Swallowed a plastic part. The child swallowed a plastic part from a toy

It is very important for each parent what to do if the child has swallowed a plastic part and what to do, who to contact. How not to waste precious time?

Degree of danger

As a general rule, plastic parts, such as those in a well-known designer, should not be considered particularly dangerous. Moreover, in most cases they can even leave the body naturally, especially if their mass is not large, and the contours are spherical or oval.

In addition, all plastics do not change their properties at body temperature, do not oxidize, do not undergo splitting by pancreatic enzymes or gastric acid.

However, everything is not as cloudless as it might seem at first glance. The processes of moving a plastic object through the intestinal tube will irritate the intestinal mucosa, which will lead to spasm of the intestinal tube.

As a result of this, there is a possibility of developing acute intestinal obstruction - a life-threatening condition that, without emergency medical care, will lead to death.

In addition to intestinal obstruction, ingestion of plastic foreign objects can lead to organ perforation. True, in the case of plastic products, this probability is small.

If the part, when swallowed, enters the windpipe, a severe condition may develop associated with clogging of the larynx with a foreign object, which will lead to acute suffocation.

Clinical manifestations

When a foreign object enters the windpipe, a special, characteristic symptom complex occurs, which cannot be confused with anything else. In such situations, a coughing fit occurs, the child's face turns blue or pale, salivation increases sharply.

If a plastic foreign object enters the digestive system, especially if this object is small in size, there may not be any pathological manifestations. The child can be quite active, his behavior will not differ from usual, natural functions will correspond to the norm.

If the swallowed object is large, most likely there will be a sore throat or behind the sternum, salivation will increase, fear will appear, there may be nausea and vomiting. It is possible that the intensity and localization of pain will change, correlating with the advancement of a foreign object.

Procedure

First of all, you need to, without wasting a second of time, call an ambulance. If the child's condition is satisfactory, and the time of arrival of the brigade is not determined, it is better to get to the medical institution on your own.

What not to do with a child who swallowed a plastic part?

It is strictly forbidden to force a child to cough, give enemas, provoke vomiting, give laxatives, and also give a piece of stale bread to push through a foreign object.

Gosha once swallowed teeth from a comb, plastic, 3 pieces, 2 - sharp, 1 - with a round. As a rule, these are details from children's toys, buttons. These items are less dangerous than magnets, batteries and glass.

What to do if a child swallows an object?

Yes, the part is plastic, it’s unlikely that they will see something, so I took on the responsibility myself to watch my son for a couple of days ... The opinion of the authors may not coincide with the point of view of the editors. The editors are not responsible for the content of advertisements and articles. At the moment, I give the baby light food, such as oatmeal. I don’t know what to do, the doctors say wait, but I’m going crazy. Support people, why one piece came out almost immediately, where is the rest, how long to wait, where to run.

In the evening, unable to stand it, they rushed to the x-ray, they said the plastic does not show the glass, but you can see if there is any kind of injury.

All mothers know that medicines should be kept out of the reach of children. But not everyone succeeds.

Tell me what to do, who faced this - the child swallowed a plastic round part! Not the fact that the child swallowed all the fragments. As I remember now, my mother dragged me to the doctors then: they blew my nose and did an X-ray. As a child, she played with bullets and stuck one up her nose. And she bang and failed inside. Author, pull yourself together. Everything will be fine. The child could not eat a bunch of fragments.

If the swallowed object is sharp, it is a magnet, a battery, or a large object, you need to urgently take the child to the hospital.

Toddlers like tablets and capsules, they think that this is a treat.

And although it was wooden and without protrusions, out of fright, I immediately called an ambulance, and we were taken to the trauma. If they are small .. they could get lost in the room. But no one saw how he ate them. I called an ambulance, they arrived, looked at the mouth, listened, they said wait at the exit or look for a better one, it might have rolled up.

