Eating grapes can end in tragedy. Watch out for children!

Last weekend, the parents of a 3-year-old boy from Marianów (West Pomeranian Voivodeship) experienced moments of horror. According to the report received by rescuers, the toddler lost consciousness as a result of choking on a grape. Firefighters from the Volunteer Fire Brigade in Marianów and a medical rescue team from Chociwel arrived on the scene. The LPR Szczecin helicopter was also called.

What can you choke on?

“Initially, it was suspected that the child had choked on a grape, but this hypothesis was not confirmed when the emergency medical team arrived at the scene. It turned out that the boy had an epileptic attack, so he was secured and transported to the hospital– explains Paulina Heigel, spokeswoman for WSPR in Szczecin. At the same time, the ambulance representative points out that although in this case eating the fruit was not the cause of choking, it happens that eating food leads to a tragedy.

“Most often, children choke on food that is small in size, but at the same time hard, such as candies, lollipops, nuts, grapes” – says Paulina Heigel. Dangerous (especially in the case of small children who put many objects in their mouths) are also small blocks, small parts of toys. Let’s also add tablets, beads, buttons and coins to this list.

The consumption of these foods can lead to choking:

• nuts,

• raisins,

• candies (especially hard ones, e.g. candy),

• fruits (grapes, gooseberries, blueberries),

• vegetables (cherry tomatoes, apple pieces or pieces of carrot, olives, corn, peas),

• sausages,

• sunflower seeds,

• pits of plums, cherries, sweet cherries,

• foams, gummies,

• Chewing Gum,

• fish containing bones.

Why do children choke on food?

According to the information published on the website of the District Medical Chamber in Warsaw, the victims of choking are most often children under three years of age. This is confirmed by the report “Policy Statement – Prevention of Choking Among Children” – it says that children are more at risk of choking than adults due to the immaturity of physiological reflexes and behavior, but also due to the small dimensions of the airways. In the United States alone, 4,000 people die each year from choking, and another 100,000 patients come to the emergency room because of it.

This year, a tragedy occurred in Rzeszów, where a three-year-old child in a nursery choked on grapes, which was supposed to lead to his death. In response to this situation, the editorial office of “Fakt” was contacted by Mrs. Michalina, the mother of a boy who fell into a coma as a result of choking on grapes in kindergarten and has not woken up so far. At that time, she appealed to parents of other children and employees of care and educational institutions to pay attention to the safe form of giving fruit and vegetables to children. These can be cut into smaller pieces.

How to react when a child chokes?

If you see a toddler choking, react quickly. If the child is able to breathe, encourage him to cough – this way, in most cases, it is possible to remove the foreign body from the airway.

However, if the child has stopped coughing, you should lean him forward and then hit the space between the shoulder blades several times. If that doesn’t help, use it so-called the Heimlich maneuver (Henry Heimlich described this method in 1974),

• lean the baby forward

• put your arms around the baby – put one on the epigastrium, i.e. under the breastbone,

• clenched fist with the other hand,

• vigorously pull the diaphragm inwards and upwards.

If this action does not bring any results, call the emergency number 112 and call an ambulance. If the child loses consciousness, start CPR.