Kidalog/Baby Love Products, Camrose, Alberta, Canada
Whole cow's milk should never be given to babies under six
months of age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Many pediatricians recommend waiting until babies are at least
a year old before introducing cow's milk.
A coroner
is warning parents to beware of giving young children popcorn
after a 20-month-old choked to death a week after an unpopped
kernel got stuck in her throat.
The kernel absorbed saliva and expanded to nine millimeters (3/8")
within seven days, growing large enough to completely block the
girl's trachea. Parents twice took the girl to a clinic but two
doctors concluded asthma was to blame for her symptoms.
The Canadian Press
Although foods like hot dogs,
peanuts and grapes are the #1 cause of choking deaths to children,
balloons are #2. The Journal of the American Medical Association
reported that of the 373 American children who died between 1972
and 1992 after choking on children's products, nearly a third
choked on latex balloons. Most of the children were eight or younger.
Children had inhaled latex balloons whole (often while trying
to inflate them) or choked on fragments of broken balloons. Latex
is dangerous because it is smooth and will conform to th trachea,
blocking the airway and making it almost impossible to expel with
the Heimlich manoeuvre. In fact, using the Heimlich manoeuvre
when some air is getting through could make the situation worse
by moving the balloon to completely obstruct the throat. Likewise,
unless the balloon can be seen and grasped completely, attempting
to remove it by hand could easily push it farther into the trachea.
Using the Heimlich manoeuvre only if the airway is completely
obstructed. Otherwise, dial 911 or get to an emergency room, where
doctors have equipment to clear the airway. But the safest thing
is to not give young children latex balloons in the first place.
Instead, Safe Kids recommends shiny foil balloons one common brand
is Mylar - which are considered less of a choking hazard. They
are easier to inflate (and therefore less likely to be sucked
in), do not tend to explode into small pieces, which can be swallowed,
and are less pliable and do not conform to the trachea.