Foreign body stuck in the esophagus

Do not give a laxative. If we assume that there are still pieces inside, then in order not to injure the intestines with plastic, the stool should not be liquid, and vice versa. But if he swallows a large lump, the same thing is possible as when swallowing a large amount of chewing gum: plasticine can get stuck in the esophagus or cause intestinal obstruction. The doctor can immediately prescribe an X-ray examination for the child, and if the object is in the stomach or duodenum, remove it by endoscopic method.

And with a long stay in one place, they can cause necrosis and perforation.

We have already described above what you must do in order to remove a dangerous object from the respiratory tract. All other actions: feeding, watering the child, giving him a laxative, is possible only after examining a doctor, with his permission. If any of these symptoms appear, the child may need urgent surgical treatment. But such objects, as a rule, are not sharp and heavy, and if their dimensions are not very large, they may well pass out with feces on their own.

Children are very inquisitive and enjoy tasting the world around them. And therefore, not always parents can protect them from swallowing various foreign objects or inhaling their parts.

Evgeny Komarovsky, a pediatrician of the highest category, tells how to act in such a situation.

What choke on and is it dangerous?

The items that a child may well swallow or inhale are very diverse, and the severity of the situation must be assessed based on what exactly was swallowed by the baby. It is clear that a small and smooth cherry stone that has entered the digestive tract will not cause any harm to the baby. You don’t have to worry - after a while the baby successfully goes to the toilet and the same bone from the cherry will be found in the feces. The same can be said about situations in which the child suddenly swallowed the gum.

Therefore, parents should evaluate the nature of the surface of the swallowed object, as well as its size.

Even if a child has swallowed a plastic part from a designer, it is only necessary to talk about danger if this part has sharp, uneven edges that theoretically can injure the esophagus or intestinal walls.

The most dangerous objects that children often swallow are:

• tablet batteries and conventional finger batteries;
• screws;
• small nails;
• pins;
• coins;
• large buttons;
• glass;
• bones from plums, fish, chicken, dates.

In this case, parents should definitely contact a medical institution, even if the child looks good and no negative symptoms appear. Signs may appear later, and it is important to prevent this.

However, a foreign body that has entered the respiratory tract rarely "behaves" without symptoms. And such an incident often requires emergency assistance. Indeed, a swallowed foreign object in itself, even if it is paper, a napkin, or if the baby chokes on food, may well harm the child, but much more often the unreasonable and wrong actions of parents frightened to the point of colic harm him.

Parents should at least roughly imagine not only the size and texture of what they swallowed, but also the volume.

A harmless cherry pit will not cause harm if it is one, maximum two or three. But now a handful of such bones can cause intestinal obstruction.

What to do?

If a child swallowed a foreign object and began to feel sick, then Komarovsky does not advise parents to interfere in this most important process - the gag reflex is very wisely invented by nature precisely to rid the body of a foreign, outsider.

If the object is swallowed, and the baby does not show reflex attempts to get rid of it, but the object belongs to the group of dangerous ones, it is important to immediately call an ambulance. While the doctors are on the way, the child should not be given anything to eat or drink.

If the object is safe and does not bother the child in any way, then it is worth waiting until it leaves the child's body in a completely natural way, along with feces during bowel movements.

It is much more difficult to independently deal with the situation when the child inhaled a small object. A foreign body stuck in the trachea is manifested by a strong suffocating cough, limited inhalation, cyanosis (blueness of the skin and lips) may appear, the child may bulge his eyes, he suffocates and can even lose consciousness.

If the child is breathing, nothing needs to be done, you need to wait for the ambulance. The maximum that needs to be done if the baby has independent breathing is to open the windows wide open and ensure the flow of a large amount of ordinary fresh air.

Attempts to knock the child on the back, shake his head upside down will not lead to good - the object can move further along the trachea and lead to mechanical asphyxia.

If a foreign body is stuck in the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms will depend on where exactly it happened. When the esophagus is blocked, there are difficulties with swallowing, saliva flows intensely, there is pain in the retrosternal region.

