What to do if a child chokes and suffocates – first aid

When a child is born, mom wants to protect him from all the dangers of the big world. One of these hazards is the penetration of any foreign objects into the respiratory tract. Small parts of toys, hair, a piece of food – all these objects stuck in the throat can cause respiratory failure or even death of the baby.

What if the child chokes and suffocates? First aid from pediatricians.

See also: How to make a home safe for a newborn baby – useful purchases if a child appears in the house.

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How to understand that a child has choked

To avoid dire consequences, it is important to prevent any objects from getting into the baby’s mouth or nose in a timely manner. If you nevertheless notice that something is wrong with the child, and his favorite toy is missing, for example, a nose or a button, then urgent need to act…

The child choked – signs:

• Blue in the face the skin of the child.
• Suffocation (if the baby begins to greedily gasp for air).
• A sharp increase in salivation. This is due to the fact that the body tries to push the foreign object with saliva into the stomach.
• “Goggle” eyes.
• Very violent and unexpected cough.
• The child’s voice may change, or he may lose it altogether.
• Breathing is heavy, whistling and wheezing are noted.
• Worst case baby may faint from lack of oxygen.

First aid for a newborn – what to do if a child chokes?

If you notice at least one of the above signs in a child, then you need to act quickly. The most important thing is not to panic, as this can only harm the baby.

Video: First aid for a newborn if he choked

1. If the child screams, wheezes or cries, then this means that there is a passage for air – you need to help the child to cough up so that he spits out a foreign object. Best of all patting between the shoulder blades and pressing with a spoon on the base of the tongue.
2. If the child does not scream, but sucks in his stomach, waves his arms and tries to inhale, then you have very little time. Everything needs to be done quickly and accurately. To get started, call an ambulance by phone “03”.
3. Next you need take the child by the legs and lower it upside down. Pat on the back between your shoulder blades (like you slap the bottom of a bottle to knock out a cork) three to five times.
4. If the object is still in the airway, then lay the child on a flat surface, turn his head slightly to the side and carefully, several times, rhythmically press on the lower sternum and, at the same time, the upper abdomen. The direction of pressing is straight up to push the object out of the respiratory tract. It is important to ensure that the pressure is not strong, since children under one year old have a risk of rupture of internal organs.
5. Open your child’s mouth and try to feel the object with your finger.… Try to pull it out with your finger or tweezers.
6. If the result is zero, then the child needs artificial respirationso that at least some of the air gets into the baby’s lungs. To do this, you need to throw the child’s head back and raise the chin – in this position, artificial respiration is easiest to do. Place your hand on your child’s lungs. Next, cover your child’s nose and mouth with your lips and inhale the air into the mouth and nose by force twice. If you feel that the baby’s chest has risen, then this means that some of the air has entered the lungs.
7. Followed by repeat all points before the ambulance arrives.

Prevention of accidents in children – what to do to prevent the child from choking on food or small objects?

In order not to face such a problem as the need to urgently remove objects from the respiratory tract of the child, you should remember several important rules:

1. Make sure hairs from stuffed toys do not pull out easily… It is better to put all toys with long pile away on the shelf so that the baby cannot reach them.
2. Don’t let your child play with toys that have small parts… Always pay attention to the tightness of the fastening of the parts (so that they cannot be easily broken or bitten off).
3. From infancy, teach your child not to pull anything into his mouth. This will help eliminate many problems in the future.
4. Teach your child not to indulge in food. Do not let your baby play with toys while eating. Many parents distract their child with toys so they can eat better. If you use this method of “distraction”, do not leave your baby unattended for a second.
5. Also, you should not give food to your child while he is playing. Inexperienced parents make this mistake very often.
6. Do not feed the baby against his wishes. This can cause your toddler to inhale a morsel of food and choke.

See also: First aid for a baby at a high temperature – how to bring down the temperature of a newborn?