected nostril.
• Gently remove the object if it's visible and you can easily grasp it with tweezers. Don't try to remove an object that isn't visible or easily grasped.
• Call for emergency medical assistance or go to your local emergency room if these methods fail.

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First aid - Foreign object in the skin

If a foreign object is projecting from your skin:

• Wash your hands and clean the area well with soap and water.
• Use tweezers to remove splinters of wood or fiberglass, small pieces of glass or other foreign objects.

If the object is completely embedded in your skin:

• Wash your hands and clean the area well with soap and water.
• Sterilize a clean, sharp needle by wiping it with rubbing alcohol. If rubbing alcohol isn't available, clean the needle with soap and water.
• Use the needle to break the skin over the object and gently lift the tip of the object out.
• Use tweezers to remove the object. A magnifying glass may help you see the object better.
• Wash and pat-dry the area. Follow by applying antibiotic ointment.
• Seek medical help if the particle doesn't come out easily or is close to your eye.

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First aid - Foreign object inhaled

If you or your child inhales a foreign object, see your doctor. If the inhaled object causes choking, the American Red Cross recommends the "five-and-five" approach to delivering first aid:

• First, deliver five back blows between the victim's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
• Next, perform five abdominal thrusts (also known as the Heimlich maneuver).
• Alternate between five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until the blockage is dislodged.

If you're the only rescuer, perform back blows and abdominal thrusts before calling 911 or your local emergency number for help. If another person is available, have that person call for help while you perform first aid.

To perform the Heimlich maneuver on someone else:

• Stand behind the person. Wrap your arms around the waist. Tip the person forward slightly.
• Make a fist with one hand. Position it slightly above the person's navel.
• Grasp the fist with the other hand. Press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust — as if trying to lift the person up.
• Perform a total of five abdominal thrusts, if needed. If the blockage still isn't dislodged, repeat the five-and-five cycle.

To perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself:

• Place a fist slightly above your navel.
• Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface — a countertop or chair will do.
• Shove your fist inward and upward.

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First aid - Foreign object swallowed

If you swallow a foreign object, it will usually pass through your digestive system uneventfully. But some objects can lodge in your esophagus, the tube that connects your throat and stomach. If an object is stuck in your esophagus, you may need to remove it, especially if it is:

• A pointed object, which should be removed as quickly as possible to avoid further injury to the esophageal lining
• A tiny watch- or calculator-type button battery, which can rapidly cause local tissue injury and should be removed from the esophagus without delay

If a swallowed object blocks the airway, the American Red Cross recommends the "five-and-five" approach to first aid:

• First, deliver five back blows between the victim's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
• Next, perform five abdominal thrusts (also known as the Heimlich maneuver).
• Alternate between five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until the blockage is dislodged.

Call 911 or your local emergency number for help.

To perform abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich maneuver) on someone else:

• Stand behind the person. Wrap your arms around the waist. Tip the person forward slightly.
• Make a fist with one hand. Position it slightly above the person's navel.
• Grasp the fist with the other hand. Press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust — as if trying to lift the person up.
• Perform a total of five abdominal thrusts, if needed. If the blockage still isn't dislodged, repeat the five-and-five cycle.

You can't perform back blows on yourself. But you can perform abdominal thrusts.

To perform abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich maneuver) on yourself:

• Place a fist slightly above your navel.
• Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface — a countertop or chair will do.
• Shove your fist inward and upward.