If the object is stuck in the stomach, the pain will be in the abdomen, there will be an unproductive urge to vomit. When the intestines are blocked, abdominal pain occurs, blood and mucus appear in the stool, there may be no defecation, and bloating is observed.

First aid

Komarovsky advises to provide first aid only if the child is not breathing. In this case, the Heimlich maneuver, which every mother should know, will help. While the baby is coughing, this means that there is a chance that the body itself will get rid of the foreign object.

If the cough has stopped and the object has not come out, you need to proceed to active actions.

• Take a position behind the child, standing with the front of the body to his back, hug him from behind with your arms.
• Squeeze your right hand into a fist and place the bend of your thumb on the tummy between the navel and ribs.
• The open palm of the second hand is placed on top of the fist and the fist is pressed into the stomach with quick and precise movements.
• Repeat as many times as necessary to clear the airways. If everything worked out, the skin becomes normal color, breathing is restored.

If the child is small, lay him on a hard, flat surface (floor) and take a kneeling position next to him. The middle and index fingers of the mother's hands should be put to the child in the same epigastric region described above, it should be pressed gently, upwards towards the diaphragm.

If the child pushed something into his nose, Komarovsky recommends using a technique called "mom's kiss." The technique was coined in 1965 by Canadian emergency physician Stephanie Cook.

The essence of the method is as follows:

1. mother tightly puts her lips to the mouth of the child;
2. closes the nostril free from foreign objects with his hand;
3. inhales strongly into the baby's mouth;
4. the air flow "presses" on a foreign object and it leaves the place in the nasal passages.

The method helps in about 60% of cases. But even if the reception was successful, the child should still be examined by a doctor as soon as possible.

See another first aid technique from Dr. Komarovsky in the next video.

Prohibited Parenting Activities

While the ambulance is coming, an open window and vigilant observation of the behavior and well-being of the baby by adults will be enough.

No need to try to push objects stuck in the esophagus or nose by any means at hand. Parents who have ever met or heard recommendations from the older generation to give a choking child something tough, such as bread crust or cracker, can reach this point.

No matter how hard we try to protect the baby from danger, no one is immune from accidents. Therefore, all parents should know how to provide first aid to the child. After all, the life of a baby can depend on the actions of loved ones, especially since in emergency situations the score sometimes goes by minutes.

According to statistics, every year millions of foreign bodies enter the gastrointestinal tract of children. This happens as a result of careless handling of small objects and due to an oversight of parents. How not to get lost in such a situation?

Most often, the diagnosis of "foreign body" is made in early childhood. As soon as babies begin to crawl and then walk, they quickly master territories and objects that were previously inaccessible to them, and some of them must strictly be in a place inaccessible to children. Acquaintance with new objects occurs in the most detailed way through all available senses. The child needs to turn and examine the "toy" from all sides, be sure to smell it, and most importantly, determine the degree of its edibility. The result of this curiosity is that objects fall into the mouth, and then into the gastrointestinal tract or respiratory tract of the baby.

If you witnessed such a situation, urgently call an ambulance. The baby must be under medical supervision, even if in the first hours there are no symptoms and he feels well. A foreign body with sharp edges (needles, pins, badges, etc.) can get stuck in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract, which increases the risk of puncturing its wall. Large and heavy foreign bodies (for example, a metal ball), which do not come out on their own and stay in the intestine for a long time, can cause significant damage to the wall with bleeding or perforation (violation of integrity). Therefore, when a foreign body enters the gastrointestinal tract, it is imperative to make sure that it has come out, for which each child's stool is carefully examined.

If the child was not in your field of vision when everything happened, it will be much more difficult to detect the presence of a foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, often children, fearing punishment, hide this fact from their parents.

Usually, babies swallow small things - toys or their parts, coins, buttons, fruit seeds. As a rule, the child does not experience any unpleasant sensations, with the exception of fear. In the future, the baby may not have complaints, since in most cases small objects come out within 2-3 days on their own.

