When we discuss the choking hazards that threaten our children, we usually think of round objects like grapes or the tiny round batteries in toys.
But it has recently been proven that even popcorn is just as high on the list of foods that are choking hazards, as one mom explains to Tik-tok.
Offering our children popcorn is one of the easiest ways that can lead to us looking for an ambulance.
The reason why popcorn is so dangerous is because of the tiny corn kernels hidden inside. These kernels are so light that they can «easily» slip back into their esophagus, with the risk of children getting aspirated or choking.
Meanwhile, harm can occur even if we supervise our children while they eat popcorn.
The worst part is that if that happens, we can't get the popcorn out of that spot. Its irregular shapes and dry texture make it extremely easy to stick anywhere.
In the UK, around 40 children under the age of five are rushed to hospital every day after choking or swallowing something dangerous. This suggests that children do not master the technique of chewing and swallowing until they are about five years old.
Other choking hazards include grapes, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, blackberries, nuts, raw carrots, apple, chewing gum, coins and batteries.
How to deal with our child drowning
If your child can make a noise, it means that he or she is breathing and that it is a partial drowning. If he is silent, it means there is a complete blockage, the airway is blocked and the time for action has come
Helping our child to cough
First of all, encourage your child to cough and remove any obvious «obstruction» from his/her mouth.
We remove what is preventing our child from breathing
We hold the child's head with our hand on the jaw line. His torso should be in a position lower than his legs. Once we have him in this position, we give him five strong blows on his back, specifically between the shoulder blades.
After each blow to the back, check the mouth. However, we do not wipe the mouth because this could push the object deeper into the throat. If back blows don't work, for older children, we press on their tummy by standing behind them and putting our arms around their waist.
Then place one hand in a clenched fist between the navel and the bottom of his chest. Bring the other hand close to it and pull sharply inward and upward up to five times.
If your child is a baby or very small, turn him/her over in your arms so that he/she is facing upwards and use your hand to support his/her head and neck. With two fingers in the centre of his chest, we give him up to five strokes on his chest, as if we were stabbing him with our fingers.
If the child is still silent, we call an ambulance and repeat the whole procedure. The moment even a noise is heard, this indicates that the obstruction has been removed, but it is essential to have it checked by a doctor after performing the above technique.
If our child does not respond to any of the stimuli, we may need to apply paediatric CPR (CPR in children). See a video on how it is done here.
