Announcer: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You’re listening to The Scope.

Dr. Cindy Gellner: So a lot of parents when they are thinking about foods for their children, especially older infants and toddlers and preschoolers, they’re really not thinking that much about choking hazards as they are thinking about, “Oh let’s let our child try this new food or this new food to try and expand their horizons.”

But you got to remember certain foods are notorious for being choking hazards. Hot dogs, grapes, raisins, foods that you think would be really, really good to give a child, a tiny piece of apple, can cause a child to choke.

When you’re giving your children any foods like this, you got to watch them. If you turn your back, they can choke and pass out in as little as 1 or 2 minutes and then they can’t breathe, they can’t cry, they can’t let you know what is going on.

So what are some symptoms of choking? The first thing is, again, they won’t breath, cry, speak. They might actually have a tiny little whistle come out of their throat. They’ll look at you with this face of absolute fear.

Older kids, if they actually get something stuck, they’ll hopefully know to put their hands over their neck, and that’s when you need to stop, think, “Okay, let’s get into first aid mode. What do I need to do?”

How to Perform Abdominal Thrusts (Children over 1)

The most important thing is how old is your child? Because that determines how you’re going to get that foreign object out of their throat. If your child stops breathing a child over 1 year old, you’re going to give something called abdominal thrusts.

Continued at:  https://healthcare.utah.edu/the-scope/shows.php?shows=0_4ttalovk