Woman Suffering Pain For 37 Years Finds Game Board Piece In Her Nose

I realize that all childhood memories don't stay with you but you'd think jamming a board game piece in your nostril would be something you'd remember. Apparently that's not the case here.

After suffering from pain on the right side of her nose for most of her life, a New Zealand woman was shocked to discover a plastic board game piece that had apparently been stuck in her nostril for 37 years. 37 YEARS!

Mary McCarty struggled with pain and breathing difficulties on the right side of her nose since childhood. However, she never bothered to see a doctor about the pain.  But last October, following an excruciatingly painful nasal swab test for Covid-19, her nasal issue got even worse. She finally decided to get medical help.

McCarthy saw several general practitioners who put the pain down to a chronic sinus condition. She wasn’t satisfied with that diagnosis so she decided to see a specialist. Eventually the pain got so bad she went to the emergency room.

Luckily for McCarthy, the doctor on duty at the hospital believed it was more than sinus pain. The doc asked her if she had ever put anything in her nose that could have gotten stuck there. This question triggered a memory of the woman playing tiddlywinks with her siblings. She remembered putting the small plastic discs in their noses to see how far they would go when they blew them out.

A CT scan revealed that there was indeed something stuck in her right nostril. It turned out that the object was indeed a small plastic wink. Years of calcification built up all around it. Gross! The doctor told Mary that the Covid-19 swab test had dislodged it after nearly four decades and caused an infection that amplified the pain she had put up with all this time.

Now, I'll go with not remembering putting something in your nose as a kid, but not seeing a doctor for 37 years? I have a high tolerance for pain but seriously? WTH?