Foreign body leakage into the trachea is very common in children. This is more common in children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, because they frequently put foreign objects in their mouths. “Foreign body aspiration”, which means the escape of any object into the trachea, can result in death if not consciously intervened. According to statistics, 7 percent of accidental deaths in infants are caused by foreign bodies escaping into the trachea, so first aid is vital in foreign body aspiration.
EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND APPROPRIATE FIRST AID INTERVENTION SAVE LIVES
Pediatric Surgeon Specialist Op. Dr. Taner Kamacı said that early diagnosis and appropriate first aid intervention are of vital importance in foreign body aspirations.
PUT OBJECTS THAT CAN BE SWALLOWED OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN
Advising families to keep their children away from objects that they can swallow, Op. Dr. Kamacı said, “Children, especially small babies between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, can put everything they find in their mouths because they know the things with their mouths, and this can sometimes have dangerous and very serious consequences. Sometimes the object he puts in his mouth can escape into his trachea and lungs. Sometimes it can go into the esophagus. Both can have very serious dangerous consequences. Therefore, we recommend that families with small babies always be careful. Never leave babies alone with nuts, small pieces of toys, small items, marbles, coins, pins. Keep such objects away from children as much as possible. Or put them where they can’t reach. If children swallow an object they swallowed, and if the swallowed object blocks the trachea, it can cause a very sudden worsening and life-threatening risk.
HOW IS FIRST AID RESPONSE?
Underlining that they recommend every family to receive first aid training, Op. Dr. Kamacı said, “Let’s say the child swallowed a foreign object at home, suddenly became short of breath, became bruised and started breathing again, if this bruise goes away, then if there is an object in his mouth, we want him to take this object and bring it to the hospital as soon as possible. But if this shortness of breath has not passed, if the child is purple and cannot breathe, there will be no time to bring him to the hospital. They definitely need an immediate intervention. In such cases, we recommend that if the child is under the age of 1, they can take my child on our hands and make the foreign object come out or at least move it from where it is, with a sweeping motion from face down on our knees from the back to the head. If the child is older than one year, then we recommend the Hemlik maneuver. By making a fist on the back of the child on the stomach, with the other hand, we can press the hand on which we made a fist and make the object in the chest part come out. If families can make such interventions at home, they can save the life of the child. Because it happens to us. Until the patient is brought from home to the hospital, he may face death. First aid and emergency response is very important. The most important part is that families panic in such a situation. Because when the family, mother or father panic, they do not have the courage to do it and they may not even think of it at that moment. Let them stay calm and practice these maneuvers at home. But if the child is breathing and coughing a little hard, there is nothing they can do at home. We recommend bringing him to the nearest health unit,” he said.
(UAV)