The child has swallowed something. What if a foreign object is swallowed by a child? Items and substances that a baby can swallow

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If a child has swallowed an object

Most often, children swallow buttons, coins, pins, bones, magnets, pieces of wood and glass, batteries.

If the foreign body is not dangerous, it does not have sharp edges, then nothing needs to be done. The child will be monitored, and the X-ray will be repeated in 24 hours. If the swallowed object remains in the same place, it must be removed. This is usually done during gastroscopy.

If a child stuck an object in his nose

Most often, ENT doctors have to remove foreign bodies from the noses of children who are less than five years old. As a rule, a child pushes foreign objects into his nose out of curiosity or imitating other children, less often it happens by accident.

The diagnosis is not in doubt if the adults saw how it happened, or the child himself told about the incident. But sometimes foreign bodies are discovered by accident during examination or cleaning of the nose.

The following symptoms should alert you:

Most often, objects caught in the nose are small in size. They can "fall" below and cause choking.

However, it is not worth doing anything on your own. Helping can be fatal... You could accidentally push the object even deeper into the airway.

The correct decision is to immediately consult an ENT doctor. Usually, foreign bodies are easily detected during examination of the nasal cavity. They are removed using suction or special tools. The doctor may then prescribe nasal drops and a course of antibiotics.

If a foreign body enters the respiratory tract

The most dangerous situation occurs when a foreign body enters the larynx, trachea or bronchus. This occurs most often in children under 3–5 years of age.

If the child is choking, he needs immediate help. The ambulance may not be in time, the count goes on for minutes.

Parents need to know how to deal with this situation correctly. One of the adults should start giving first aid immediately, the other should call an ambulance.

If the child is less than a year old, you need to place it face down on your knee, holding the baby's neck with your palm like a collar, and hit the back with your palm five times between the shoulder blades.

If this does not help, you need to turn the child over on his back, put your two fingers on the center of his sternum and quickly press five times. These steps must be repeated until the foreign body falls out (the child starts coughing loudly, screaming) or until a doctor arrives.

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Older child you need to "hug", standing behind, place your fist on his belly slightly above the navel, put the brush of the other hand on the fist and do five quick, intense thrusts. Repeat the steps until the foreign body falls out, or until a doctor arrives.

Even if the foreign body was successfully “pushed out”, the child should be shown to the doctor. It is necessary to make sure that the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract is not damaged, there are no complications.

The desire of children to taste everything is their natural reaction to the outside world, the urge to explore the surrounding things with the help of taste buds.

Often, licking and trying to gnaw or bite the object under study does not end there - your child can swallow it. Foreign bodies end up in children's stomachs more often than in adults, appendices are operated on and heart attacks occur.According to statistics, every 5-6th child in the world swallows something that is clearly not suitable for food. Parents need to be extremely vigilant so that a small foreign object does not cause big trouble.

Reasons why children swallow foreign objects

Do not blame the child for pulling a foreign object into his mouth, and this caused problems with his health. In childhood, there are a number of objective physiological reasons why children swallow all sorts of unnecessary things:

At what age can a problem arise

The child can drag a foreign object into his mouth as soon as he reaches it. This means that "Starting point" when parents need to be very vigilant - the 7-8th month of life, when the baby begins to crawl and tries to reach new unknown objects for him.

At this time, small objects seem to be created for parents to stay in constant tension - the child's vision is not yet thorough, he is just learning to focus it, which means that first of all he will fix his gaze on a small bright object that will be on his way of plastun crawling through the space of the children's world ... Sometimes the mother is saved by the fact that, due to inadequate focusing of vision, the baby may simply not see an object that is dangerous in terms of swallowing, even in absolute proximity to himself - but you should not rely on this, vigilance should be maximum.

According to statistics, most often children swallow foreign objects at the age of 1-3 years. During this period, they become more nimble, many are already walking, which means that the zone of reach of the tsatsuki, which must be pulled into the mouth, increases.

But the age of young "swallowers" (even if not swords) is not limited to three or five years. Then the age of all kinds of experiments begins, when children can consciously and even deliberately "bite off" an inedible object. Especially concerns those tomboy who are in the team (in kindergarten or in the yard "gang") and subconsciously try to brag to others - something just to brag. Also funny cases are described when children of even middle school age, learning lessons and mechanically fiddling with an object in their hands, could begin to rub it in their mouth and at the same time accidentally suck it into the esophagus... All these examples mean that parents should always be vigilant - whether the child is 7 months old or 7 years old.

Signs that the child has swallowed a foreign object

The fact that a child has swallowed a small object (nut, bead, small coin) can often go unnoticed. Mom learns about this by chance, when the swallowed object, having passed through the gastrointestinal tract, comes out together with the feces.

One can suspect that something was wrong if the child's behavior changes dramatically - he feels guilty (although he cannot explain), calms down and stops behaving as usual. In this case, you should ask him what happened, and whether he swallowed a multi-colored "candy". This should be done as gently as possible, even with the use of some diplomacy - otherwise the child, for fear of being punished, will stubbornly hide the fact of swallowing the object. Naturally, such questions will be useful if the child is at the age when he realizes that he has done “something wrong”.

