In the United States, a teenager gave off a very bad smell every time he tried to blow his nose. According to the doctors who treated him, one of his nasal cavities was blocked by a 9 mm caliber bullet. However, it had gradually undergone calcification over time.
In the category "weird patients" , let us quote in particular this Indian man who underwent in 2018 an operation aimed at removing a tumor of 2 kg in his brain. Let us also mention this 92-year-old Chilean lady who discovered in 2015 the presence in her womb of a mummified fetus for more than half a century. In a publication of February 18, 2021 in the journal JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surgery, doctors from San Antonio (USA) described the case of a simple nasal congestion hiding something much more unusual.
The patient, a 15-year-old boy, complained of a stuffy nose on both sides, but also mentioned other symptoms. He complained of a loss of sense of smell, difficulty breathing and visual disturbances. Doctors think seasonal allergy and prescribe him antihistamines and nasal steroid spray.
A year later, the teenager returns to the same hospital, because the situation has become untenable. Not only did the symptoms persevere, but other problems surfaced. The patient felt discomfort every time he blew his nose because of the systematic emanation of a pungent and nauseating odor.
The doctors then decided to perform a nasal endoscopy. This one does not reveal anything special, which is surprising. The investigation continues and finally, the practitioners discover a bullet with a diameter of 9 mm in the lower left nasal cavity of the adolescent. It turns out that over time, the bullet led to a calcification that caused the obstruction of the nose. According to doctors, the object blocked the natural drainage of the nose due to the accumulation of debris and bacteria in mucus . The bad smell therefore came from this accumulation.
So the doctors proceeded to remove of the calcified bullet and the surrounding tissues were aspirated using nasal endoscopy. The patient was then given a decongestant which caused simple nosebleeds. In the end, he got away with it pretty well, because the bullet had been present for years. The teenager had indeed claimed to remember having been shot in the nose by a pellet gun when he was eight or nine years old.
