Snorted a grass seed - is this an emergency?

M

M.F.

Trust Snowie. He always chooses the most opportune times for needing the vet. Afternoon stroll in a local parkland. Next thing I know he's sneezing and snorting frantically, a rope of snot trailing over his snout. I look at his nose and my stomach sinks -- sticking out are three "legs" of a grass seed. I try to pull it out, but he's snorting and pulling his head away to snort harder, and the bloomin' thing is not budging. I manage to break off one of the "legs".

Immediately call my husband to pick me up asap. Then call my vet and hold on forever listening to the recorded voice say "due to large call volumes". Eventually I call the emergency vet. The first slot I can get is 7pm. I ask if this is an emergency, cos it's now 15 minutes later and he's no longer snorting. They don't know, best to bring him in to take a look. So I call the other emergency vet. The specialist who can use a scope up his nose is only back on 5 Jan!! All they can give is an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory and see if that helps anything.

My husband arrives, we drive straight to our regular vet. All closed up. Only 4.45pm! New Years Eve, I guess.

Meanwhile, Snowie is lying on the backseat, no sneezing, no snorting. Nice swim in the pond when we get back, a few sneezes (but he always does after a swim). Happy to eat his dinner. And now he's fast asleep, postprandial normality.

Emergency vet calls, wanting to know how Snowie is (how nice!). They're open 24/7, so if he starts sneezing again, then bring him in. Otherwise, we just leave him be.

Does anyone here think we should take him anyway? Is there a danger leaving him be as he is now? I used a torch and tried to look up his nose. Nothing to see. Perhaps he snorted the grass seed up and then swallowed it? Could it go into his brain?

To make matters more complicated, my sister is visiting from overseas, leaves tomorrow, and she's coming for dinner with my mom at 7pm. We have a new lockdown curfew at 9pm (no New Years Eve parties this year!). So, if Snowie is looking okay, then I'd rather not be sitting at the vet at 7pm.
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
Oh a really difficult one! How incredibly stressful for you! :hug:

I would have thought if the grass seed had migrated up the nasal canal it would still be bothering him, but I don't know. What I do know is that those sticky foxhead seeds are horrible, and they generally only go in one direction. If it was me I would be erring on the side of caution knowing that these things caught early are much easier to deal with, and easier to find if it is still lodged somewhere.

Good luck! x
 
Jen

Jen

My friends Great Dane inhaled a grass seed when he was barking.

It got lodged in his lung and he got really poorly. Ended up in the vets for about 10 days because his lungs kept filling up with fluid. I’m not sure how they got it out in the end, there was talk of open chest surgery but I know that never happened.

Hope Snowie is ok, but because of that I would take him to be checked out x
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Grass seed = foxtail?

If yes, then my little foster Paul snorted one while I had him. He did a lot of sneezing at first, I took him straight to the vet. Vet couldn't pull it out and said he'd need to be sedated and a scope used. The vet who could do that was already gone for the day. By the time we left the vet, Paul seemed fine. The vet told me, however, that it needed to come out asap even if he seemed fine the next day as it could do some serious damage. Paul was fine all night - no sneezing or head shaking. We went back the next day and they removed it under anaesthetic and gave it to me afterwards as a 'gift'. Darn thing was HUGE and bloody.

Only based on that experience, I'd say get Snowie to a vet ASAP. :oops:
 
M

M.F.

Naya said:
How is Snowie? Has he sneezed or been shaking his head at all?
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Cath said:
How is he @M.F.
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No shaking his head. Totally normal. Extremely happy when my mom and sister came over. Begging for food. The usual.

But reading the above stories, I’m now concerned!!!!! I’ll call the emergency vet again. The one we usually go to said the specialist who can use the scope will only be in on Tuesday. Perhaps the other emergency vet will have a vet who can look up a nose. I can’t imagine it needs a specialist skill!

Thanks everyone for your concern. Happy new year!!
 
Oberon

Oberon

Location
Canberra, Australia
Guessing a bit but I’d say it’s because the tool they need to use is a pretty specialised bit of kit. Had a chicken once that inhaled a grass seed and what was needed was a fine scope with a suction capacity. In this instance the vet had the training/skill but didn’t have that kind of scope at the practice.
 
Loraseal

Loraseal

Location
The Hague, The Netherlands
I would take him to the vet. Hunter had a grass seed and he would not stop sneezing. He was also quite ill and very unhappy. We had to take him to a specialist as he was not letting the emergency vet look up his nose. He had a MRI and they basically turned him round 3 times to flush and give a jelly type antibiotic. The grass seed can get infected and can travel. They found a tiny grass seed
It was very obvious that Hunter was really bothered about it. Sneezing and blood from his nose.
If Snowie is not bothered I would still get it checked out. Their noses are very sensitive and if something is there I think you would notice that something wasn't quite right.
How is he now? :hug:
 
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