Kids Are Choking To Death More Than Once Thought
Children up to 3 1/2 are choking to death on small toys and foods much more than previously estimated. Small toys and foods are the primary cause of this and the rate is surprising, namely that it is far exceeding the rates that were previously thought to be much lower.
The age groups go higher than expected, with many older kids who are typically thought of as old enough for the smaller pieces being brought to the emergency room with obstructed airways due to the small pieces.
"Toys are affecting older kids, and that’s really weird to me," Dr. Rahul Shah, a pediatric otolaryngologist at the Children’s National Medical Center and the study’s co-author, told AOL News.
Dr. Rahul Shah continues:
"The death rate, to me, is unbelievable," he told AOL News. "It just shows that choking is absolutely not a benign health issue, but an extremely serious one."
(Source via Consumerist)
Hot dogs are among the highest risk item that sends more children to the ER than anything else, according to a Dr. Gary Smith: “If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child’s airway, it would be a hot dog”. They are looking into ways to change the popular food item to prevent the risk associated with them.
Due to the study with the toys, there may be some changes coming soon with sized and preventing the risks.
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