CHOKING
 
Helping a choking victim or child...
Choking
By Vanessa Rasmussen, © 2006-2010, All rights reserved.
Choking
happens when an object gets stuck in the trachea (windpipe) and breathing
becomes very difficult or impossible. A small object blocking one of the major
airways usually causes choking in children. This may be a small
toy that they
have put in their mouth and inadvertently swallowed, or it may be a small
piece of food that hasn't been properly chewed. Choking commonly occurs in
children because their windpipe is very small. Putting things in their mouths
is one of the ways that babies and small children explore the world. Anything
that fits in their mouths can be a danger. Choking is usually caused by food,
toys, and other small objects such as beads or buttons that can easily lodge
in a child's small airway.
Following are some suggestions to prevent choking
in children:
- Give very small children bite size pieces
they can swallow easily. Do not give small, hard pieces such as nuts, hard
candy, raw peas, etc to children under four.
- Encourage children to sit when eating and
to chew thoroughly. They must not talk or laugh while they are eating.
- Treat any object smaller than a ping-pong
ball (such as coins, buttons, marbles and beads) as a possible choking threat.
Keep these small objects out of your child's reach.
- Check toys frequently for loose or broken
parts.
- Keep balloons away from small children under
the age of eight. A bitten balloon may burst and send fragments down the
child's throat. A child who is blowing up or chewing on a balloon can choke
by inhaling it. Inflated balloons pose a risk because they can pop without
warning and be inhaled.
Choking often begins with small coughs or gasps
as the child tries to draw in breath around the obstruction or clear it out.
This may be followed by struggling sound or croaky whispers as the child tries
to tell you that he or she cannot breathe. The child may get restless and
dribble and their eyes may get teary. They may flush red and then turn blue.
Some children, particularly babies, can be astonishingly quiet as they choke.
Some children might even lose consciousness if their air passage is not cleared.
If your child is choking and has trouble breathing,
first aid suggestions include:
- Encourage your child to cough. If he/she
is able to cough and speak as well, do not panic as there are chances that
the child will recover on his/her own.
- Don't slap the back of your child or reach
into his/her mouth with your fingers while he/she's coughing; it could push
the object farther down the windpipe.
- Give 5 back slaps: with a baby lying along
your arm, head low and chin supported, or an older child leaning forwards.
- In older children you can perform the Heimlich
Maneuver, but this can not be done in infants under one year of age.
- If the child loses consciousness, place
him/her on the floor on their side and repeatedly compress and release their
ribcage with your hands, using sharp, fast actions. This may force the remaining
air in their lungs to expel the object.
- If the child is not breathing in spite of
your actions, perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until the ambulance arrives.
- Even if the child seems fine after a choking
incident that requires intervention, take him/her to the doctor to make
sure that the blockage has been completely removed and that there is no
lasting damage.
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DAYCARE
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