Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/6TU_86VpCwU The turn of the century has not been good for kids choking on and swallowing foreign bodies.  Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System just published in the journal Pediatrics shows that twice as many kids are choking on and swallowing foreign bodies now compared with 20 years ago. A majority of ingestions involved infants and toddlers 1 to 3 years of age.  The most frequent objects ingested were coins at 62%, then toys at 7%, jewelry at 7%, and batteries also at 7%.  Almost 90% of the batteries ingested were the button batteries, and these are the most dangerous type of foreign body ingestion since the batteries can leak caustic chemicals that damage gastrointestinal or respiratory lining tissues. Preventing these potential tragedies is easy: Store items such as spare change, batteries, high powered magnets, and medicines out of sight and out of reach.   Don’t disable child-proof packaging. Follow age recommendations when buying toys, and use the chok