If a foreign body more than one centimeter in diameter gets into the digestive tract of a child, it manifests itself instantly, in fact, in trouble. Symptoms by which you can suspect what happened:

In the vast majority of cases, the child swallows a foreign object commensurate with the diameter of the esophagus, which means that the entire gastrointestinal tract is able to exit naturally. In some cases, this does not happen, because the object gets stuck in the folds of the gastrointestinal tract.

Then its presence in the gastrointestinal tract can be suspected only when questioning the child and the symptoms described above. Although it happens that the diagnosis can only be made using instrumental research methods (for example,) or after the fact, when a foreign object comes out.

Often, objects with sharp edges are swallowed, which, it would seem, cannot be swallowed (pins, paper clips, pushpins, and so on). In such cases, it is highly likely that they, stuck on any part of the digestive tract, will not come out on their own. Their presence in the gastrointestinal tract will signal the child's complaints of acute pain - due to irritation of the mucous membrane.

Help. What not to do

Instead of multiple useless (and sometimes dangerous) actions, call a qualified doctor as soon as possible who will provide your child with competent assistance.

If the child begins to cough and suffocate slightly, he must be placed on his knee face down so that the upper half of the body is lowered, while lightly tapping with your fingers on the back between the shoulder blades. At the same time, do not overdo it with the force of tapping!

Prevention of the condition

Rather, it lies in a field not a medical, but an everyday one - parents need to constantly monitor the baby so that he does not stuff the object of interest into his mouth, and also, if possible, limit the child's ability to contact with small objects.

If the child has grown up and heeds parental admonitions, it should be strictly forbidden to pull foreign objects into his mouth.

Oksana Vladimirovna Kovtonyuk, medical commentator, surgeon, consultant physician

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 a child. After all, the life of the baby can depend on the actions of loved ones, especially since in emergency situations the count sometimes goes on for 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 through parental oversight. How not to get confused in such a situation?

Most often, the diagnosis of "foreign body" is exposed in early childhood. As soon as the kids begin to crawl and then walk, they quickly master territories and objects that were previously inaccessible to them, and some of them must be strictly out of the reach of 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, and most importantly - to determine the degree of its edibility. The result of this curiosity is that objects fall into the mouth and then into the baby's gastrointestinal tract or respiratory tract.

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

If the child was not in your field of vision when it all happened, it will be much more difficult to identify 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, bones from fruits. As a rule, the child does not experience any unpleasant sensations, with the exception of fright. 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, may be hiccups, belching, nausea, vomiting. Any food and water eaten comes back.

Caution, batteries!

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

The child has 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, first of all, the question of the earliest delivery of the baby to the hospital should be resolved. It is necessary to urgently call an ambulance and take the child to a hospital, preferably to a multidisciplinary one, which has a surgical, X-ray, endoscopic, ultrasound department, available around the clock. In Moscow, these are Izmailovskaya DGKB, Filatovskaya DGKB, St. Vladimir's Hospital, etc.

Before the ambulance arrives, parents do not need to make any attempt 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. You can moisten your lips with water if they are dry. We must try, if possible, to calm the baby down and collect the necessary documents for the hospital: a medical policy for the child and the mother.

If the baby is coughing, choking, choking, you can tap the edge of your hand or fingers on his back between the shoulder blades, directing the 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, and the back is patted with the free hand. This should not be done if the baby can breathe, as harsh patting can dislodge the object in such a way that it blocks the airways or causes them to swell, making breathing seriously difficult. Do not forget that the main task of the actions taken is to make breathing easier (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 image - 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 the location of a 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), prescribing a laxative.

If urgent removal of a foreign body is necessary or its movement 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 lower than the duodenum, where the fibroesophagogastroduodenoscope can reach (endoscope 1, with which you can remove a foreign body from the upper gastrointestinal tract: esophagus, stomach, initial parts of the small intestine). Removal of a foreign body is carried out using 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 to quickly leave the body 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

You should not leave the crumb alone unattended. It is necessary to remove small dangerous objects in a place inaccessible to the baby. You should be extremely careful when choosing toys: they should correspond to the age of the baby and not have small and easily breakable parts.

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

Alexey Krasavin, endoscopist,
Izmailovskaya DGKB, Moscow

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

The degree of danger

As a rule, plastic parts, such as in the famous designer, should not be considered particularly hazardous. Moreover, in most cases, they can even leave the body in a natural way, 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 breakdown by pancreatic enzymes or gastric acid.

However, everything is not as cloudless as it might seem at first glance. The process 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, there is a likelihood 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. However, in the case of plastic products, such a probability is small.

If the part, when swallowed, enters the windpipe, a serious 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 arises, which cannot be confused with anything else. In such situations, an attack of coughing occurs, the child's face will turn blue or pale, and salivation will sharply increase.

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 activities will correspond to the norm.

If the swallowed object is large, most likely there will be a pain in the throat or behind the sternum, increased salivation, fear will appear, and 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 call an ambulance without wasting a second of time. If the child's condition is satisfactory, and the time of arrival of the team has not been determined, it is better to get to the hospital on your own.

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

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