10 YO Girl Chokes on Almond; Columbia Asia
Doctors Remove Broken Pieces and Restore Breathing
·
She had an almond in
her mouth when she jumped and coughed, resulting in the almond entering her
windpipe – the trachea – and blocking the airway.
·
The Oxygen in her blood started to drop which reduced her
sensorium, i.e. her reaction to sensory stimuli.
·
A
tube was inserted to secure airway, followed by a bronchoscopy that found two
almond particles, one in central trachea and the other one in right side of the
bronchus.
·
The girl was on ventilation after procedure for a day due
to lung collapse and swelling in the airway but was managed well without any
complication by Dr. Ganesh Badge and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) team
at Columbia Asia Hospital.
Pune, 30.01.2020: Poor eating habits are known to
cause nutritional deficiencies in children. However, a 10-year-old girl here
had a brush with serious breathing problem when she choked on an almond she was
eating during playtime and was brought in the emergency department of Columbia
Asia Hospital,Pune.
“The child named (Sakshi) was brought to us with difficulty in
breathing. Her parents told us that she had an almond in her mouth when she
jumped and coughed, resulting in the almond entering her windpipe – the
trachea. This blocked the airway and she was unable to breathe. Besides, 0xygen
saturation in her blood drop because of blocked wind pipe.(Baby is not able to
breathe and less air goes to the lungs so respiration gets affect and oxygen
level starts dropping) with reduce sensorium, i.e. her reaction to sensory
stimuli. We incubated (insert a tube into a person or a body part, especially
the trachea for ventilation) her in emergency room to secure airway. After
that, we conducted a bronchoscopy – we found two almond particles in her, one
in central trachea and the other one in right side of the bronchus which caused
air-trapping and breathing problems,” says Dr. Ganesh Badge, Pediatric Intensivist Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune.
As the size of the almond was big it took some effort by
ENT surgeon Dr. Vijay Sharma to remove it. The girl was on ventilation after
procedure for 1 day due to lung collapse and swelling in the airway but was
managed well without any complication by Dr Badge and pediatric intensive care
unit (PICU) team at Columbia Asia Hospital. She was discharged without any
breathing difficulty and has no complications
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POINTS TO
REMEMBER WHILE FEEDING YOUR CHILD:
·
Maintain an upright and static
position of the child while eating.
·
Make sure they are chewing the food
well before swallowing.
·
Avoid feeding children when they are
playing, or running, or watching TV, or engaged in some other work.
·
Do not allow them eat lying down or
in a reclined position.
·
Keep a close eye on children when
they are eating something for the first time.
·
Small food
pieces such as nuts, grapes, beans, and popcorn are more likely to choke the
airway. Supervise the children during the period they are introduced to these.
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