Unfortunately too common, food asphyxia struck again on February 23, 2022 in Moselle. While eating, a 3-year-old child choked and suffered cardiac arrest, she was narrowly saved.
In a home in Hettange-Grande, in Moselle, a serious domestic accident took place this Wednesday, February 23. At lunchtime, a 3-year-old child choked on a cherry tomato. Instead of reaching the esophagus towards the stomach, the food was propelled into its trachea, obstructing his airways. Unable to breathe, the girl had a heart attack.
The emergency services arrived quickly on the spot, however, succeeded in reviving his heart with a few manipulations. His health, considered to be of concern, justified the call of the Samu Lorraine helicopter by the firefighters. The child was thus able be airlifted urgently to the Nancy University Hospital Center (CHU). Because this phenomenon is all too common, it is essential that we all know how to react when a child is choking.
How to react when a child is choking?
Food asphyxia is the leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of one year, and fourth among those under five. If you spot any signs of choking in your child, we must react urgently.
First of all, you should know that a choking child will not be able to speak, breathe or cough. However, some signs may be visible : his face may turn blue, his mouth may be open, and the child may bring his hands to his throat. Your first reaction should be to initiate the airway clearance maneuvers by tapping the child’s back between the shoulder blades (five times). If this does not allow the foreign body to be ejected, it is then necessary to proceed to abdominal compressions. Placed behind him, perform in five, arms wrapped around his abdomen. If your baby is less than a year old, you should instead flip it on its back and apply five quick, firm squeezes with two fingers to the center of his chest.
According to a statement by doctor Emmanuelle Seris, spokesperson for the Association of Emergency Physicians of France (AMUF), in The HuffPost :
If the person becomes unconscious and not breathing, it is cardiac arrest. You have to lay him down on the ground and you have to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation with 30 chest compressions and call 15 quickly.
As happened this Wednesday, February 23 at noon, food asphyxia can thus lead to cardiac arrest. This is why it is essential, as soon as you feel the situation slipping away from you, to call the emergency services. As was the case for the 3-year-old girl, dialing 15 could save your child’s life.
The essential precautions to take
Because prevention is better than cure, the golden rule is to be very alert to signs of choking and choking during mealsas well as when your children play with small objects or food that they could swallow (batteries, peanuts, etc.). As a reminder, the diameter of a child’s trachea is identical to that of his little finger, any larger object will therefore be likely to block his airways.
Additionally, you must always think about cut your children’s food into small piecesbut especially in the length (particularly for sausages) in order to reduce feed diameter. It doesn’t take much longer and can save your child’s life. Enough to keep this precious advice engraved in our memories!