If the object is of considerable size and blocks the lumen of the esophagus, then choking, profuse salivation immediately appear, there may be hiccups, belching, nausea, and vomiting. Any eaten food and water goes back.

Beware of batteries!

Seek medical attention immediately if a battery is found to be a foreign body. In the stomach containing hydrochloric acid, the battery, oxidizing and releasing aggressive substances, can damage the mucous membrane due to chemical burns. Ulcers can form at this site, leading to life-threatening complications. Disc batteries are especially dangerous in the esophagus, where they can quickly cause necrosis and perforation (death and rupture) of its wall.

The child swallowed a foreign object: what to do?

As you can see, the baby's behavior and symptoms will depend on the size, shape, material of the object that the child swallowed. If you suspect the presence of a foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract, the first thing to decide is the speedy delivery of the baby to the hospital. It is urgent to call an ambulance and take the child to a hospital, preferably a multidisciplinary one, which has surgical, radiological, endoscopic, ultrasound departments available around the clock. In Moscow, these are the Izmailovskaya Children's Clinical Hospital, the Filatovskaya Children's Clinical Hospital, St. Vladimir's Hospital, etc.

Before the ambulance arrives, parents do not need to make any attempts to pull out, shake out or "push" the foreign body further into the stomach (for example, by giving the child bread). By your actions, you can only harm. You can not feed and water the child, including breast milk. You can moisten your lips with water if they are dry. We must try, if possible, to calm the baby and collect the necessary documents for the hospital: the medical policy of the child and mother.

If the baby is coughing, choking, choking, you can tap with the edge of the palm or fingers on his back between the shoulder blades, directing blows from the bottom up, throwing the baby over the knee so that the upper body is lowered. A child under 1 year old is placed on the hand face down, the head is slightly lowered, the index or middle finger of the "supporting" hand is placed in the child's mouth, opening it, with a free hand pat on the back. This should not be done if the baby can breathe, as hard taps can dislodge the object in such a way that it blocks or swells the airway, making it difficult to breathe. Do not forget that the main task of the actions taken is to facilitate breathing (if it is difficult). If there is no difficulty in breathing, then you should wait for the arrival of an ambulance.

In the hospital: examination and removal

In the admission department, the child is examined by a pediatrician and a surgeon, if necessary, additional examinations are carried out: X-ray, endoscopic or ultrasound. It should be remembered that only metal foreign bodies, stones and some types of glass are visible on the x-ray - plastic and wooden objects are not detected due to the texture of the material. Based on the examination and these research methods, a diagnosis is made and the level of location of the foreign body is determined. The child is left in the hospital and, in most cases, is observed until the object is removed on its own (usually 2-3 days), by prescribing a laxative.

If urgent removal of a foreign body is necessary or its progress through the gastrointestinal tract is difficult, then in 99% of cases the endoscopic method of treatment helps. This is possible when the foreign body is not below the duodenum, where a fibroesophagogastroduodenoscope can reach (endoscope 1, with which you can remove a foreign body from the upper sections of the gastrointestinal tract: esophagus, stomach, initial sections of the small intestine). Extraction of a foreign body occurs with the help of an endoscopic loop, basket or clamps, passed through the endoscope, which is inserted through the mouth 2 .

Sometimes a foreign body can be pushed through the apparatus, and in the future, when taking a laxative, this will help it leave the body faster in a natural way. If it was not possible to remove the foreign body endoscopically, laparoscopic or abdominal surgery is performed, which is always more traumatic for the body and is associated with a much larger number of possible complications. Laparoscopic surgery differs from abdominal surgery in that a large incision is not made on the anterior abdominal wall, but a laparoscope 3 and special surgical instruments used by surgeons are inserted through small holes into the abdominal cavity. The method of surgical intervention is chosen by the surgeon, depending on where the foreign body is located, what its shape and size are, taking into account the condition of the child.

