What if something gets stuck in child’s throat?

Choking is one of the most common and scariest things that can happen to your child. However much you try to childproof your home, your child finds some or the other object out of nowhere, which can lead to choking. Choking can lead to a lot of discomfort, suffocation and even death.

The most common symptoms of choking are:

• Breathing difficulty
• Suffocation
• Paleness in nails, tongue and fingers
• Wheezing sound while breathing
• Not being able to speak/swallow

Here’s what you should do in case you realize that your child is choking:

1. Never use your fingers

Come what may, you should never use your fingers to remove the object from your child’s mouth. It may push it even further and cause serious problems.

2. Make your child cough

Just make your child cough. If he/she is able to cough, it means that the airways are only partially blocked and he/she might be able to cough it out.

3. Give back blows

Sit or stand behind your child and place one arm diagonally across your child’s chest. Now make your child lean forward a little and give five back blows on the child’s back to throw the object out. If this doesn’t help, you can try abdominal thrusts.

4. Abdominal thrusts

Sit behind your child and wrap your arms around your child’s chest. Make a fist with one hand and place it on your child’s stomach and now give an inward and upward thrust. You can do this 5 times. Most of the times, this helps to get the object out.

5. Seek medical attention

If your child loses consciousness and is unable to breathe, call a doctor or rush to the nearest medical center for help.

Always keep an eye on kids when they are playing and keep your doctor’s number handy, should the need arise.

Note: The above remedies should only be used for children above 1 year of age.

Image Source: r2da.wikia, pinterest, wikihow

Priyanka Verma