Why sausages can kill a child

It is one of the favorite foods of children. With tomato, ketchup and potatoes. And easy to cook. Even easier to eat. It is soft and its flavor, delicious. And yet, thousands of children die every year because of them. We talk about the sausages. One day I was lucky to attend a first aid demonstrati

One day I was lucky to attend a first aid demonstration given in a school by members of the Samur (health emergencies service in Madrid, Spain). The children were going to learn the techniques of resuscitation in case of choking. However, they were told something terrifying: in case the choking is for a circular slice of a sausage, there is nothing to do.

You should not give sliced sausages to your child

One of the biggest choking hazards for children under three is the sausage. Or rather, the way we cut the sausage. During that demonstration, the emergency team explained to the children the danger of eating a sausage cut into slices. The circular diameter of a sausage has a size that fits perfectly to the trachea of a child under three years. If the child does not chew it and stays horizontal by plugging the trachea, in addition to preventing the entry of air, it will make a 'windy' effect. That is, it is very difficult to get that piece of circular sausage. Even so, in these cases you always have to try the Heimlich method for cases of choking.

How to cut the sausage to avoid choking in children

1. Cut the sausage transversely, in half, in an elongated way.

2. Now you can cut the elongated portions of the sausages into several pieces. As Asphyxia is the fourth cause of accidental death in children under five years of age.

It can be for a toy, an article of the home and of course, for some food. Among the foods that cause choking in children, we think that the most dangerous are nuts and raw vegetables. However, in the number one food that cause choking in children under three years are the ... hot dogs. In the United States almost 20% of deaths in children (under 10 years old) due to suffocation is due to a hot dog .Therefore, pediatricians recommend extreme caution when cutting certain foods and postpone the introduction of foods such as nuts until four or five years. We would be surprised to see the amount of food that we give to our children under three years old and that are potentially dangerous: popcorn, celery, grapes, apple ...

6 tips to avoid choking on food in our children

Prevention is the only way to protect our children from an episode of suffocation. When it comes to food, there is no other way:

1. Never cut the sausage into 'slices' or circles. Cut it into irregular pieces.

2. Do not give too small hard foods to your child under 3 years old.

3. Do not give him nuts until he is four years old.

4. Choose foods that break easily in the mouth, such as the 'María' cookie or hard bread.

5. Do not give hard candy to your child until he is 4 years old or "sticky". Ev 6. Avoid popcorn and chewing gum during the first three years of life.

In case of choking, the first thing you should do is call emergency and try

the Heimlich maneuver

. Here you have it. Video of the Heimlich maneuver. How to save the child in case of choking