Doctors warn that many children accidentally drink chemicals and choke on fish bones.

On May 10, specialist doctor 2 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital 2, said that during the upcoming summer vacation, when children are absent from school for a long time, are hyperactive, curious to explore without being supervised, digestive accidents in young children can happen at any time. Parents need to pay attention to common accidents such as accidentally drinking cleaning chemicals, choking on foreign objects, putting foreign objects in the mouth such as batteries, buttons, small toys...

Almost perforated stomach due to fish bone stuck in throat, burns due to mistakenly drinking chemicals

According to Dr. Thuy, recently, the hospital's doctors successfully performed an endoscopy to remove a 23x23 mm fish bone foreign body, saving a male patient NTN (5 years old, living in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province).

Doctor examines a case of digestive tract foreign body accident

PHOTO: BSCC

The patient's father said that N. was fed rice with basa fish. Although the family had removed the fish bones, there were still pieces of fin bones left, which were unfortunately swallowed by N. The family took N. to the local hospital and then transferred him to Children's Hospital 2 for treatment. Here, the hospital's doctors ordered an X-ray and CT scan, which determined that the foreign object was stuck in the esophagus, causing inflammation and edema. The child underwent emergency endoscopy to remove the foreign object. Two days later, the child recovered and was discharged from the hospital.

Similarly, patient K. (2 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) was taken to Children's Hospital 2 by his family after accidentally drinking drain cleaner powder. The accident occurred about 3 hours before the child was admitted to the hospital. Upon admission, the child had a fever, burns to the entire oral cavity, was unable to eat or drink, and showed signs of infection with high inflammation indicators. Doctors administered intravenous fluids, used drugs to protect and heal the mucosa, drugs to reduce secretions, and antibiotics to control the infection. The child underwent an endoscopy of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum to assess the damage, and the results showed that the child had 2nd degree esophageal burns.

Immediately afterwards, the patient was placed through a gastric tube under endoscopic guidance for feeding. After a week of intensive treatment, the child was able to eat again and was discharged from the hospital.

Be careful of foreign objects that have "dangerous properties"

According to Dr. Thu Thuy, choking on foreign objects in children is very dangerous, especially sharp or corrosive objects that can cause complications such as perforation, intestinal obstruction, etc. Successful treatment of cases of ingested foreign objects depends on many factors such as the age of the child, the type of foreign object, the location of the foreign object in the digestive tract, the time of swallowing, clinical symptoms, etc. Most cases of ingested foreign objects are eliminated by the body and do not require intervention. However, 10-20% of cases still require endoscopy and 1% of cases require surgery to remove the foreign object.

When swallowing a foreign object, children may have symptoms such as vomiting, vomiting blood, neck pain, painful swallowing, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, bloating... and need to be examined immediately.

Foreign objects in the esophagus and stomach that are “dangerous” and need to be paid attention to by family members include sharp-pointed objects such as toothpicks, pill boxes, bones, button batteries, toy batteries, large-sized foreign objects, superabsorbent polymers, magnets, etc.

Parents should keep objects out of reach of children and observe children while they play.

Illustration: AI

Prevention and treatment when children choke on foreign objects

Specialist Doctor 1 Doan Thi Thanh Hong, Department of Respiratory Medicine 1, Nhi Dong 2 Hospital, said that foreign bodies in the airways are a common emergency situation in children. They are especially life-threatening because foreign bodies block the airways, leading to a lack of oxygen.

Most cases of children who are brought to the hospital in time are successfully treated. However, parents need to pay attention to how to handle the situation when they discover that their child is choking on a foreign object.

Back blows, chest thrusts (for children under 2 years old) : Place the child face down with the head low on the left arm, hold the head and neck firmly with the left hand. Use the index finger and middle finger of the left hand to push the child's chin up so that the child's neck arches to avoid collapsing the airway. Then use the heel of the right hand to give 5 strong blows on the child's back (between the shoulder blades). If the child is still having difficulty breathing or turning purple, turn the child onto the right side and use 2 fingers of the left hand to press firmly on the area of ​​1/2 of the sternum 5 times. Continue alternating back blows and chest thrusts until the foreign object falls out of the airway or the child cries.

Heimlich maneuver (for children over 2 years old) : Sit or stand behind the child so that it is convenient to wrap both arms around the child. Make a fist with your left hand, place it right in the epigastrium, below the sternum in front of the chest, and hold the fist with your right hand. Press firmly from front to back and from bottom to top until the foreign object comes out.

After performing these steps, parents should still take their child to the hospital for a doctor's examination even if the child has vomited a foreign object.

"To prevent children from choking on foreign objects, parents should keep small objects out of reach of children. Observe children when they play, do not use small magnetic toys. Absolutely do not play around while eating. When discovering that a child has swallowed a foreign object, do not panic or try to remove the object because it can push it deeper. Do not use drugs, emetics or stimulants to avoid further damage or choking into the respiratory tract," Dr. Hong advised.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bac-si-canh-bao-nhieu-tre-uong-nham-hoa-chat-hoc-xuong-ca-185250509113945887.htm