Choking happens when something - food or another item gets caught in the back of the throat
In a tragic incident, an 11-year-old boy choked to death after reportedly eating more than three pooris together in school during lunch hour. According to the school authorities, the boy, a student of class 6, began suffocating and experienced breathlessness shortly after he began eating.
Even though the boy was quickly taken to a nearby private hospital by the school staff, the doctors could not save him.
When does choking happen?
According to doctors, choking happens when something - food or another item gets caught in the back of the throat. The object blocks the top of the trachea, making you unable to breathe. Doctors say choking is an emergency and can be extremely painful as well.
Experts say certain activities or habits that increase your risk of choking include:
Eating too quickly
Not sitting down while eating
Not chewing food properly
Eating while lying down
Consuming significant amounts of alcohol
What are the common choking hazards?
A few common choking hazards which should be kept away, especially from small kids, include:
- Latex balloons – leading cause of death in children under the age of six years
- Balls
- Marbles
- Coins
- Disc batteries
- Small toys
- Caps
- Safety pins
- Hot dogs are the most common fatal food-related hazard
- Hard candy
- Nuts
- Apples
- Marshmallows
- Popcorn
- Peanut butter
Ways to prevent choking
According to experts, around 60 per cent of non-fatal choking hazards are caused by food items.
It is also important to supervise kids – which is the single most important factor to help prevent any untoward incident. While doctors believe a hundred per cent supervision may not be possible but should be implemented as much as possible when children are under five years of age.
Keeping small objects out of reach and purchasing appropriate age-level toys can also help prevent non-food-related choking. A few other ways to prevent choking for parents to take note include:
- Eating food only at the table
- Cooking vegetables until they are soft
- Cutting foods that are big to eat at less than 1/2 inch
- Encourage adequate chewing
- Limiting distractions when eating
- Saving lives when someone is choking
If you notice someone is choking, make sure to act swiftly before it becomes too late for them. Firstly, it is imperative to determine if they are able to talk, cough, or make other noises that indicate air passage, let them clear their airway on their own. Intervention at this point may cause further lodging of the object to occur.
However, if something is caught in the esophagus seek immediate medical attention so the object can either be retrieved or pushed into the stomach.
What is Heimlich manoeuvre?
According to experts, when a person is choking, their breathing gets restricted as well. It is an emergency, so you must begin with the Heimlich manoeuvre, also known as abdominal thrusts. To perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, follow these steps:
- Stand behind the person who is choking. Put one leg between the person's legs
- Make sure you are at their level with your head to one side
- Wrap your arms around the person and place the thumb side of your fist just above their belly button
- Grab your fist with your other hand. Thrust quickly into the person's stomach in an upward motion
- Do this five times and repeat until the object gets expelled
- If the object is not expelled and the person loses consciousness, begin CPR
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