Children are curious, by nature, and tend to wonder and experiment with everything in their world. Foods and chokable items included. A "chokable item" is any item that is small enough to fit through a toilet paper or paper towel roll, thus the object is small enough to become lodged into the wind pipe.
Children choke more often than adults do because, for one thing, they are more likely to put things in their mouth that are not food, and also because they have more of a tendancy to play and run around while eating, raising the chance for food to accidentally get stuck in their wind pipe. Also, childrens mouths and tongues are less developed than adults and they are not as skilled in manipulating foods in their mouths, causing them to be more likely to choke.
Some common items that children choke on include little round slices of hot dogs, balloons, hard candies, and chunks of raw fruits and vegetables. It is imperative that anyone supervising children at any time have thourough knowledge of CPR and first aid, including the Heimlich Manuever, in such the event that choking occurs.
Although it is almost entirely impossible to prevent a child from choking one hundred percent of the time, steps can be taken to lessen the chance.
- Be sure that children are sitting down quietly while eating and are not laughing or running around.
- For very young children, cut foods julienne style (into long thin strips almost like grated carrots) to lessen the chance of food becoming lodged in the wind pipe.
- Keep all hard and large pieces of candy away from young children.
- Keep all small objects that can fit through a toilet paper roll out of reach from young kids.
- Supervise children at all times.
- KNOW CPR!!!!!!!
About EMS University, LLC:
A team of certified Paramedics with extensive hands-on experience in performing actual CPR. EMS University, LLC began in 2003 with a vision of improving CPR education worldwide. Initially, there were many doubts regarding the online education environment and its utilization for emergency skills and other healthcare training, however, with the advancement of online education tools, we believe that we may assist with the delivery of instruction so much that the benefits far outweigh the detractors.
