Foreign objects swallowed: How to help your child
Hardly any emergency is as unexpected and severe as swallowing a foreign body. If a baby or child has swallowed something, it can react in different ways: from a persistent cough without restricting breathing to an attack of suffocation, anything is possible!
When is the risk of a child swallowing a foreign object greatest?
The risk of a child swallowing something that then gets stuck in the throat is greater the smaller it is. Caution is advised, especially with crawling children, because during their “oral phase” they basically put everything they can find in their mouths!
Children under the age of four should be kept away from whole nuts, especially peanuts. For small children, nuts and almonds should always be used ground as a precaution. Marbles, beads or small building blocks (the “ones”) are also often swallowed. But even a biscuit or a piece of apple or carrot can get stuck in your throat. Attention is therefore important in order to be able to observe what a child puts in his or her mouth.
The child has swallowed a foreign object: two important actions
Swallowing objects can be fatal. To be on the safe side, you should master two important moves: the “back tapping method” and the “Heimlich move” (named after the American doctor Dr. Heimlich). Everyone with whom the child will be left alone (grandparents, babysitters) should be able to do this. In the first instance, a child’s life can be saved.
The back pat method
- The child is hung with the upper body hanging down on the forearm, thigh or over a table or chair. The upper body must be tilted down significantly!
- Now, with the palm of your hand, tap your back five times at shoulder blade level.
- The tapping should not be too timid. You don’t have to worry about hurting the child. A certain amount of force is required to move the object.
- The foreign body is shaken loose by the tapping and is transported towards the mouth with the help of gravity. The effect of gravity is just as important as knocking. Tapping in a horizontal position does not bring success.
It used to be said that children who swallowed something should be grabbed by their legs and held over their heads, even shaken. But that is hardly possible with one hand (the other has to knock) and the risk of injury for the child is considerable. This method should therefore be forgotten quickly!
The “Heimlich Handle”
If the foreign body does not come loose with the back tapping method, the Heimlich maneuver must be used. The object should be thrown out of the lungs with force, like a cough.
The hand grip can be performed standing or lying down. In both cases, strong pressure must be exerted on the upper abdomen between the navel and the breastbone. To do this, you grasp the child (while standing) from behind with both arms and fold your hands below the chest. Then pull the child towards you with a jerk to exert pressure.
“Heimlich maneuver” in babies
The handle works a little differently for children under the age of one. A baby’s chest has a different shape: the ribs are still horizontal. You therefore exert pressure on the middle of the breastbone with two fingers or the heel of your hand. There is no need to be afraid of hurting the baby. His bones are still very soft and elastic. Plus, you can save it from suffocation!
In an emergency, call the emergency services
- First of all, both of the above movements should be carried out in order not to waste valuable time.
- Immediately afterwards, the rescue service is alerted.
- Under no circumstances should the foreign body be removed with your fingers! Attempting to remove a foreign object with your fingers can result in the object being pushed deeper into the airway. Adult fingers are very thick compared to a child’s narrow airway, and grasping the object may be impossible.
If a child has swallowed a foreign body, action is the order of the day!
Again and again one hears of cases in which children had to suffocate because the adults present did not help. Many parents are afraid of doing something wrong or hurting their child. But it is important to know that if swallowed, death by asphyxiation can occur after about four minutes. In such cases there is no time to wait for the emergency services! Action must be taken immediately and correctly!