Prevention

Don't leave your little one unattended. It is necessary to remove small dangerous objects in a place inaccessible to the baby. You should also be very careful when choosing toys: they should correspond to the age of the baby and not have small and easily broken parts.

1 Endoscope - (Greek endo - "inside", skopeo - "examine, examine") - the general name of tubular optical instruments with a lighting device designed for visual examination of body cavities and canals, into which the endoscope is inserted through natural or artificial openings.
2 See the article "Endoscopy", No. 4, 2007.
3 Laparoscope (Greek lapara - stomach, skopeo - "examine, examine") is a type of endoscope, which is a metal tube with a complex lens system and a light guide. The laparoscope is designed to transmit images from the abdominal cavity of the human body.

Alexey Krasavin, endoscopist,
Izmailovskaya Children's Clinical Hospital of Moscow

Discussion

Comment on the article "If a child swallowed something"

Swallowed batteries. Medical questions. Child from 1 to 3. Raising a child from one to three years old: hardening and development, nutrition and illness Section: Medical issues (after how long it will become bad if you swallow a battery). Swallowed batteries.

Often, children take objects in their mouths, and many of the elements that the Lego constructor contains, the child may inadvertently swallow. It is for such cases that barium sulfate is intended. This salt does not dissolve in water, so it is not toxic to the body.

Discussion

my baby swallowed his head from Lego and doesn’t remember swallowing it himself or it seemed that he didn’t tickle in his throat, he breathes well, and it turns out we found out from your site that Lego is made of food plastic, which calmed us down. The son was worried and asked for an X-ray, but as we understood, the plastic is not visible on the X-ray - we are waiting for the results and we will eat porridge.

05.10.2018 22:58:18, jay

Lego contains a substance called barium. This barium is used as a contrast in x-rays, so detail can be seen on x-rays.

12/12/2017 18:44:37, Alice.....

Swallowed a coin. Incidents. Child from 1 to 3. Raising a child from one to three years old And in general, what to do? We already have trouble with the pot (yesterday I wrote), now a coin .... From an old dugout: If a child swallowed a coin. With the first - you raise everyone to their feet ...

Swallowed batteries. Tell me, please, maybe there are doctors. If there are suspicions that 4 days ago a child (2 years old) could swallow a round battery, but Tell me, where did you get it stuck? How long after the child swallowed did you get x-rayed?

The child swallowed a foreign object. Doctors, clinics. A child from birth to one year. Care and upbringing of a child up to a year: nutrition The child swallowed a foreign object. My baby climbed and peeled off the sticker from the bed that closes the screw, small, with a diameter ...

URGENTLY! They ate a battery! If a child has swallowed a small object. The child swallowed a small object. First aid, removal of a foreign body. Usually, babies swallow small things - toys or their parts, coins, buttons, fruit seeds.

A small child is such a restless creature that constantly requires the attention and vigilant control of mom, dad and grandmother. As soon as the baby has learned to crawl, and then walk, he begins to explore the world, various objects. And it's good if he just took a book, a spoon or any other object to play. But young children love to try different things. And sometimes a mother, not seeing how her miracle swallowed a battery or a designer part, cannot understand why he suddenly became ill, and where this terrible cough came from.

The desire of the baby to taste everything is nothing more than a natural reaction to the outside world, a craving to explore the surrounding things with the help of taste buds. But often, with one lick and an attempt to gnaw on the researched little thing, the matter does not end there. As a rule, the last stage of acquaintance with the object is its swallowing. How to be in such a situation, what to do in the first place, and what absolutely cannot be done? All this in our today's article.

The eaten little thing can leave the body itself. But since this is rare, you should not sit over the child and wait for this moment. You need to immediately provide first aid to prevent dangerous consequences.

Each swallowed object can behave differently in the body. In addition, the algorithm of actions is also different. For example, if a baby swallows a button (a streamlined, smooth object), it can come out on its own. Larger and more dangerous (needle, magnet, battery) objects can linger in the digestive tract and cause trouble. In this case, you need to call a doctor or take the baby to a medical facility.

