Choking on foreign objects often occurs in children and is potentially dangerous. Parents can perform the Heimlich maneuver and back blows and chest thrusts to handle the situation promptly.
MSc. Dr. Tran Thi Thuy Hang, Head of the Department of Otolaryngology, ENT Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that every Tet holiday, the number of children choking on foreign objects in the airways often increases. The common cause is that children eat many types of candy and seeds such as melon seeds, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, and chestnuts.
Children playing around while eating, laughing while eating, leading to choking or curiosity, swallowing small objects also leads to foreign body aspiration.
Signs of choking include immediate cyanosis, vomiting, severe coughing, difficulty breathing, and panic. Some older children may signal that they are choking to others.
Most cases of choking on foreign objects can be treated safely if the child is taken to a medical facility promptly. In cases where the foreign object is large and blocks the entire airway, it can easily lead to respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, and life-threatening. Therefore, early recognition and proper treatment when a child chokes on foreign objects is very important. Doctor Hang suggests the following ways:
If the child is still pink, crying, screaming and talking, parents need to put the child in a sitting position to breathe, keep the child still, then take the child to the hospital for examination and removal of the foreign object.
Parents should not intervene or remove the foreign object themselves if they cannot see where the foreign object is in the airway, because it is likely to cause the foreign object to go deeper.
If the child is cyanotic, has difficulty breathing, is not crying or is crying weakly, quickly call an ambulance and perform the procedure.
Children under 2 years old: Back patting and chest pressing method
Place baby on stomach, head low on left arm, supporting head and neck with left hand.
Use the heel of your right hand to give five strong slaps on the child's back between the shoulder blades.
If the child is still having difficulty breathing or turning purple, turn the child onto his right side and use two fingers of your left hand to press firmly on the lower half of the sternum 5 times.
If the object still does not fall out, turn the child over and continue giving back blows. Alternate back blows and chest thrusts until the object is dislodged or the child cries.
Older Children: Heimlich Maneuver
If the child is conscious:
Stand behind the child, wrap your arms around the child's waist.
Clench your fist and place it in the epigastric region, just below the sternum, above the navel.
Give 5 firm thrusts from front to back and from bottom to top, strong and fast. You can repeat 6-10 abdominal thrusts until the foreign object falls out of the airway or the child cries.
Coma children:
With the baby lying on his back, kneel down with your legs spread next to his thighs.
Place the heel of one palm on the epigastric region, below the tip of the sternum, then place the second hand on top of the first.
Give 5 quick, strong, and decisive blows to the abdomen from bottom to top.
Abdominal thrusts may be repeated 6-10 times until the foreign object falls out of the airway.
Dr. Hang recommends that in any case, parents should shout to attract attention, ask for first aid and contact medical staff when necessary. After removing the foreign object, parents should still take the child to a medical facility for examination.
To prevent foreign objects from entering the airways, families should be careful not to let children play with small toys. Children under three years old should not be allowed to hold or pick up nuts to eat because they can easily choke or put them in their noses while playing. Jelly is also not safe for children under five years old.
Do not let children eat boneless fish, chicken, duck, or pork by themselves. Many families tend to let children hold chicken thighs and gnaw on them. However, this way of eating can easily cause choking on bones because when chopping chicken or duck, bone fragments remain in the meat.
Khanh Ngoc
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