Woman Thought Her Extreme Cough Was Due to Dog Hair. It Was Actually from Inhaling Her Own Nose Piercing
Yahoo • • business
Key Points:
- Shelby Willis, a 25-year-old pharmacy worker from Ashland, Kentucky, developed a severe cough in May 2023, initially attributing it to inhaling dog hair from her ex-boyfriend's golden retriever.
- After persistent coughing, a chest X-ray revealed that Willis had accidentally inhaled her own septum piercing, which had lodged in her bronchi.
- Willis had noticed her nose piercing had fallen out around the time her cough began but had replaced it without concern, unaware that the original piercing had been inhaled.
- She underwent a bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure, to safely remove the piercing from her airway.
- Willis now advises others to ensure their piercings are securely fastened to prevent similar incidents, highlighting the potential dangers if such foreign objects remain in the lungs.