And since swallowed products behave differently in the child's body and their traumatic effect is also different, the first aid algorithm will also be different. More details about first aid in the table.

Subject	signs	What to do
Magnet magnetic ball	If the baby swallowed the part, but you did not see it, you can suspect something was wrong by the appearance of a runny nose, cough, and pain in the abdomen.	You can not induce vomiting on your own, give food. The first thing to do is call a doctor. Untimely access to a doctor is fraught with disastrous consequences. A magnet with sharp edges can injure the gastrointestinal mucosa. If there are several magnets swallowed, they can be attracted to each other, seriously injuring the intestines.
Mounting foam	There may be pain in the abdomen.	Foam can solidify in the intestines and create an insurmountable barrier to the movement of feces. In this case, you need to show the baby to the doctor. The sooner the object is removed, the sooner the baby's condition returns to normal.
Battery	The object may get stuck in the throat. In this case, coughing, suffocation may occur. In addition, it is possible to change the chair. The stool will turn greenish or black. Often there is an increase in body temperature, vomiting and loss of consciousness.	If the baby begins to choke, it is necessary to induce vomiting. Next, you need to call an ambulance or take the child to the hospital.
Drawing pin A piece of glass Metal products with uneven edges	Accompanied by active salivation, coughing, suffocation, reddening of the face, hiccups, vomiting, blood in the stool.	You need to call a doctor immediately. It is equally important to examine the baby's mouth for splinters. It is impossible to extract fragments that are localized in the region of the palatoglossal arch.
Gum	One swallowed chewing gum is usually not accompanied by symptoms. If a child has swallowed several chewing gums, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea may occur.	One swallowed chewing gum is not dangerous for the baby. If he "ate" a lot of chewing gum, you need to watch for a while. If there are deviations, you must make an appointment with a doctor
Coin	The appearance of anxiety, irritability, tearfulness is noted. In addition, regurgitation, shortness of breath, coughing, increased salivation may occur.	If the baby's condition worsens significantly due to a swallowed coin, consult a doctor immediately.
Button	Symptoms are often absent.	No need to stuff the baby with laxatives or induce vomiting. If the baby's condition is normal, wait, the button will come out with the feces. If your child's behavior changes, see your doctor.
Boltik metal ball	Accompanied by hiccups, salivation, irritability, pain in the abdomen.	The baby needs to be taken to the hospital. There it should be until the foreign object comes out with feces.
Needle	When such objects enter the digestive system, the appearance of profuse salivation, coughing, anxiety, sweating, and fever are noted.	Immediately call a doctor or take a small patient to the hospital. Do not allow the child to move a lot (this is fraught with moving a sharp object into soft tissues). It is contraindicated to give laxatives, induce vomiting or shake the baby.
Mercury	The appearance of malaise, high fever, headache, increased salivation, pain in the abdomen, diarrhea is noted.	In this case, the threat is not the balls of mercury themselves, but its evaporation. Inhalation of vapors of the substance is fraught with damage to the central nervous system, kidneys and lungs. In such a situation, it is contraindicated to delay. You need to quickly call an ambulance. Parents, while the ambulance is on the way, need to cause the baby to vomit.
Medications (tablet, capsule)	The first manifestations will appear after the substances begin to be absorbed into the blood. Symptoms will depend on which drug was swallowed. Perhaps the appearance of irritability, convulsions, fainting, nausea and vomiting, fever.	The first thing to do is call an ambulance. Before her arrival, it is necessary to wash the stomach, induce vomiting, and then give several tablets of an activated or other sorbent
Hydrogel silica gel	Ingestion of such chemicals into the stomach is fraught with severe intoxication.	It is necessary to call a doctor, wash the stomach and give an absorbent to drink.
Foil	The appearance of lethargy, irritability, malaise is noted	You need to call a doctor. Before the arrival of the doctor, it is forbidden to induce vomiting, feed or drink, give laxatives.
Plasticine	There is the appearance of lethargy, capriciousness. Perhaps the appearance of allergic manifestations (rashes).	A small piece of plasticine is harmless. If a large piece enters the gastrointestinal tract, it is fraught with intestinal obstruction. You need to take the child to the doctor.
cotton wool	As a rule, it is not accompanied by any symptoms.	Observe the child's behavior and condition. Call a doctor if necessary.
Plastic products	If the swallowed object is small and without sharp edges, symptoms may not appear. If a piece of plastic is swallowed, malaise, abdominal pain, tearfulness, and blood in the stool may occur.	Observe the stool of a small patient. If there are any suspicious signs, take him to the hospital.
Tooth	There are no symptoms.	Often, a tooth, once in the digestive tract, leaves the body naturally. You can't induce vomiting. If the child's behavior changes, or if the condition worsens, contact the hospital.
fruit stone	There may be pain in the epigastrium, blood in the feces.	As a rule, the bones from fruits come out with feces. If this does not happen, see a doctor.
fish bone	Appearance of cough, suffocation, salivation is noted.	The child needs to be taken to the hospital.

