MONDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A technique called the "mother's kiss" is a safe and effective way to remove foreign objects from the nostrils of young children, according to British researchers.

In the mother's kiss, a child's mother or other trusted adult covers the child's mouth with their mouth to form a seal, blocks the clear nostril with their finger, and then blows into the child's mouth. The pressure from the breath may expel the object in the blocked nostril.

Before using it, the adult should explain the technique to the child so that he or she is not frightened. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, the technique can be tried several times, according to a review published in the current issue of the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

For their report, researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom examined eight case studies in which the mother's kiss was used on children aged 1 to 8 years.

"The mother's kiss appears to be a safe and effective technique for first-line treatment in the removal of a foreign body from the nasal cavity," Dr. Stephanie Cook, of the Buxted Medical Centre in England, and colleagues concluded. "In addition, it may prevent the need for general anesthesia in some cases."

Further research is needed to compare various positive-pressure techniques and test how effective they are in different situations where objects are in various locations and have spent different lengths of time in the nasal passages, the researchers noted in a journal news release.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about foreign objects in the nose.