Student who put 5p up his nose at 4 sneezes it out 10 years later

After nearly a decade of pain and doctor appointments, 14-year-old Umair Qamar finally found the 5p coin stuck up his nose – after extreme effort to fish it out

A schoolboy was left stunned after he sneezed a fivepence coin out of his nose – which he claims was stuck there for ten years.

Umair Qamar, now 14, recalled the shocking moment he stuck the silver piece up his nose almost a decade ago.

Despite several doctor visits and sore noses, his mother says the coin was never found. That is, until last week.

The teenager, from Croydon, south London, says he felt something in his nose last Sunday.

After following his mother’s instructions, to his surprise, a 5p coin turned up in his handkerchief.

Umair said: “I think I left it up there when I was three or four years old – I can’t really remember.

“When I got over the shock I was relieved – but it definitely took me a while to get over the surprise.”

This brought Umair’s memory back to his early years but admitted he had completely forgotten what he was doing.

Earlier in the week he said he stumbled down the stairs earlier and was holding his nose in pain as it was “hurting a little bit more than usual”.

He said: “I thought there was something in there because I could feel something hard in my nose, so I went back up and pinched my left nostril, inhaled, and then exhaled out of my right.”

He then decided to put cotton swabs in both ears to aid in the removal process.

Then, with a big sneeze, the coin popped out of his nostril.

His mother Afsheen Qamar, 43, described the incident as “completely bizarre”.

The head of the kindergarten said: “It happened so randomly – I didn’t expect it at all. I called him for lunch but he was holding his nose – so I told him to suck.

“He came down again after 15 minutes and just stood there and said ‘well, a 5p coin came out’.

“We all stopped eating. I remember asking him, ‘Are you serious?’ He’s a very laid back and quite serious kid so I’m sure you can imagine my shock.”

Afsheen spoke about the whole ordeal that spanned years and said Umair complained of breathing problems playing football as a child.

But the mother-of-two claimed: “I’ve taken him to the doctors a couple of times but it didn’t even occur to them to check his nose.

“I just can’t believe we never knew – Umair does stupid things and doesn’t tell us.”

It turns out that Umair was not an isolated case.

Professor Claire Hopkins, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, claims children are fascinated by putting things up their nostrils, adding: “Be it their fingers, their beads, Lego bricks ​​or, on one occasion, a pair of lobster claws.

“5p coins are the perfect size to sniff up and be forgotten; 4-year-olds are easily distracted and fail to mention the piggy bank trick to their parents.”

And she continued, “Large foreign objects can clog the nose or cause sinus problems, while small foreign objects, like a small coin, can remain in the nasal cavity for many years before they show up, often with a one-sided crust or discharge.”