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What should I do if my child swallows a foreign object?

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Foreign object The desire of children to try everything on the palate is their natural reaction to the outside world, the urge to explore the surrounding things with the help of taste buds.

Often licking and trying to chew or bite the object under investigation does not end - your child can swallow it. Foreign bodies are found in children's stomachs more often than in adults, appendices are operated and infarctions occur. According to statistics, every 5-6th child in the world swallows something that is clearly not good for food. Parents need to be extremely vigilant, so that a small foreign object does not do much harm.

Table of contents: Reasons for children to swallow foreign objects At what age can the problem occur Signs that the child has swallowed a foreign object First aid State prophylaxis

Reasons for children to swallow foreign objects

Do not blame the child, That it pulled into the mouth an alien object, and this caused problems with his health. In childhood there are a number of objective physiological reasons why children swallow all unnecessary things :

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  • Mouth the child does not have an adequate assessment of the physical parameters of things - that they are sharp, hot, hard or at least inedible;
  • at a tender age does not manifest the instinct of self-preservation - it's worthless for your child to pull into his mouth an object that will only alienate an adult;
  • there is no negative experience - at the genetic level does not contain the program "do not take kaku in the mouth", the child should feel the problem in practice , so that he can understand that this can not be done anymore, because the stomach is sick( and this at best);
  • even if the sad experience has already been, the child may simply not learn it;In other words, several situations must be repeated in order to develop a reflex "not to be taken into the mouth"( what we in the artistic style characterize through the saying "Burned, blows on the cold");
  • full-fledged communications are not yet established, and the children do not share practical negativity with one another, they do not discuss in their circle. "I shoved the key in my mouth, my mother became alarmed, and doctors came to the car with" flashing lights "- do not do it becauseWith you will be the same trouble. "

At what age can the problem arise

Mouth A child can drag an object into his mouth as soon as he reaches for it.And this means that is the "starting point" when parents need to be very vigilant - the 7-8th month of life when the baby starts to crawl and tries to reach new items for him.

At this time, small items seem to be created for the parents to stay in constant tension - the child's vision is not yet thorough, he only learns to focus it, and therefore, first of all he will stop his gaze on a small bright object that will be on his way of plastonic crawling through spaceChildren's world.Sometimes mom is saved by the fact that because of the undiscussed focusing of the sight the kid may simply not see a thing that is dangerous in terms of swallowing, even in absolute proximity to oneself - but one should not rely on it, vigilance should be maximum.

According to statistics, children often swallow foreign objects at the age of 1-3 years. During this period, they become more nimble, many already go, which means that the zone of reach of the tzatsk, which must be pulled into the mouth, increases.

But neither three, nor five years the age of young "swallowers"( albeit not swords) is not limited.Then the age of all experiments begins, when children can deliberately and even purposely "bite" an inedible object.Especially it concerns those tomboy who are in the collective( in the kindergarten or in the "gang") and subconsciously try to boast before others - something, just to brag. also describes funny cases when children even of middle school age, teaching lessons and mechanically pulling a piece of something in their hands, could start to wheedle it in the mouth and at the same time unintentionally draw into the esophagus .All these examples mean that parents should be vigilant at all times - 7 months for the child or 7 years.

Signs that the child swallowed a foreign object

children The fact that a child has swallowed a small object( a nut, a bead, a small denomination), can often go unnoticed.Mom finds out about this by accident when swallowed by a subject, passing through the gastrointestinal tract, will be released along with the feces out.

You can suspect that something is wrong, if the child has a drastic behavior change, he feels guilty( although he can not explain it), calms down and ceases to behave as he usually does. In this case, you should ask him what happened, and whether it is colorful "candy" not swallowed.To do this you need the most affectionately, even with the use of some diplomacy - otherwise a child because of the fear of being punished will persistently hide the fact of swallowing the object.Naturally, the reason for such inquiries will be if the child is at that age when he realizes that he has done "something is wrong".

A foreign body entering the digestive tract of more than one Sanimeter in diameter appears momentarily, in fact, in trouble. Symptoms on which it can be suspected:

  • Children sudden sudden poperyvanie;
  • universal natural reaction of children to any children's problems and troubles - crying, which arises from the pain in the throat and esophagus;
  • increased salivation;
  • belching;
  • nausea and vomiting( often of a reflex character, because, for example, a small swallowed cap from a pencil pen will not cause a true reaction from the stomach, as it will cause half a bowl of stale soup);
  • change in stool characteristics - about the foreign body may indicate the presence of mucus in the stool;
  • behavioral disorder;In rare cases,
  • is a loss of consciousness.

stomach In the vast majority of cases, a child swallows a foreign object commensurate with the diameter of the esophagus, which means that the entire gastrointestinal tract means that it can escape naturally. In some cases, this does not happen, because the object is stuck in the folds of the gastrointestinal tract.

Then its presence in the digestive tract can be suspected only when asking the child and the symptoms described above.Although it happens that the diagnosis can be made only with the help of instrumental methods of research( for example, radiography) or post factum, when the foreign object leaves the outside.

Often, objects with sharp edges are swallowed, which, it would seem, can not be swallowed( pins, clips, clerical buttons and so on).In such cases, a high probability that they are stuck in any of the sections of the digestive tract, too, by themselves do not come out.About their presence in the digestive tract will signal the child's complaints of acute pain - because the mucous membrane irritation.

Help.What you do not need to do

Recommendations are reduced to something that you do not need to do in a domestic environment if the foreign body was swallowed by a child:

  • Hleb actively kick the child on the back, shake it, turn it upside down and upside down,Trying to force the object to return the reverse way - such actions are fraught with the fact that the swallowed object can turn in a narrow place( in particular, in the esophagus) and this causes even greater subjective inconveniences, and also to shift into the breathing apparatuss way if he has sharp edges - even injure the mucosa or deeper balls HIA;
  • to force the child to eat a piece of solid food( for example, a crust of stale bread) in the hope that he will push a foreign object into the stomach, from which, according to the parents, it will be easier to move towards the exit;
  • try to get a swallowed object by yourself - with fingers, tweezers or even with a magnet, if a metal object was swallowed( the latter method generally looks utopian).

Instead of multiple useless( and sometimes dangerous) actions, call a qualified doctor as soon as possible, which will provide the child with competent help.

If the child begins to cough and suffocate slightly - it should be placed on his knee face down so that the upper half of the trunk is lowered, while slightly tapping his fingers on the back between the shoulder blades.Do not overdo it with the force of tapping!

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is more likely to be in the field than the medical one, and the household parents need to constantly monitor the baby so that he does not stuff the object of interest into his mouth, and also, if possible, restrict the child's ability to contact small objects.

If a child grows up and hears his parental exhortations, he should strictly forbid him to pull foreign objects into his mouth.

Kovtonyuk Oksana Vladimirovna, medical reviewer, surgeon, consulting physician


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