Man wakes up to something crawling in his nose, finds cockroach in respiratory tract three days later

A 58-year-old man from Haikou, China, experienced a disturbing incident when he awoke to the sensation of something crawling up his nose, eventually discovering a cockroach lodged in his trachea. Despite efforts to dislodge the intruder by coughing, he fell back asleep. Over the next three days, he noticed an unusual stale odor and began coughing up yellow sputum, which prompted him to seek medical help.

Initially, an ENT specialist found no signs of a foreign object in his upper respiratory tract, but his symptoms persisted. He then consulted Dr. Lin Ling, a respiratory and critical care specialist at Hainan Hospital. A chest CT scan revealed a suspicious shadow in his lower lung lobe, raising concerns about a foreign object. To investigate further, Dr. Lin recommended a bronchoscopy.

“During the procedure, I clearly saw something with wings in the bronchus,” Dr. Lin explained. “It was covered in a thick layer of phlegm, but after removing it, we identified the foreign body as a cockroach.”

The cockroach was carefully extracted from the man’s trachea, and after cleaning the area thoroughly, his foul-smelling symptoms vanished. He made a full recovery and was discharged the following day.

Though such cases are rare, Dr. Lin advised that anyone suspecting a foreign body lodged in their respiratory tract should seek immediate medical attention to avoid complications.