Ok I was keeping my inhaler in the pocket of my favorite wool parka. I needed it, so naturally I took it. And one of those pesky little wool balls - commonly found on wool sweaters etc…etc… - was lodged in the device. I didn’t see it when to took a deep breath and pressed the inhaler…
Cough Cough Cough Cough Cough
So on a so forth I inhaled the wool.
After severe coughing I do not know if I got it out of my trachea or if it is still lodged down there… What should I do. Will it eventually come up? Am I in trouble?
Oh Sh*t!!! Why? This happened Yesterday afternoon, and now I am fine… The scratch in my throat is not there anymore… I am just concerned that if the wool is still down there, that it will be congealed over with mucus … Wheres Qadg top??
The main problem, as far as my limited research has discovered, is the risk of infection. Small foriegn bodies like that can become a breeding ground for bacteria. Normally things like that are expelled naturally through coughing, but only an examination by a doctor can determine if the object is still there or not. I wouldn’t worry too much, since the human body has evolved all sorts of mechanisms to cope with this sort of thing, after all, people have been inhaling bugs since the cave days.
As long as you’re not short of breath, don’t have any pain, don’t develop a fever, you’ll probably cough up the wool after your bronchi mucus it up into a nice little package for you (which you may not even notice).
Otherwise, see a doc.
Those inhalers always come with a cover for the mouthpiece. Why they don’t attach them to the mouthpiece so they won’t get lost (which they almost always do), I’ll never understand.
Calm down and relax, man. As pointed out earlier, if you can breathe, and you’re in no serious discomfort, there’s no immediate threat to your life. You’ll be fine. A visit to the doc is a good idea, but there’s no need for panic.
I think he inhaled it, not swallowed it. In any case, the initial coughing fit more than likely expelled it, since that’s what that reflex was designed to do.
Thanks Q - I am an adult who grew into athsma. I’ve had it for over 10 years now, and I must say it sucks… When I take my Serevent I am fine all day and night, but I’m out, and there was no way I was going to go skiing without a ventaline inhaler…
Well, one would think that if there were serious repercussions from aspirating wool, that would be reflected in the occupational hazards of sheep shearers. Curiously, a Google search turned up a large number of hits on the occupational hazards of sheep shearing, and inhaling wool wasn’t on the top of the hit parade.
(A total detour from the OP, but apparently sheep shearing is one of the most hazardous professions in animal husbandry-- the ergonomics are awful, the sheep will kick and bite you, you’ll get RMS from using manual shears, you’ll rupture yourself from manhandling the sheep into shearing position, and if you’re really unlucky, you’ll get organophosphate poisoning from the sheep dip.)
I guess you could do a similar search for occupational hazards in the garment industry, but on the whole, I’d say don’t worry about it.
Why don’t you just call to the ER and ask if this is something that you need to be worried about? They have probably heard of this before and will have an answer for you.
