Doctors treating a teen who had experienced nasal congestion for years, along with a mysterious “foul odor” when he blew his nose, discovered a BB gun pellet lodged in his nose that had been there for about eight years, according to a JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surgery report.
The teen, who first visited doctors for his symptoms when he was 15 years old, complained he’d been experiencing congestion for several years along with a reduced sense of smell
Doctors first diagnosed the teen with turbinate hypertrophy — an enlargement of narrow passageways called turbinates in the nose, sometimes caused by seasonal allergies.
The boy returned to the doctor’s office a still complaining of nasal symptoms, along with a “pungent, foul smell” that filled the room when he blew his nose.
This time, a CT scan revealed there was a “9-mm spherical structure” in his nasal cavity.
The teen’s family later revealed that he had been shot in the nose with a pellet gun when he was about eight or nine years old, according to the report.
After undergoing surgery, his nose tissue appeared normal, and the unpleasant odor disappeared.