ACCIDENTAL CHOKING IN CHILDREN
Every five days a child in the U.S. dies by choking on food. This
is Dr. Steven Andrew Davis, Speaking of Health. Accidental choking
deaths: 90% of the time the victims are under age five and almost 2/3 of
the time they're under age two. The phenomenon has been studied.
According to a report in the Journal of the AMA children typically
choked on certain foods under certain circumstances. For example,
foods which more often cause choking in young children are smooth, slick
or round, and capable of sliding into the wind pipe and lodging there.
In fact, in this study, the single food which most commonly caused choking
deaths in very young children was a piece of hot dog. Next as causes
of choking deaths in children came candy, peanuts and other nuts, and grapes.
Other problem foods for very young children are those which can mold or
stick to the airway, like peanut butter or chewing gum. Obviously,
some of the foods which can cause choking in young children are good nutrition
and otherwise are safe for older children.
Some health professionals push to have warning labels put on foods which
would indicate at which age it is safe to start giving children a certain
type of food, for now it's up to parents to think carefully about what
they give their children and to ask professional advice if they're not
sure. Also, children should not by physically active, laughing, crying
while eating, behavior which can further increase the chances that they
may choke on what they eat. For a copy of this script, access our
web site, speakingofhealth.com. Speaking of Health, I'm Dr. Steven
Andrew Davis for CBS News.
E-Mail
drdavis@davishealth.com
Dr. Steve Davis
7810 Louis Pasteur #200
San Antonio, Texas 78229
210/614-3355
