What is it with kids sticking odds and sods up their schnoz? Some weird things have been pushed up there. I was reading about little New Zealander, seven-year-old Sameer Anwar, who inserted a LEGO piece up his nose two years ago that has finally fallen free. Sameer's story got me to think back to our own kids' encounters.

When she was very young, Andrea managed to squirrel away the tip of a pencil eraser and Aleksis didn't want to go to pre-school one day, so she decided to shove a googley-eye up there. She got her to wish, but instead ended up in the ER.

I asked around and made some calls, and the spiels started flowing: bits of Play-Doh, decorative beads, M&Ms, corn and popcorn kernels, Tic Tacs, pebbles, chewy vitamins, bubble gum, and newly-pulled teeth, just to mention a few. I can't imagine what the tooth fairy thought of that one.

A friend smilingly remembered on their way to the hospital, her toddler's nose whistled because of a lodged cherry pit.

I can almost hear the professionals saying, "Don't make a big deal of it and don't panic," as your screaming toddler is turning cardinal red.

One of the worse things we can do is stick our finger way up there, or worse, use those cotton swabs, because you risk pushing the object deeper in. If you can see it but you can't grab it in one try, get to the hospital, because the doctors have the right tools to extract the object.

And of course, since kids will be kids, if a child has popped something in his nose once, he's likely to try it again or, out of curiosity, attempt to stuff another hole or crack, all kidding aside.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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