What should I do if my baby’s food gets stuck in his throat?

When children eat, they are often too clear about what they can eat and what they cannot eat. In addition, they may cry or laugh loudly while eating, so it is very common for children to have food stuck in their throats. Parents should master some home first aid methods so that they can provide rescue as soon as possible after the child is stuck, reducing the harm to the child caused by food stuck in the throat.

1. Encourage coughing

Foreign objects that cause choking are mostly stuck in the throat, especially foreign objects like thin films and jelly. Usually only part of them are sucked into the laryngeal cavity, and part of them is outside the glottis. At this time, encourage the baby to cough loudly, which can sometimes cough out the foreign object.

2. Shoot the back while leaning forward

If it is suspected that a foreign object has been inhaled into the baby's airway, the baby's upper body should be tilted forward 60 degrees, with the baby lying prone on the rescuer's elbow, with the head hanging down. The rescuer should pat the baby's back vigorously with his hands, using gravity to help expel the foreign object.

3. Abdominal compression

Sometimes after coughing, the gas is coughed out but cannot be inhaled, the gas in the lungs gradually decreases, and the coughed-out airflow is very small. At this time, you need to use the impact force of abdominal compression and diaphragm rising to increase the coughed-out airflow and expel the foreign body. The method is to let the baby stand and lean forward, and the rescuer will then overlap his hands and place them on the baby's upper abdomen, squeezing the baby's abdomen to increase abdominal pressure, raise the diaphragm, increase chest cavity pressure, and generate strong airflow in the lungs to flush foreign objects out of the trachea.

4. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

If the foreign body is removed and the obstruction is relieved, but the baby's breathing and heartbeat have stopped, artificial respiration and external cardiac compression should be performed immediately.

Kind tips:

1. When removing foreign objects, do not try to remove invisible foreign objects, otherwise it will only push the foreign objects deeper.

2. Babies should not eat whole fried beans, melon seeds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, broad beans and other foods. They should not be given to babies to play with with the shells. The skin and shell should be peeled and the fruit should be smashed before eating.

3. When eating jelly, do not swallow the whole piece into your mouth. Cut it into small pieces in a bowl and then give it to your baby.

When food gets stuck in the throat, children often have difficulty breathing, so once you find this happening, you must pay attention to providing timely and correct rescue. If the problem is serious, you can go to the doctor for emergency treatment in time. When children are eating, make sure they concentrate on eating and not eat while playing.