The following items are the most dangerous if swallowed:

1. Having large sizes. This is fraught with intestinal obstruction due to blockage by a foreign body.
2. Having sharp and piercing edges. If such objects enter the gastrointestinal tract, it is fraught with a puncture of the walls of the stomach or intestines, which will necessitate an operation.
3. Small batteries in the form of tablets. Inside such products there is an electrode, which in the esophagus or stomach can give a discharge and injure organs.

Reasons for swallowing various objects by children

Foreign bodies in children's bellies are more likely than in adults to operate on appendicitis or diagnose pathologies of the cardiovascular system, in particular heart attack. According to statistics, every fifth child in the world swallows something that is clearly unfit for food. Each parent needs to be as vigilant as possible so that a small alien little thing does not do big trouble.

So why does the baby constantly pull everything he sees into his mouth? The main thing is to understand a simple truth, the child is not to blame for accidentally swallowing a ring or a button. In childhood, there are several objective physiological reasons why children swallow all sorts of uselessness. The main thing is not to blame him and in no case scold him. All you need to do if you see that your child “had breakfast” with a pen cap is to help him and call a doctor.

The main reasons for the knowledge of everything around through swallowing include:

• lack of an adequate assessment of the physical parameters of objects. The child does not understand that the thing is sharp, hot, hard, or at least inedible;
• lack of self-preservation instinct. It costs nothing for a kid to pull an object into his mouth that repels an adult by its very appearance;
• no negative experience. The program “do not put kaku in your mouth” is not laid down at the genetic level. The kid needs to feel the problem in practice. Only in this way will he be able to understand that this cannot be done, otherwise his stomach will ache and an unfamiliar uncle in a white coat will come.

Even if there was already a sad experience, the baby could simply not learn it. In other words, several similar situations are needed in order to develop the reflex “you can’t take it in your mouth, gnaw, lick it”

• Lack of proper communication. Young children are not yet able to share negative experiences, they are not able to discuss different situations, in particular those that happened to them. In other words, the child cannot tell that he swallowed the detail of the designer, the mother panicked and called the doctors, who came and began to scold.

In general, children do not yet realize the gravity of the situation, they do not know what it is fraught with. You, in a similar situation, it remains to provide first aid and consult a doctor so that nothing bad happens to your baby.

What age children are more likely to experience the problem?

Toddlers may pull an object into their mouth as soon as they can reach it. And this means that the "starting point" when mom and dad need to be especially vigilant is the seventh or eighth month of life. That is, when a child begins to crawl and in every possible way tries to reach out to the unknown.

At this time, small things seem to be created so that parents are constantly in suspense. Since the baby's vision in the first year of life is imperfect, and he is only learning to focus it, he will first of all fix his eyes on something bright and small that will be in his way.

