Location	Common foreign bodies	Removal technique	Indications for referral
Ear	Beads, plastic toys, pebbles, popcorn kernels²	Irrigation with water Grasping foreign body with forceps, cerumen loop, right-angle ball hook, or suction catheter Acetone to dissolve Styrofoam foreign body⁴	Need for sedation Canal or tympanic membrane trauma Foreign body is nongraspable, tightly wedged, or touching tympanic membrane Sharp foreign body Removal attempts unsuccessful^1–3,12
Nose	Beads, buttons, toy parts, pebbles, candle wax, food, paper, cloth, button batteries^5,6	Grasping with forceps, curved hook, cerumen loop, or suction catheter Thin, lubricated, balloon-tip catheter⁷ Patient “blows nose” with opposite nostril obstructed PPV delivered to patient's mouth with opposite nostril obstructed^8,9,11; PPV may also be delivered by bag mask¹⁰	Tumor or mass suspected Removal attempts unsuccessful Edema, bony destruction, granulation tissue from chronic foreign body¹²
Throat (pharynx)*	Plastic, metal pin, seeds, nuts, bones, coins, dental appliances^14–18	Often need to be removed endoscopically, requiring sedation^14,18 and, thus, referral	Inadequate visualization Need for sedation Signs of airway compromise^13,14