To remove a foreign body from the nose of a child, bend the loop on a plastic ear curette to about a 25° angle. Next, place the patient in a supine position and have one assistant lie across the child’s thighs while another immobilizes the head with the child’s upraised arms. Insert the loop of the curette along the floor of the naris, and work the loop underneath and behind the object. Next, begin moving the curette up toward the roof of the nasal cavity while simultaneously sweeping it forward. The object should pop out with very little trauma to the naris or the child’s psyche. As long as you follow the roof of the nasal cavity (which directs the object out of the naris), there is little danger of pushing the object into the nasopharynx.
—George Cantini, MS, PA-C, Phoenix (105-22)
