Q: My 2.5-year-old son has constant cold and running nose. From the past couple of months I have observed that small food particles come out of his nasal passage. Like small grains of cooked rice or about half centimetre of the noodle piece. The particles belong to the food he eats. How can the food come out of his nose? It does not go into the nose externally. It comes out along with his running nose or when he sneezes. Is it cause to worry about?

A:Common cold, as the name suggests, is quite common, specially in young children. On an average, a normal child may have 5-6 separate episodes of common cold during a year. Each lasting 6-7 days and sometimes more. What you are observing in his nasal discharge are probably mucous flecks which can resemble food particles. Also, specially during sneezing, as respiratory secretions forcefully come out, any food particles stuck in the pharynx are also likely to come out with it. That is no cause for concern and is quite normal.