Unilateral foul smelly nasal discharge in an adult
Abstract
The incidence of rhinolith is by far very low compared to the nasal foreign bodies, especially in adult. Foreign body (FB) in the nostril will lead to unilateral nasal symptom which can start with nasal obstruction or discomfort. In younger children, they may miss to report the problem to the parents but, later on, the FB will manifest itself with unilateral nasal discharge, which at most of the time fouls smells. We report a case of a healthy adult female who presented with unilateral foul smelly nasal discharge which later was diagnosed as rhinolith, with rubber-tip pencil eraser as the nidus of calcification.
References
Brehmer D, Riemann R. The rhinolith - a possible differential diagnosis of a unilateral nasal obstruction. Case Reports In Medicine. 2010.
Yuca K, Caksen H, Etlik O, et al. The importance of rigid nasal endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of rhinolithiasis. Auris Nasus Larynx. 2006;33(1):19-22.
Orhan K, Kocyigit D, Kisnisci R, et al. Rhinolithiasis: an uncommon entity of the nasal cavity. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Path Oral Radiol Endod. 2006;101(2):E28-32.
Shah FA, George S, Reghunanden N. A case presentation of a large rhinolith. Oman Med J. 2010;25(3):230-1.
Ugur KS, Vuran O, Ark N, et al. Rhinolith: incidental finding during routine physical examination. Cumhuriyet Medical Journal. 2011;33:88-92.
Patil K, Guledgud MV, Malleshi SN. Rhinolith. Indian J Dent Res. 2009;20(1):114-6.
M Irfan, R Ramiza, A Roselinda. Deciduous canine presented as a rhinolith in an adult. The Internet Journal of Head and Neck Surgery. 2008; Volume 2, Number 2.
Kaushik V, Bhalla RK, Pahade A. Rhinolithiasis. Ear Nose Throat J. 2004;83(3):512, 514.