Nasal Foxtail Removal

"Toby", a two year old male long-haired Dachshund, was brought in by his owner because of acute onset of sneezing with a bloody discharge. Toby had just been walked in a field where many weeds, including "foxtails", were growing. The owner actually saw the foxtail enter the left nostril. After that, Toby sneezed continuously.

Foxtails are common in California and other Western states. They grow during the Spring rains, and then dry out in the late Spring and early Summer. When dry, they fall off the main plant or stick to clothes and animal fur. The individual foxtail is shaped like a miniature rocket ship and when it penetrates into tissue or body orifices, it can only move forward. Even violent sneezing will usually not force it out of the nasal cavity. If not removed, there is the danger that the foxtail may enter the respiratory tract and lungs. There it can produce serious infection and even death.

Toby was anesthetized with inhalation gas anesthesia. A search was made for the foxtail in the nasal passages using an operating otoscope and alligator forceps. The foxtail was located in the left nasal passage about 1" in. It was removed uneventfully.

Toby recovered quickly and went home in a few hours, no longer sneezing.