Sometimes new mothers are saved by the fact that, due to incomplete vision, the child may simply not see a dangerous object nearby, even if it is very close. But in no case should you hope that the child will not notice the dangerous little thing.

According to statistics, most often children swallow foreign parts between the ages of one and three. During this period, they become more nimble, many are already taking their first steps, which means that the reach zone of the “toy”, which must be tried without fail, is increasing.

Parents should always be on the lookout. It should be understood that the age of little “swallowers” ​​is not limited to either three or six years. Then the age of various experiments will begin, when children on purpose or consciously can try an inedible thing. This is especially true for those who go to kindergarten or have many friends, and subconsciously try to brag to the rest of their achievements.

A child of school age, even while at home, teaching lessons, may accidentally swallow an object that had previously simply been procrastinating in his mouth. And there are many such examples. Therefore, parents should always be on their guard, even if the child is already 7 years old.

How to understand that the child ate inedible

The fact that a baby has swallowed a small item, be it a bead, a coin or a nut, often goes unnoticed. Mom can find out about this by chance when the eaten item comes out with feces. And it's good if it ends like this. But in fact, more often than not, things happen a little differently.

And only an attentive parent can suspect something was wrong. It should be alarming that the child suddenly became whiny, his behavior changed dramatically. In this case, the baby may feel guilty, which is why he stops behaving as he usually does.

In this case, you need to try to talk to him and try to find out if he accidentally swallowed the “colored candy”. Moreover, the conversation should be calm, the tone should be affectionate. Believe me, you will not achieve anything by shouting, the child will close in on himself, and in every possible way will refuse to make contact. Even if he becomes ill, he will tolerate it, but will not tell you anything.

If the child is still very young and unable to tell you what happened, you can understand what happened to him by the following signs. Often, the entry of a foreign body into the child's gastrointestinal tract (especially if it is more than 1 cm) manifests itself immediately and is usually accompanied by the following symptoms:

• sharp sudden choking;
• crying;
• increased salivation;
• belching;
• nausea and vomiting;
• a change in the characteristics of feces, for example, the appearance of mucus in them;
• behavior disorder;
• loss of consciousness (in rare cases);
• blanching;
• loss of appetite;
• an increase in temperature.

Most often, children swallow foreign objects that do not exceed the diameter of the esophagus, and hence the entire gastrointestinal tract, and this, in turn, means that the part can come out naturally. Sometimes, due to a delay in the folds of the gastrointestinal tract, the object does not come out with the feces.

In this case, you need to take the child to the hospital. Do not hesitate to visit a specialist, this is fraught with disastrous consequences.

What actions are contraindicated

In a panic, we can, albeit unconsciously, but exacerbate the situation. In order not to harm the baby even more, every parent should know what absolutely cannot be done if the child has swallowed something inedible.

1. In no case do not shake the baby, do not beat him on the back, do not turn him upside down (in the hope that the object will fall out). Such actions are fraught with the unfolding of the object in a narrow place, displacement into the respiratory tract, injury to the gastrointestinal mucosa.

2. Don't force your baby to eat a crust of bread if he chokes on a fish bone. This is fraught with injury to the esophageal mucosa.

Do not take out the swallowed product yourself, either with your fingers or with tweezers. This should be done by a doctor, and using sterile instruments.

3. If the baby has a cough or he began to choke, and the ambulance has not yet arrived, place him on your knee face down. In this case, the upper half of the body should be lowered. Tap lightly between your shoulder blades with your fingers.

Can the problem be prevented?

Unfortunately, parents do not have 100 eyes and they cannot follow every step and action of the child. Some children's affairs are left without parental attention. And it's good if everything ends well, and not hospitalization. To minimize the risk of foreign bodies entering the child's body, experts advise:

• remove small parts from the floor;
• buy toys by age;
• do not allow the baby to play with pins, needles, glass;
• if a child plays with beads, toys with a magnet must be with him all this time;
• exclude thermometers, building materials, nails from falling into the hands of a child.