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Update: Week of July 27

This Week’s Hot Topic

As many of you know, my husband and I are hoping to become parents this year and we want to raise our children bilingually. Not only do we think this is a great gift, but it will make trips to visit Oma and Opa (who speak about 3 words of English) much easier. In the great wind up to a multi-language household, I am spending 2 weeks in an intensive German course, 6 hours a day. So you can imagine why I was thinking about skipping this week’s note. Until I checked my messages on the way home and learned that the 2 year-old niece of an old friend recently choked to death while being babysat by family.

I feel the need today to remind everyone that little kids stink at chewing their food properly. Little kids might have incisors (to bite) but lack molars (to chew). Slightly older kids might have all the right teeth but they don’t always take the time to fully chew their food. Laughing, running and not paying attention are also reasons besides being developmentally immature why a little one is at risk for choking. A child can choke on just about anything, but there are a few food items that are riskier than others.

Anything that is firm or round should be chopped. Hot dogs are the perfect size to plug up a little trachea and need to be peeled, cut lengthwise and chopped into little pieces. Popcorn, whole grapes, hard candy and seeds or nuts can be easily aspirated (sucked into the lungs). Chewing gum is risky, as are sticky or gooey things like taffy and peanut butter. Any “chunk” that requires grinding after biting (apples, carrots, meat or cheese) can block an airway. As for non-food items, anything small can be a danger but latex balloons pose a particularly dangerous threat since they can get sucked into and completely block the airway.

While I can’t do anything to ease my friend’s pain, I’m hoping that a little reminder to all of you might prevent another family from such suffering. I know it’s not a particularly light-hearted note this week, but sometimes it can’t all be funny.

and until next time,

Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 28, 2009

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